Finding peace in the wilderness - Sept 26, 2008

Africa’s wild places could hold the key to humankind’s tortured quest for inner peace and joy.

The pressure of running a marathon a day, six days a week, is relentless, not only for athletes David and Braam, but for all the Miles for Smiles support team. But some of us, at least, are discovering, or rediscovering, the soothing balm of the wilderness.

Wilderness therapy ... when you stop your 4x4 and switch off the real magic begins.

I’ve long been aware that I am often only truly at peace in the wilds, and find it easiest to switch off my overheated brain when I’m far from the madding crowd, communing with Nature, rather than being busy, busy, busy while trying to meet too many self-imposed deadlines.

It is essential to find time to slow down and be quiet, even if only for a few minutes. And if we look, there are so many places to do this.

Of course, the idea of wilderness therapy isn’t exactly new. Poets, philosophers and naturalists increasingly recognise the role of the wilderness in maintaining a balance in our lives.

It is to wild Africa - the cradle of humankind - that we can return to at least briefly escape the pressures and stresses of modern life, and re-establish a connection with the land and ourselves.

As Ian Player, founder of the Wilderness Leadership School, observes in his book Zululand Wilderness: “On frequent visits to Europe, the United States, and the Far East, I have noticed that among people there is a weariness caused by travel without purpose.

“Instead of pilgrimages there are escapes. Africa can reintroduce this pilgrimage and give a new dimension to travel linked to our new age of exploration, not only of outer space but also of the inner dimension of humanness.”

He maintains that in our national parks and game reserves the ancient spirit “older than the spirit of man” still survives.

“What we have in these places,” he says, “is the most precious of worldly gifts, a sense of the spiritual connection between human beings and the land. If we protect and nurture this wilderness it could be our greatest contribution to the modern world and, sensitively managed, it could provide enormous benefits to us because it is a renewable natural resource.”

I am happiest at home in Cape Town when I’m climbing that iconic flat-topped mountain, sometimes following a path named after former Prime Minister, General Jan Christiaan Smuts.

He put his love of the mountain so eloquently when he said: “When we reach the mountain summits, we leave behind us all the things that weigh heavily on our body and our spirit. We leave behind all sense of weakness and depression; we feel a new freedom, a great exhilaration, an exaltation of the body no less than of the spirit.”

Noel de Villiers, founder of the non-profit Open Africa organisation, which is dedicated to unleashing the spirit of Africa with the creation of a network of tourism routes between Cape Town and Cairo, talks of ”the yearning of people everywhere to reconnect with the Earth and with their roots.”

And Africa, with its abundant natural resources but shortage of cash, is in a unique position today to offer what so many wealthy people in advanced countries desire – that reconnection with nature.

“In the African bush, far away from the surroundings you are accustomed to, you feel as though you have come home,” says Noel. “Some say it is because your spirit recognises the birthplace of its origin. Others say it is because of the silence, because of the overwhelming presence of the Creator. But nobody really knows.”

Many centuries ago the Latins described this mystique as mal D’Afrika, or the malady of Africa, with the French today referring to it as mal d’Afrique.

Former US President Theodore Roosevelt once said: “There are no words that can tell of the hidden spirit of the wilderness; that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.”

And Chief Seattle, a Native American, put it so eloquently in a speech back in 1854: “If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected. Every part of this earth is sacred to my people.”

Dawn on the Wild Coast and moments of peace before another busy day begins.Photograph: Geoff Dalglish

Whatever your explanation or understanding, the important thing is to get out there and experience Africa’s wild places yourself. But be warned: it will change you forever.