Wild Utopia . . .

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I think I’ve found a piece of paradise . . . Late yesterday afternoon, I arrived in Wilderness, a small town in the Garden Route along the East Coast. The drive was nice. The Baz Bus is excellent. We dropped someone off at a Wildlife Reserve. It was gorgeous there - and I saw another zebra! We passed through Mossel Bay and I got my first glimpse of the Indian Ocean. Soon after that, we turned a bend in the road and suddenly there was forest everywhere. Wilderness.

My hostel is about 2 kilometres out of town, at the bottom of a mountain, on the edge of a nature reserve and with a view across the river and out to the sea. It is so serene, so absolutely peaceful. There are very few people staying at the hostel, so it’s very quiet. My dorm room was in the second storey of an old farmhouse built in 1874. The building is incredible, all wood floors, wood framed windows, lots of cozy seating areas and a porch looking out the mountains. I was texting back & forth with Jody and he said I make it sound like Utopia. I think it may be.

This morning, I took a 20 minute walk from the hostel into the nature reserve and to an adventure company. I rented a canoe and got a map. Then I was off. I spent about an hour calmly and slowly making my way 2 kilometres upstream the river. Most of the way, I was passing through indigenous forest, or past mountains covered in forest. It could almost pass for somewhere in Northern Ontario, until you pass the odd palm tree or you look at the distinctive red dirt of Africa. It is so beautiful.

At the end of 2 kilometres, the river narrows and shallows, so I pulled my canoe ashore and set off on a hike through the forest. Whenever Jody and I would be in a forest in the Caribbean islands, he’d comment how quiet it was compared to home. And he’s right - the forest is filled with sounds of birds and frogs and other unseen creatures. Though it’s like that back home too I think.

After a 30 minute hike, I reached a waterfall. I climbed the rocks alongside the falls to the top where there is a pool at the bottom of another set of falls. I swam in the pool. It was freezing! The water is not clear. In fact, with the sun shining through it, my skin looked like shiny copper. But it’s so incredibly to be in the middle of a forest and swimming in a waterfall pool. How can you not feel at peace?

Then I just laid out on the rocks in the sunshine. Wrote in my journal. Did some yoga. Just felt the sun shine down on me. It was glorious.

There were very very few other people. I was essentially alone the entire time. But I loved it. The busy-ness of the cities and the parties I can come across while travelling are definitely fun. But moments like that one are what I most look forward to and savour. I think all this time spent along the coast is just what I need. It’s good for the soul.

The return canoe trip, was unfortunately awful. I was battling a wind that kept spinning me around and a few times pushed me back upstream. Even when I was moving forward, I was zig-zagging back all the way. It took almost twice the time coming back as it did going there. I was so frustrated! I was fighting so hard and it seemed I was making so little progress. I was exhausted by the end and just wanted out of that canoe! I’m sure I’ll have aching muscles tomorrow. But the guy back at the shop told me just before I left that I should know I did real good all on my own. It was so nice to hear! I’m enjoying travelling by myself, but sometimes it’s hard. True that you don’t have any struggle with compromising with a travel companion, but when things aren’t going well, you can feel so alone. I guess it’s good to remember that when you get through those on your own, you’re all the better for it.

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Comments

[swills82]

I Need a Day Like This
I love beaches, but I'm missing greens and... nature. Looks like a lovely day :)