One of the reasons I most love travel is that it forces you to see things differently. As you explore a new country, you inevitably encounter different ways that people live, and you come face to face with new, and often challenging, experiences. I love this, because I always end up seeing the world – and my own place in it – in a new, more enlightened, way. Traveling, at its core, forces the traveler to constantly redefine their reality.
I come from an upper-middle class upbringing in a wealthy country. Without knowing any differently, I took things like running water and electricity for granted for the first 21 years of my life, before traveling to Senegal. Only once I came face to face with the way that many Senegalese (or Nepali, or Thai, or Zimbabwean) people live, did I begin to understand that these things that I had always taken for granted were in fact luxuries that most people only dream of.
Last week, as I crossed the border from the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast into the adjoining province of Kwazulu-Natal (KZN), I realized that this knowledge had been internalized and was impacting my outlook and my actions. The South Coast of KZN is littered with massive hotels, luxurious resorts, and extensive shopping centers. Coming from the Wild Coast, with its traditional Xhosa villages interspersed with the occasional chaotic, dirty city, the dazzling cleanliness and opulence before me was dizzying. Initially, a part of me wanted to dive right in and indulge in the finer things in life – I had, after all, been using public restrooms and sleeping in the back of a camper van for two months! And so we dove, we indulged. We stocked up on cheeses and exotic fruits, nuts, hummus, fresh juice, and organic yogurt. We camped for five nights at T.O. Strand holiday resort, right on the beach. And we shopped for household and camping goods at not one, but TWO, shopping centers! (This last one is surprising, as neither Bruno nor I have any affinity whatsoever for shopping. But what the heck, we were experiencing what the South Coast had to offer!)
And I must admit, I enjoyed treating myself. With all these delicious ingredients at my disposal, I cooked up a storm. As Bruno and I dined on such delicacies as falafels, pesto pasta, veggie burgers, pad thai, green curry on quinoa, and taco salad, we took full advantage of our luxurious campsite. Gigantic, squeaky clean toilets, electricity, wi-fi, swimming pool, water tap within reach, and laundry machine – it was almost too much excitement to contain!
But instead of eating these delicious meals mindlessly, or using all the camping facilities without a second thought, I appreciated each and every one of these things. More than that, I treated them as luxuries and recognized how lucky I was to be able to have access to them. This mindfulness came from the fact that, in the way that Bruno and I travel, we don’t always have access to good food or facilities. Bruno has always emphasized that this is a blessing in disguise because it allows you to appreciate them when you have them. It puts things into perspective. It redefines your reality for the better. I am inclined to agree with him.The other positive aspect of not always having access to things we take for granted at home is to know when to let them go. After a few days, you can palpably notice your appreciation and enthusiasm for that hot shower or that gourmet meal waning. Your uneasiness at the enormous wealth surrounding you when people 10km inland are living in shacks begins to fade. Then, you know it’s time to move on, back out into the wild.
That is why, from the coastal resort town of Port Edward, we visited Umthamvuna Nature Reserve, and from Shelley Beach, we escaped to Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve. We needed to keep things in perspective, to return to the simplicity of nature and its occasional challenges, to remind ourselves of the reality that travel has allowed us to define for ourselves.In the nature reserves of KZN, we walked. A lot. Through forests, up hills, over waterfalls, on the edge of cliffs and back. Walking for 10km in the middle of nature promotes meditation and philosophical thinking. And so on these walks, I – once again – had time to redefine my reality. As I walked through insect and reptile-infested land, I was reminded of the great American Nature writers, such as Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, John Muir, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The idea of “the wild” and “wilderness” was much discussed in the many writings and musings of these environmental philosophers, and I channeled their energy and pondered their ideas as I walked. For, in many ways, I was walking through some of the wildest places I’d ever walked – spider webs everywhere, tsetse flies biting huge chunks out of me, giant reptiles sitting on logs in the river, baboon colonies racing before us along the edge of the gorge, and the ever-looming possibility of meeting a wild cat or a poisonous snake. Being in the wild, I concluded, isn’t as romantic as the Nature Writers made it seem. It sure would be a lot less sweaty and dangerous if I were sitting at home watching the Discovery Channel instead of walking through the jungle!I admit that, at times, being in the wild seemed to be driving me slightly crazy. I would periodically begin running madly in order to escape a tsetse fly, or swing my arms vigorously in front of my head to avoid potential spider webs. I could often feel imaginary insects crawling up my legs or buzzing in my ears, and I refused to sit on a rock when we stopped for lunch, for fear of scorpions or snakes crawling into my sneakers or my underwear. Eventually, my lunacy passed, the pace of my walking normalized, and I grew accustomed to this wild space. And that is when I learned yet another truth, redefining my reality once again. I learned that if I push myself past my discomfort, I can come to a place of acceptance. Traveling is often incredibly challenging, as it frequently brings you face to face with new and uncomfortable situations. But the rewards of pushing past this discomfort are great. In this case, my walks through the wild brought me breathtaking views of immense canyons, fresh waterfalls, and lush jungle. I watched eagles soar through the sky and listened to the piercing grunts of baboons echo through the chasm below. I filled my lungs with fresh air and pumped endorphins into my brain with my heart-healthy exercise. And I set my mind and soul at ease as I reconnected with Mother Earth, where we all come from and where we will all return. Yet the satisfaction of accomplishing something and of pushing myself past my comfort zone was the greatest reward of all. I felt empowered, like I could take on any challenge brought my way. Some people have criticized my decision to continue traveling. Many have wondered when I would return to the West and begin living a “normal” life, when I would grow up and accept adult responsibilities. In response to these inquiries, I can only say that travel continues to bring me so much in terms of personal development and growth that I couldn’t imagine stopping yet. I am continually pushed past my natural comfort zones, like living in a trailer and using public facilities, not always having access to conveniences I had always taken for granted, and spending time in challenging environments and climates. These challenges are life-transforming, as they broaden my perception and remind me to be thankful for how lucky I am in this life. These recognitions redefine my reality every day for the better. So I can’t stop traveling just yet.
