The River of Life: Orange River Trip
Twenty years ago my dad gifted J and I with Felix Unite's
Orange River paddle and it was a highlight of my life. I remember
weeping like a baby when we had to leave. I felt so integrated with
Nature, which in my books is the closest to bliss one can get in this life.
https://youtu.be/6BLR0cjTj_E
Immediately I was struck by how busy it was this time around -- duh, high season. There was a large contingent of loud party animals who had rocked up at Bushwhacked by the time we arrived from Namibia. Oh dear. My idea of escaping the hubbub associated with New Year seemed to be ill conceived as it appeared that the party had simply been moved to the River.
Fortunately they wisely split the group and our smaller lot consisted mostly of families -- including a girl the same age as my daughter and two boys around my son's age, one of whom is a fellow DM from Noordhoek! That was an extraordinary stroke of good luck or as Jack put it "I've found my people mom." My hubby does not care for water or heat or camping. So this was NOT his idea of a good time. I on the other hand slip into bliss effortlessly as I paddle and sleep on the banks of this mighty river that brings life to an arid landscape. This was very much a part of the journey this time around. Coming to terms, as always, with the very different temperaments and needs of our little family.
Our first day went smoothly except for a headwind at the end of it and one of the guides kindly helped Jack and I into camp. I pitched my mozzie net under a tree and chilled out thoroughly in the heat of the afternoon. Some sunset Qi Gong and reading in the breeze was absolutely glorious. The food on the trip was not really my bag and I'm constantly astounded by the fact that people not only eat meat but so much of it. Still, it was a blessing not to have to self-cater. The guides worked so hard and I was grateful for their youth and general good cheer.
That night it rained! This in an arid area where, to quote our guide Tristan, "it never rains." At first I was concerned. There I lay without so much as a tarp for protection, but once I decided to surrender -- wow! What bliss! The cold rain on my face. Delicious!
Sleeping on the banks of the river, paddling all day, truly a rhythm that suits me down to the ground. Worth the blisters and sunburn and runny tummies.
Once again I felt that I never needed to leave this way of life.
Now more than ever I feel the call of the wild.
I have shared my hero LynxVilden & local wild man Paul Myburgh on my blog before, but if you haven't yet, do yourself a favour and watch the short films in those links -- they're magic!
Some of my favourite movies & books share this theme too -- Wild, Into the Wild & Tracks -- all worth a watch but here are some tidbits to whet your appetite:
A while back I stumbled upon Ben Fogle's New Lives in the Wild which is the stuff of glorious guilty pleasure. You get to live vicariously through these brave, often quirky, sometimes tremendously wise souls making it work in the wilderness.
What becomes very clear to me when living outside of civilized convenience, is that we've completely lost the plot with all our mod cons. We've divided our lives up into separated units -- here's the place for ablutions, here cooking, here sleeping, work, entertainment, etc. Oh and lets not get started on the outfits and accoutrements. It became very clear very fast that all you really need is one sarong to keep the sun at bay. That's it.
The serenity of knowing what to do with your life -- survive -- and not be harassed non-stop by our devices distracting us from the feel of the breeze and the water. Just to be fully alive in your body from moment to moment. Magnificent.
This separating out is partly why we feel so separated from one another and meaning. Really the truth is integration. Nobody is separate from anyone or anything. Here we are in a magical soup of energy pretending that it's just about little me. This playing small is no good for anyone. It makes us anxious, needy, depressed.
So while I have one New Year's Resolution (Kinder Still) I have a 7 year plan (the length of what's left of my children's schooling) leading to liberation from the trappings of a society I have never believed in anyway.
As we walked back across the border with our drybags after days that could have been months and yet were not nearly long enough I looked up to see the most remarkable cloud formation that looked like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Just moments before I'd felt the presence of my brother in these stark mountains of what could be the moon.
He had been heading for Namibia perhaps because it is there that he might live, rather than die.
Billy Joel sings it like it is in The River of Dreams:
I must be looking for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross
I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I'd never lose
Something somebody stole
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
Subscribe to Foot Sore & Fancy Free by Email
And please verify your email address (check your junkmail!)
Thanks :)
https://youtu.be/6BLR0cjTj_E
Immediately I was struck by how busy it was this time around -- duh, high season. There was a large contingent of loud party animals who had rocked up at Bushwhacked by the time we arrived from Namibia. Oh dear. My idea of escaping the hubbub associated with New Year seemed to be ill conceived as it appeared that the party had simply been moved to the River.
Fortunately they wisely split the group and our smaller lot consisted mostly of families -- including a girl the same age as my daughter and two boys around my son's age, one of whom is a fellow DM from Noordhoek! That was an extraordinary stroke of good luck or as Jack put it "I've found my people mom." My hubby does not care for water or heat or camping. So this was NOT his idea of a good time. I on the other hand slip into bliss effortlessly as I paddle and sleep on the banks of this mighty river that brings life to an arid landscape. This was very much a part of the journey this time around. Coming to terms, as always, with the very different temperaments and needs of our little family.
Our first day went smoothly except for a headwind at the end of it and one of the guides kindly helped Jack and I into camp. I pitched my mozzie net under a tree and chilled out thoroughly in the heat of the afternoon. Some sunset Qi Gong and reading in the breeze was absolutely glorious. The food on the trip was not really my bag and I'm constantly astounded by the fact that people not only eat meat but so much of it. Still, it was a blessing not to have to self-cater. The guides worked so hard and I was grateful for their youth and general good cheer.
That night it rained! This in an arid area where, to quote our guide Tristan, "it never rains." At first I was concerned. There I lay without so much as a tarp for protection, but once I decided to surrender -- wow! What bliss! The cold rain on my face. Delicious!
Sleeping on the banks of the river, paddling all day, truly a rhythm that suits me down to the ground. Worth the blisters and sunburn and runny tummies.
Once again I felt that I never needed to leave this way of life.
Now more than ever I feel the call of the wild.
I have shared my hero LynxVilden & local wild man Paul Myburgh on my blog before, but if you haven't yet, do yourself a favour and watch the short films in those links -- they're magic!
Some of my favourite movies & books share this theme too -- Wild, Into the Wild & Tracks -- all worth a watch but here are some tidbits to whet your appetite:
A while back I stumbled upon Ben Fogle's New Lives in the Wild which is the stuff of glorious guilty pleasure. You get to live vicariously through these brave, often quirky, sometimes tremendously wise souls making it work in the wilderness.
What becomes very clear to me when living outside of civilized convenience, is that we've completely lost the plot with all our mod cons. We've divided our lives up into separated units -- here's the place for ablutions, here cooking, here sleeping, work, entertainment, etc. Oh and lets not get started on the outfits and accoutrements. It became very clear very fast that all you really need is one sarong to keep the sun at bay. That's it.
The serenity of knowing what to do with your life -- survive -- and not be harassed non-stop by our devices distracting us from the feel of the breeze and the water. Just to be fully alive in your body from moment to moment. Magnificent.
This separating out is partly why we feel so separated from one another and meaning. Really the truth is integration. Nobody is separate from anyone or anything. Here we are in a magical soup of energy pretending that it's just about little me. This playing small is no good for anyone. It makes us anxious, needy, depressed.
So while I have one New Year's Resolution (Kinder Still) I have a 7 year plan (the length of what's left of my children's schooling) leading to liberation from the trappings of a society I have never believed in anyway.
As we walked back across the border with our drybags after days that could have been months and yet were not nearly long enough I looked up to see the most remarkable cloud formation that looked like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Just moments before I'd felt the presence of my brother in these stark mountains of what could be the moon.
He had been heading for Namibia perhaps because it is there that he might live, rather than die.
Billy Joel sings it like it is in The River of Dreams:
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To the river so deep
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To the river so deep
I must be looking for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross
Even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and I stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find out what I've been looking for
I walk down every evening and I stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find out what I've been looking for
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I'd never lose
Something somebody stole
I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is that I've been looking for
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is that I've been looking for
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To a river so deep
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To a river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night
I'm not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That runs to the promised land
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That runs to the promised land
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night
Subscribe to Foot Sore & Fancy Free by Email
And please verify your email address (check your junkmail!)
Thanks :)
Comments