Times of the Islands Summer 2016

At press time (late May), Mario is in Mozambique,
which he describes as quite different to South Africa, “evident
as soon as you cross the border.” (You can follow
Mario’s journey through Mozambique in our Fall issue
where he expects to face two major concerns—contracting
malaria in the bush and running into rebel conflict
zones.)
Below, we glimpse Mario’s months of travel by foot
from Cape Point to the Mozambique border. It is surreal
even to Mario that he has just crossed an entire African
country by walking. This fantasy has already many participants—the
hundreds of people who have met him or
walked with him along the way.
Mario’s South Africa journey takes him through
the Western Cape; Cape Point mainly coastal to Cape
L’Agulhas (the southernmost point of South Africa). Then
the Eastern Cape begins, semi-arid in the west, rainforest
in the east. Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous
past Port Elizabeth and before Durban. What is called
the Wild Coast is a section within the Eastern Cape from
East London to the border of KwaZulu-Natal further north.
It is the traditional home of the Xhosa people, and the
birthplace of many prominent South Africans, including
Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki.
This South African journey brought more than hard
walks, river crossings and numb feet. The discrepancies
between rich and poor are great in South Africa, from
slums to mansions. One day in the Western Cape, Mario
describes meeting a man who asked in the deepest of
Nigerian accents, “Why are you camping out here?” After
Mario explained his mission, the man told him, “We must
pray, this is the best thing for the black people of Africa
I have ever seen.” They joined hands and made a prayer.
Mario writes, “I’m in South Africa and I’m a black
man. I’ve encountered the hard stares among ‘coloureds’
(mixed race) and ‘whites.’ It’s never bothered me because
I don’t see it as a mental problem of mine but theirs. They
are in constant guard, fear or hate. Some may be just
curious, so I don’t judge.” The war of apartheid, where
whites and blacks fought against each other in this country
was merely 20 years ago. Even today, having walked
nearly 500 km, Mario has hardly seen any black people
except for farm workers and other hard labourers. But no
one has been rude or disrespectful. He’s even had a Braai
dinner with a man who was in the war against the blacks.
The past is real but Mario’s journey points out what is
happening now.
Of course there are game reserves en route and the
Garden Route Game Reserve sponsored a tour of their
reserve, where Mario learnt a lot about the “Big Five,” the
most sought after trophy animals.
As amazing as Mario found these animals, his journey
was about more than being a touring visitor. Mario
had roads to conquer. He wrote about fear as he conquered
the N2 national road, probably one of the most
dangerous in the world. “Fear will give you a sensation
unlike any other—to feel alive. Conquering fear gives you
courage, courage gives you pride, and pride gives you a
sense of self and purpose.”
Safety was on Mario’s mind. “At every turn I was playing
Russian roulette with my life.” He walked on open
roads that span slums, cities, towns, and game reserves.
Some people along the route spread word of Mario so
that others could look out for him and he alerted the
police about his journey, ending up with an official letter
informing police patrol units of his expedition and allowing
him to cross through reserves with permission. The
letter came as a breakthrough at a time he’d spent days
struggling to deal with having his wallet stolen by kids.
But Mario says, “Getting to the southernmost tip of southern
Africa was completely worth it. The view, the smell
and sensation was incredible. A fellow German roommate
from that night’s hostel spent hours trekking the coast
and taking photos with me.”
16 www.timespub.tc