#Wild @ #heart.

An orange hue builds on dawn's horizon & commences battle with the reflection on the cool sands behind me. It's a warm glow; an elixir - another day. The promise holds the glint as I find myself contemplating life's finer things; a prioritized, orderly list of things - good things mostly. From this singing dune of sands is the quiet perspective we need to recharge, refocus and reassign the trivialities that are the humdrum of civilised life usually lost in modern convenience. Too many walk their chosen paths with their eyes wide shut. Finding this tonic of renewal is a transfusion of energy; a vitals-yoga and the key to immortality, not of body, always fleeting at best, but of spirit and character.

Travel-widely & you'll know that beauty is in the eye of the foot-soldier. You'll also know your own paradise. I find my own solace in places wild; the unspoiled, natural easels untarnished by the human brush. Quiet streams; a roaring sea or the echo-cliffs are a shared splash of energy & they're just perfect, of course. Even so, if more is in fact more, then even the streams, seas and cliffs are best super-sized from a point of elevation. Given that natural flight is a convenience denied to most, I find lift from atop the desert dunes or from the hallowed crags of the highest mountains or even in the boughs of the loftiest trees in our coastal forests. Yes I'm an air junkie - desperate for that precious spike of purity only height provides. From there a vantage / the box-seat and a fresh perspective. Down below the casual trials & tribulations that cling to the subconscious, are summarily reduced to the minutia of life's grand scheme.

One of many local points of elevation is found along the coastal dunes of South Africa's Elephant Coast. Boarded by the Indian Ocean on the North Eastern South African seaboard and by the inland coastal forests of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a world-heritage site, the Elephant Coast is undeniably South Africa's best-kept secret. Here solitude is measured in hundreds & by 100s I mean kilometers, not in cash or people.

From the highest dunes the sea seems unusually boisterous, ragged even. Waves find an auditory purchase, on an untamed shore, echoing in repeated loop, against the cliffs standing sentinel not too far behind. Sea-foam flings itself exhausted, spent & light-headed, on the aerated sand; too beaten to care much. What was once a frothy fervour is, at last, a listless, wind-driven drunken stagger. Out at the break cetaceans break the reverie; a shared joy in breached display perhaps? Coral, bleached in the tropical eons, peers shore-wards, sightless / lifeless - careless of the shipping lane & harbinger of life's splendour under waters hidden from casual observation. The imagination knows no limits...

Travel to & from St Lucia, iSimangaliso's only node of civilisation, is not much more than a short transfer north of Durban, Kwazulu Natal's capital city. Durban itself is an easy hour or two's flight from Johannesburg & Cape Town respectively. Travelers / life's-pilgrims are encouraged to wear sunscreen. This is tropical country and the African sun is merciless on the uninitiated. Visit the internationally acclaimed iSimangaliso Wetland Park and experience Africa unspoiled or dive to shallow reefs considered some of the best, anywhere. The warm Indian Ocean is a shore-swimmer's delight as is the 5-6 ft surf a surfer's dream. For the nature-enthusiast the beaches are home to many nesting turtles. These are protected lands and an unforgettable experience on its own. 5-star lodges ply the sustainable luxury trade; none better than Thonga Beach Lodge. A plethora of accommodation in St Lucia or in nearby Sodwana [rustic] caters for most pockets. Culture, good food and hospitable people make South Africa's Elephant Coast simply world-class. You'll find your feet and what else is more important?