Over the River and Through the Woods… To the Indian Ocean, We Go!

(Please take note: this post is on the long side. But we’re okay with that because there’s no other way to tell this story; it’s just too good.)

This children’s song couldn’t be more fitting for the adventure we took about a month ago. A few weeks earlier, Michelle and I decided that we wanted to try to walk to the Indian Ocean from our house. When the locals go to the ocean, they spend about an hour in their 4X4 vehicle bouncing down the rutted roads. Although we could probably find someone to drive us there (PCVs are not allowed to operated motor vehicles while at site), we were excited for the opportunity to puzzle out our route and “hamba ngezinyawo” (go walking). We poured over the dinky map on Michelle’s cell phone and dreamed of the journey. We marked our calendars and were determined a day to go.

LEG 1: The Journey Begins…

Our hopes were slightly dampened when we woke to the sound of rain pitter-pattering on our tin roof.  However, I was feeling caged, and the thought of staying in all day was unappealing. I looked at Michelle and I said, “I don’t mind the rain. I just want to get out of the house.” Michelle smiled. With true Pacific-Northwesterner spirit, we quickly got ready, packed our day bags, and pulled up hoods of our rain jackets as we ventured outside.

We decided to retrace a route we took a few weeks prior that would get us to the edge of the third lake in the Kosi Lake system. We chose this route, despite it taking us a little bit out of the way, partially because it was a beautiful resting point and to see if we could remember it, but mostly because Michelle was nervous that we might not make it all the way to the ocean and wanted to take advantage of a guaranteed waterfront view. Although I did not share her concerns, I could see that it would make her smile and obliged the small detour.

Kosi Lake in the Distance

We were pleased to see that we could remember how to get to the lake, but we were surprised to find a few other people there (the last time we were there we had the lake to ourselves). We greeted the people in isiZulu and introduced ourselves. We learned that the people there were guides from a local tourist lodge who were waiting on a couple of clients. The head guide, George, asked what we were doing, so we told him about how we hoped to get to the ocean. He was shocked to hear that we planned to walk there because he said it was going to take a few hours. But he seemed more confident in our abilities (if not even more shocked) to hear that we had walked to the lake from our village, which took about 1.5 hours.

Before leaving them, we asked if he could give us directions from the lake to the ocean. We thought we had a good sense of where we were going, but we couldn’t miss this opportunity to gain better beta. He drew some rough directions in the dirt and gave us a few landmarks to follow. When Michelle and I left him waiting for his clients, he jokingly said he hoped to see us at the beach. As we left the lake, we came across one of George’s partners at the trailhead. He had just arrived with the clients. We exchanged greetings and introductions, and then we told him our plans. This guide was just as amazed as his partner had been. He double-checked to make sure we knew that this would be a long journey. After confirming that we prepared to walk for most of the day, the guide told us to wait for him at the trailhead. He said he would give us a ride in his safari vehicle to the South side of the lake after he dropped off the clients to help cut down on some of the walking.

Michelle and I were excited to receive his offer, so we sat waiting like little kids at Christmas for his return. When the guide got back, we climbed into the seats and we starting driving. It was a really cool experience to ride in the safari vehicle. It felt like you could see for miles! I had a huge smile on my face for the whole drive (about two kilometers); I couldn’t believe we were getting a ride like that.

The guide took us to a juncture in the road. He explained, “Take this road here and stay to the left. You will come to a river. Look for the raffia-branch ferry to pull yourselves across the river. Try to follow the edge of the lake on the other side and it will lead you to the ocean.” We thanked him for the ride and directions, and we continued on our way.

LEG 2: …Over the River…
We found the trail at the end of the road. The route to the river was pretty simple and direct. The river’s edge was marshy and lined with high, undisturbed grasses. It was clear that this was not where the ferry crossed. The guides had shared that the raft would be off the beaten path and used only by those who lived along the river’s edge, so we turned to the North and followed the smaller path upstream hoping to find the crossing. After a little while, the ground became more firm and defined. Finally, we found the raft.

The raft was a little longer than a queen-sized bed, but just as wide. It was attached to both ends of the shore by long ropes. To cross the river, we had to fetch the raft by pulling on the rope that stretches between our shore and the raft. Once the distance was closed, we stepped onto the raft and pulled a separate rope, which will brought us to the opposite shore.

The Rafia-Branch Ferry

There were some boys fishing on the other side of the river when we got there. A few of them were kind enough to pull the raft to our side and hand over the rope. Michelle and I boarded the raft, pulled on the rope, and crossed the river.

LEG 3: …And Through the Woods…
As we continued alongside the lake, we passed a herd of cows grazing near the water. Some of the cows were even out in the water (something new for me to see). Michelle asked the herders if we were heading in the right direction. Considering the language barrier, we took their nods at “ulwandle” (meaning ocean) and pointing to mean that we were going the right way.

After the lake, we wound our way through a wooded maze of trails and roadways. Michelle and I left markings in the sand whenever we came to a fork in the trail so that we would know how to find our way back. We could tell we were getting closer to the ocean because we started to feel a change in the temperature and, eventually, we could hear the sound of the water. We did feel discouraged a couple of times because we kept expecting to see the ocean after making a few turns, but it wasn’t there. With the little life left to the battery on Michelle’s phone (we didn’t have electricity the day before so she wasn’t able to charge it), we found our location on a map. The ocean was definitely within reach. Thankfully, we passed a couple of children who pointed us in the right direction and there were a few, sketchy signs that we didn’t expect to see that helped us.

We passed a campsite that we knew was near the ocean, because the guides had told us about it. This meant that we were nearly there. We walked a little farther; we could smell the salt of the sea now. Our excitement was growing.

The Thicket before the Ocean

We turned the corner, walked through some trees, and, through the thicket, we could see the blue of the ocean. Our pace quickened as we came out of the trees and could see the ocean stretched out into the horizon. We made it! After walking for 3.5 hours and traveling around 20 km, we had arrived at the Indian Ocean.

HALFWAY: The Indian Ocean!
It was beautiful. The waves were lapping on the shore. There were a few fishermen with lines in the water hoping to catch some kingfish. We walked along the shore mesmerized by the water and enjoying the breeze.

A Grand View of the Indian Ocean

Michelle and I ate our lunch; after walking so far, we were famished. Michelle was feeling a little anxious about the timing and was eager to get back on trail. However, she could tell that taking the time to enjoy the beach was important to me so we decided to sit a little longer to take in the moment.  We made ourselves comfortable in the sand, and I closed my eyes for a bit while I listened to the waves.

Waves Crashing Upon the Shore

I told Michelle that I wanted to stick my feet in the ocean before we left. We took off our boots and walked to the water’s edge. The water felt refreshingly cool. We walked parallel to the shore to the spot where we entered the beach, snapping pictures along the way. As we neared the entrance/exit, we saw a familiar face standing there – it was George, the guide that we met at Kosi Lake! He saw us walking up from the water and, with a huge smile on his face, he ran down to meet us halfway. He was amazed to see us because he was impressed that we made it. We tried to make him laugh by telling him it was because of his directions.

Michelle's and My Feet in the Ocean

George asked us how much longer we planned to stay on the beach. We told that we were on our way out now because we need to get back before dark. He told us that if we were willing to wait another hour he would give us a ride in his boat back across the lake because there were plenty of seats. Michelle and I couldn’t believe our ears. It was too good to be true. We happily accepted his offer. The guide told us that while we waited there were sea turtle nests we could view on the beach. (Note: sea turtles are one of Michelle’s favorite animals). He told us how to find the nests and he set us loose. We found a few nests along the beach, and we were careful not to disturb them.

Low Tide at the Ocean

Finding ourselves with some time to kill, we sat down in the sand watching the water. Before long, dozens of crabs starting poking their bodies out from beneath the sand. The crabs with their little fire red shells and claws cautiously cleared sand out of their homes. It seemed like a futile endeavor considering that their homes would be underwater when the tide came back in.

A Crab Poking Out Its Head from Beneath the Sand

LEG 5: The Journey Home
After an hour went by, Michelle and I, along with the guides and their clients, boarded the boat and headed back across the lake. Like when I was on the safari vehicle, I couldn’t help but smile as we sped over the water. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

We made it to the other side of the lake and docked the boat where we originally met the group. We helped the guides carry some of their equipment back to their truck. They all climbed into the truck, we said goodbye, and they drove off. Michelle and I laughed and reveled in the experience we had just had. After a couple of minutes, we started walking so we could get back home.

LEG 6: The Detour
Along the way, we saw a house in the distance that we recognized from a photo a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer had shown us. He told us it belonged to a friend he and his wife had made while they were in our shopping town. I saw that there was a truck parked outside the house and there were people sitting on the porch. Michelle said, “How funny would it be if those were our friends up there!” We hadn’t walked more than a few steps before, lo and behold, we heard the people from the porch yelling our names. We turned and looked in their direction and we were overjoyed to see our friends waving their arms.

We detoured from the trail and meandered up to the house. Our friends had huge smiles on their faces and gave us big hugs. We were all amazed to see each other. They introduced us to their friends who were quick to invite us to dinner. It felt great to sit on the porch, sip a nice beverage, and overlook the lake we had just came from. After the sun set, one of the new people we met told us to listen closely. As we listened, we could hear a deep noise that sounded like a low foghorn. She told us the sound was coming from hippos – so cool! It was too bad we couldn’t see them.

After finishing dinner and chatting some more, our new friends drove us back to our house. Michelle and I walked inside, looked at each, and simply said, “What a wonderful day.”

Post-Script
In reflecting on our journey to the ocean, a couple of lessons/reminders stand out. First, it was our trust in each other and listening to our needs that allowed this day to be truly magical. If I had not compromised with Michelle to stop in at Kosi Lake, we never would have met George and would probably have failed in our journey. If Michelle had not compromised on the time we would start walking home, we would have missed George again—and missed out on the sea turtle nests, the dancing of the crabs in the tide, and the generous ride across the lake. This was a nice reminder of how beautiful it can be when we slow down and listen to one another.

Michelle & Me Standing on the Shoreline

Secondly, seeing the ocean wasn’t the only amazing part to the experience, though; it was getting there and back that truly made the experience exceptional. It’s often said that the journey is more meaningful that the destination. In our experience, it couldn’t have been more true. A month ago, we made it happen. We walked to the ocean. And it was as breathtaking as we hoped it would be.