Meditation on the sanctity of life beside a South African coastal waterfall

Today I want to show you some interesting angles of my hiking expedition along the south coast of Africa. I managed to climb up near to a little waterfall in this particular region of the coast called the Garden Route. The stream I found only flows when it rains enough and at present is down to a little trickle. Nevertheless, I wanted to capture the scene, so that I can compare it to other times when the rain is more pronounced and the flow of the waterfall more abundant.

Curiously it rains on and off throughout the year here at this central point along the southern coastline of the African continent. There are no specific rainy seasons as such because this region happens to be fed by two different sets of weather conditions that might bring rain. Not only does this Garden Route region receive winter rain clouds from the west, as cold fronts hit the Cape from the Atlantic Ocean and then continue towards us, but we also get summer fronts arriving from the north. These are from the more thunderous warmer summer rainfall regions so typical in Africa. We just happen to be in a sweet spot that catches the effects of both summer and winter rainfall zones.

That said, the overall average annual rainfall has fallen by about 25% over the past few decades as this region appears to be drying under the affects of changing climactic conditions. It used to be much wetter here in the past century, which fed the abundant forests that used to proliferate in this area. That’s why it became known as the Garden Route. With time the forests were chopped down for timber and are only a small fraction of what they used to be hundreds of years ago. I wonder if the reduced forest has resulted in less rain being attracted here?

Fortunately the rain still comes to these shores throughout the entire year, scattered over both summer and winter seasons. When it rains enough this little stream becomes a real torrent and this waterfall pours abundantly over the cliff edge. Currently it is reduced to just a trickle as we await the rain once more. Despite the wider rainy season, this is still a relatively drier region overall and so is home to many indigenous succulent types of plant species that act as ground cover and cling to the soil or rock rather than growing tall. These species altogether make up what is known as the “Fynbos Floral Kingdom” found here on the southern shores of Africa. The national flower is the Protea, one of the finer specimens of the Fynbos range.

Another curious feature which I encountered right beside the little waterfall today is one of the occasional fallen trees on these steep slopes. The soil covering is shallow and the hillside steep, yet trees continue to sprout and grow toward the sun over the years. With time, however, they become too heavy for the roots to hold them upright and they fall over. Being on a slope the treetop falls downward and yet the roots sometimes remain half connected to the soil and so the tree remains alive despite now lying on the slope facing the opposite direction to usual. It always fascinates me to see the tenacity of these fallen trees who cling to the precarious hillside and to live via just a fraction of the remaining roots.

These trees thus grow upside down, or so it seems. They then sprout branches that now grow upwards toward the sun from the original trunk. These branches seem to resume the normal character of the tree as they take over the role of reaching skyward. Nature really does soldier on despite the obstacles presented by circumstance. Life will continue to express itself wherever half a chance still remains on the earth. Much may be lost sometimes, yet the life that remains will simply carry on and resume its growth and restore the balance and abundance that once existed, according to the conditions that prevail. The fact that we have found no life on any of the other planets in our solar system, or even the conditions to host life, reminds us of how special our earth planet is and how rare and sacred life on earth appears to be.

We may take it for granted, yet when looking at the bigger picture, it seems that the chances of life manifesting are actually quite rare and the time taken to see it form and thrive appears vast, from our point of view. Of course if the universe has all the time – billions of years – the manifestation of life is fairly recent. Yet the conditions are indeed rare if we compare the amount of life present – just one planet – in relation to all that vast space that makes up our solar system and beyond. While sitting surrounded by nothing but nature in all its beauty here on this remote part of Africa’s southern shoreline, it’s a perfect place to contemplate the meaning and value of life and to perceive it in relation to the vast solar system that depends so vitally on the sun for that life to exist.

If humanity considered the rarity of life overall, despite being surrounded by it and thus somewhat complacent to its existence, we would probably respect it more and be reluctant to destroy it as we so easily do on all levels. We appear to have become over-familiar with life in all its forms, and thus take it cheaply. Life is, however, extremely rare in this entire solar system and, as yet, undiscovered outside of it. Remembering this we might do well to re-evaluate our habit of going to war or of removing vast swathes of indigenous forest all over the planet. The core principle of respect for life should be the essence of our existence as a civilized humanity. Let’s not wait until it is almost lost entirely to remember how rare a treasure it really is. Here on the Garden Route it’s still abundant, so come and visit if you get the chance.

(photos my own)

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