It is true that nature nurtures. In the company of the wind, sunlight or whatever elements of the natural world are present, I feel touched to my soul. Perhaps it is because ancient religion, during the time of Aztecs, Isis and Zeus, the sun was a god and nature was revered. Religions were based on the premise of people living off what nature provided. Centuries later nature has been bastardized, seen as the enemy and worse, as inferior to humans. We plunder and tear down wild areas leaving tree roots reaching for the sky in a mercy cry as they fall. So detached have we become from nature that the simplicity of hearing natural sounds becomes a moment of reverence. Hidden in everyone’s subconscious is appreciation yearning to return our ability to respect nature, perhaps not to the extent of religion but more so than presently.

Fortunately people are becoming more aware of the natural world and working to great lengths to protect what remains and more. Round River has taken this initiative and with organizations such as Save the Rhino Trust not only student but also general awareness increases. I am honored to know that I can, and possibly am, making a positive contribution to the natural world. Save the Rhino Trust could not have picked a better spot than Namibia. No place so remote and unspoiled by the human footprint exists but here in Namibia. The north east, where Palmwag concession is located, is so unique in geology, the animals and plants so adapted to their conditions of living in a semi arid portion of land that this setting can not be mimicked.

Having been in Namibia for a month I have had more moments of spiritual clarity and feelings of connectedness to nature than in an entire year. Sitting at the edge of a waterhole in Etosha opened my eyes to how removed I was from the Natural world. I realized how removed we are from natural time. Watching rhinos drinking at the waterhole felt like hours of idleness to me. So consumed by human induced restrictions that it was a strenuous physical effort to close my mouth open my eyes, ears and mind to experience the time nature intended. Eventually, maybe hours later, I was seized by the magnitude of how fortunate I was to be there witnessing that moment in the rhinos life, that moment in natural time. I had to grab my pen and relate that moment onto paper so that when reading those words I can recapture that emotion. 'In time not our own, but that outside of regulated time, silence resonates as time elapses in a realm that we have removed ourselves from. Once we were part of that pace, unchecked and without boundaries. Upon ourselves have we chosen to create chaos where we attempted to subdue it. We must accept; without substance we can not be harnessed but in the mind.' I was enlightened that night. I thought that my profound connection was over but Mother Nature and Namibia had other intentions to open doors for me to witness, no feel nature. Skeleton Coast is a spiritual place that has to be experienced to be understood. In a few words I will try and paint a picture; 'The rocks speak of past lava flows and centuries of abuse from the ocean waves. Ceaseless waves crash on the rocks bringing life to the tidal pools. The sound of water turning on itself in a crazed frenzy is never silenced for a heartbeat. Higher, louder, more, fill my starved senses emaciated by city life. Make my heart leap and my soul rejoice for the wonder that you are. My silent spirit now confused from such elevation is restless and craving more.

Time passes, wave after wave and slowly I return to my docile state. Temporarily abandoned by rationality my mind crawls back to the steady, rhythmic union of water and land. The breeze chills every patch of skin it touches. Salt flavors my lips the way tears never could. How I long to recapture that moment when my soul was touched by the beauty that is nature, by the love and respect of God's works. I am blessed to have had that instant, that heartbeat.

Nature can be appreciated from just being in a place, it does not always have to be active or a huge life altering experience. Just the song of birds, dewdrops glowing in the sunlight or rain beating a rhythm on your window. These moments can calm a person or the exact opposite, to revitalize and awaken dormant senses. True genuine appreciation is not unobtainable nor is it restricted. Countless people listen to the trumpeting of elephants, stare at the beautiful black and white mask of the oryx or giggle at the strangely graceful pronking of springbok. Countless people, but not enough. As an African I have seen and heard all this before but every time is just as exciting as the time before. My time in Namibia will forever find its way into my daily thoughts; the sunsets at Etosha of pink and purple viewed from a tower that was formerly a fort where our group was whole for the first time, watching everyone disperse to the beach and dunes of Skeleton Coast as soon as their tents were pitched, finding a haven that called them and sleeping to the steady pounding beat of waves crashing on the shore. Even sitting around a campfire just talking with the group made me feel part of something special. This wild natural country swallows you after tantalizing you with its simplicity and beauty. I belong here.

Nkabeng Maruping, Student, Fall 2004