Find yourself once more amid the wide open and remote space on Africa’s southern shore

What I love most about the distant shores of the south coast of Africa is the wide open space and the sense of freedom it gives me. Africa is a huge continent, almost the biggest after that mass in the north which makes up Russia and Asia combined. And the coastline is extensive. Add to that the exhilaratingly fine climate and you have a playground paradise for us freedom-loving travelers that compares to any of the finest places on the planet.

Way down south at this southernmost shoreline of the “dark continent” you will find that it’s free of those tropical diseases that you might find further north. At this latitude of 34 degrees south, the climate becomes so temperate that malaria etc, is non-existent. I like to call it the “Goldilocks zone” because it’s not too hot and not too cold. It’s just right. All year long you can enjoy outdoor hiking and adventuring without having to deal with scorching heat or freezing cold.

As you can see by my photos, it’s a rugged place, particularly this stretch of coast called the Garden Route. There are of course ecstatic snow white beaches nearby where surfers fly the waves but you will also find this kind of remote rocky shoreline that I fond so attractive and appealing as a hiker. And it’s so clean and free of any sort of pollution, particularly visual distractions or even any evidence of human life.

It is possible to feel like you have escaped the “madding crowd” as the famous nineteenth century novelist Thomas Hardy called it. I can walk for miles along this coast at certain stretches without seeing anyone or any structures. Because there’s no soft sandy beach in this particular stretch of coastline, people tend to ignore it and flock to the other side of the bay. That leaves me the whole place to myself, so to speak. Or that’s how it fells anyway.

It is possible to find your way down the steep cliffs to the shoreline below, and it provides excellent exercise and a medium degree of risk sometimes, so you can’t be too afraid of heights. Occasionally I come across a little fisherman’s path down to the shore. Otherwise I follow a dry river bed or simply make my own trail like an early pioneer mapping out the unknown continent. That’s the feeling one can tap into along this remote shoreline of South Africa, despite civilized life being just a few miles away. Once at the shore itself you can clamber across the rocks and boulders – there’s no white beach sand – until you come across numerous pools of sea life.

Even the ocean is mild in temperature. It’s not as warm as Thailand of course but it’s much warmer than the Atlantic ocean which is 500 kilometers to the west at Cape Town. One can feel safe and hidden here since no boats can land and very few people can access the steep cliffs without being quite fit and fearless. It allows me to roam along the shoreline freely and uninhibitedly which I fond really uplifting.

All you need is to immerse yourself in this kind of vast wide open space and fresh air that Africa’s southern shores provide, and you will forget that the planet is crowded with masses of inhabitants all spooked by some communicable virus. Here nature provides the clean fresh air that is our natural birthright on our blue – and sometimes green – planet.

So if you feel the need for some healthy outdoor adventuring, then this South African shoreline in what is called the “Garden Route” is the place for you. Come and find yourself again in nature’s playground where you can avoid the distractions of urban life and discover a sense of calm and peacefulness removed from all excess visible or invisible pollution of the airwaves. There is even a lack of mobile phone signal way down the cliffs at the shoreline, so you are free of their influence and can calm the mind in meditation for a while. I do it as often as possible so this remote and rocky stretch of shoreline has become my temple in nature.

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