There I was, doing my humble best at 4x4-ing, and managing rather nicely, thank you, when there's this voice from the back: "Whoa ! Stop ! Stop !!"Turns out the man wanted to look at a bush. The berries on the bush, to be precise - tiny orange-red fruits which may hold the key to his survival. This sounded rather important. So we troop out - and the Kriedoring proceeds to repay our interest with the most vicious scratches & stabs I've ever experienced from any semi-desert shrub. The bright little fruits are exceedingly well protected among the thorns - but once we tasted that sweet & complex flavour, they became worth the bloody sacrifice.
Apparently highly nutritious, as are all karoo & desert fruits - and they may indeed be a life-saver for my new friend preparing for his solo canoe trip all along the mighty Orange, all the way to the ocean. He's going alone, unsupported, and unprovisioned. He will live off the land - he will literally survive on the fruits of the veld.
So the man says, Why don't you come along ? It's a big river and a big chunk of land - we can each still be solo-ing.
Oh how I wish I was bold enough, fit & strong enough & mad enough to say Yes. Imagine just being with that river, that landscape. Just being. No clutter. Letting the fruits of the veld sustain you.
Imagine being that strong. That free.
