let's go together...

Where the threads of adventure intertwine with the hues of introspection, my father's journey stands as a testament to the profound truth that life is a journey more than it’s a destination. Within the words and pictures of this remarkable feat that spans a significant section of the Southern African coastline, we might read along, see ourselves and dare to look within.

From treacherous river crossings to the forging of unlikely friendships with dubious locals, every encounter along the way serves as a reminder that the destination is merely a distant star on the horizon, a marker of progress rather than the ultimate goal. It is in the process itself, in the trials we face that life's magic and truth are uncovered - and recovered.

His journey has not been a direct one. Not chronologically, and certainly not emotionally, psychologically or mentally..... and yet, over time the dots on the map stand alone no longer. As we follow my father's footsteps, and listen to a sometimes chaotic and sometimes serene mind we get to hear something special... if we get quiet enough - it's there.

The many twists and turns slowly weave themselves together and we end with a tapestry far more royal than anything exchangable for coin. This overconfident traveler, assuming the role of a modern-day Odysseus, finds himself in more than a few unanticipated situations, at times lost and disconnected from the world beyond. At one point stuck beneath an endless thicket of thorny dune scrub, cramping what might well have become the last struggle. I remember this day well - I was in Joburg and spent that same day (and night) somehow convinced that a helicopter search effort might prove futile based on an almost inner certainty that my dad had become a leopard's nourishment. So disturbed was I at this time that I texted him something I assumed would never get read: "I wish you had the chance to meet the real God and not the one in your head! " I said. Looking back on it now - I didn't know the Divine and yet I presumed to know his name. What wretched unlearning must happen before we thirst again for Water.

But thankfully that dune cramp was not the last and the final spasm lies somewhere still ahead and the nourishment is yet mine - and perhaps ours. And somehow even these spots change. Somehow even these dots come together.

But within these moments of crisis, we discover the resilience of the human spirit. With each obstacle overcome, with each friendship forged, the protagonist of our tale evolves seemingly backwards.... from self-sufficient inner-importance to something far more precious - and still evolving.

As the chapters unfold, we are invited to reflect on our own lives, our own choices, and the paths we have taken. The narrative serves as a mirror, allowing us to confront our own fears, our own aspirations, and the legacy we wish to leave behind. Where we see afresh that which we have always been afraid to know. That the real currency of life is not achievement, importance, options, pleasure, money or power. Least of all is it sufficiency. Rather, it is the footprints we leave on the sands of time, the memories we create, and the hearts we touch along the way.

Let us walk alongside my father together, marveling at the wonders of the African coastline and determination of my dad to finish this walk. Let us be inspired by his unwavering purpose and reminded that life is a gift - we get to embrace it. Life’s substance is in the moments that we collect that one day become our memories, every misstep, every knot, and every tear tells a tale worth sharing.