At last!

With the move to lockdown Level 2 this week comes permission to travel anywhere throughout South Africa for leisure – and not a moment too soon.

For most people, travel is a nice-to-have, a luxury, a sometime thing when we have paid off or purchased a long list of seemingly more important things.

For some of us though, travel is one of life’s most integral necessities – a burning desire to move, see, learn, feel, absorb, experience and grow.

Whether to connect with loved ones or stimulate our senses, the freedom to move between areas is essential to our human nature, and it was the rudest shock of all to have it abruptly curtailed.

For four whole months that freedom has been restricted and without doubt, has deepened individual feelings of loneliness, despair and loss.

The antidote is simple, get moving again! Whether by car, bike, bus or boots, just go. There has never been a better time. There will never be a better time than right now.

Now that there is a reprieve (and who can say if it is temporary or permanent?), our freedom should be wholly embraced and never taken for granted.

Travel is not only for the rich, nor just the pleasure-seeker. Even the most budget-friendly excursion to a domestic destination will have a profound healing effect, both on one’s psyche and on our most fragile economy.

Each short or long adventure, every purchase of a local service or product, gently and incrementally gets the wheels of tourism moving again. Every single rand pumped into the tourism sector can help save a job or a life.

Travel can be done safely. Practising sensible social distancing isn’t about ‘not leaving your house’ – it’s about not mingling unnecessarily with other people.

And with common sense and mindful practices, that is absolutely possible, particularly in the rural and remote parts of our beautiful land where low density, open space and fresh air are in abundance.

Explore and discover
In fact, I am writing this column from just such a wild and distant place, full of new sounds, smells and visual delights.

For the past couple of weeks, together with a fellow nomad, I have been moving, exploring and discovering.

Empty back roads, craggy peaks, wide open plains, winding mountain passes, golden grasslands, bleak deserts, tempestuous oceans and fields of glorious flowers.

These awe-inspiring sights unfold daily as we wander. My body’s batteries are recharging, my creativity expanding, and our resources are being shared with those who need support.

We are living simply, treading lightly and helping those offering hospitality in far-flung places.

What my soul is getting back is immeasurable and priceless – peace of mind and a rejuvenated sense of why I love my country, and why every South African should make a great effort to connect with all corners of this most magnificent land we call home.

It is a down-to-earth connection with a gift far beyond the tangible. Travelling our country is the greatest win-win scenario and goodness knows, we all need that right now. Reconnect with loved ones and create memories and happiness that no disease can ever steal.

Do not waste one more precious moment of freedom waiting for ‘one day’. Now that we all know the feeling of dread that tomorrow may bring the unimaginable, saving our dreams and plans for ‘one day’ is too uncertain.
Today is that day. Just go.

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