experience
For many, travel is a quest for constant newness, driven by a desire to keep exploring different places. What many don’t realise is that travelling to the bush offers exactly this. A different place every time. Aside from change in season and the shifts in terrain that follow – creating whole new landscapes in themselves – each trip is an experience that reveals and offers something new. The things you seek evolve too, with time. Like many South Africans, I was raised with trips to the bush – a regular highlight punctuating everyday city life, the privilege of proximity to reserves allowing it to become a tradition instead of an exception. But rather than dilute
the enjoyment of being in the wilderness, each return trip deepened my love for it. It feels like home. The sound of birds. The undefinable sweet smell of a blend of different trees (it’s hard to put your finger on, but if you’ve smelt it, you know). These, and the irresistible pull towards a fire, will forever be the bush for me. As a child, the bush invoked awe. The promise of something exciting. Drives were spent with eyes peeled, learning the names of birds, trying to memorise them. The thrill of seeing animals infused with a respectful dose of fear, when appropriate. The triumph at spotting the faintest suggestion of a pair of ears above the golden grass.
Previous spread The light, smell, and sounds of the bush etch themselves in your memory. Right Intertwined with a sense of awe at every chapter, returning to the wilderness over the years will offer a new kind of magic each time.
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