The Great Orange River

The geography of the river is largely towering granite walls painted in red, oranges and blacks. The rock is folded and creased and cut sharply through the middle where the river has carved a path. Often in the morning and evening we were in the shadow of the mountains on either side of us.

It is hard for me to describe the feeling of being on the water in that place. In the early morning there are so many sensual experiences. The cold and wet grass tickling your feet. Drops of water falling off the paddle onto your bare legs as you pull your self through the water with smooth, even strokes, twisting your hand and shoulders to put the blade into the water. the sun burns the backs of your eyes as you watch a bird that is just a black shape against the light blue sky. In the evening the feelings are very different. Your body is exhausted and done. Your brain is on hold from feeling completely dominated by the environment around you. There is dirt everywhere but it is comforting and feels like it is keeping you warm. There are so many things that simply do not matter on the river and living becomes elemental. It is so physical all day that the physical becomes all you can focus on. Food, sleep, water are all your body needs. It leaves your mind and spirit completely empty and then fills it with the unforgettable scenery which becomes seared onto your pupils so that even when you close your eyes at night, in your sleeping bag, you see the silouette of the granite against the sky. And even in the night the physical environment cannot be ignored. It seems as though you must memorise every star and all the star dust and their place in the sky before you can sleep. It cannot be possible that anywhere else on the world is the sky as full as the earth.