Why Hike?

A question most people have grown to like is: “Why hike when I can just drive there?”

My Name is Ayandza Bongani Mohale. I happen to be a hiking guide based is Swaziland (in the Highveld). Whiles hiking I fell in love with one place, in particular, a nature reserve called Malolotja also based in Swaziland. This is the place that opened my eyes to the question I’ve heard from clients trying to escape the walk. I agree driving is easy but either way, there is a portion that must be walked. I personally believe that there is more to a place than just the final destination hence why they say “to travel is better than to arrive”. How else can you engage with a country, town or district without meeting the local people, animals, and vegetation? Now let’s walk through this together so you see why you should hike and not drive.

Exercise

When hiking you get the chance to exercise the whole body without the aid of a personal Trainor. Think about it one walk can work on your legs from toe to butt cheeks. It works on your upper body from waist to shoulders and of course your arms when using walking sticks.

Did you know that your neck also gets a piece of the action with every beautiful view screaming for your eye’s attention? Believe it or not it excesses your eyes because you keep pushing the limits of your site trying to make out or familiarize shapes and objects that most quench your desires.

Landscapes

In my experience walking gives you the chance to truly focus on that activity in progress. When last did you just walk with no destination but decided on one of the ways to nowhere? Try walking to irresistible mountains, going between and over rocks much bigger than you, crossing natural streams and going through different vegetation.

Wildlife

When you speak of wildlife people tent do think lions, tigers, snakes and all the big animals that are found in game reserves. Do you know how many types of species you can find of locusts, butterflies, spiders, ants, caterpillars and different flowers and plants? It’s not so important to know what all these are called but if you see it you are guaranteed to look at your surrounding in a different way compared to how you looked at it prior. Wildlife is anything not domesticated. You can also refer to it as a life form that depends on its survival instincts without the aid of a human.

No Vehicles

We humans have got into this habit of liking quick and easy tools to aid our daily activities. To be blunt we humans have grown to be lazy. One tool in particular that has spread the laziness is the Motor Vehicle (car). Think about it, if you walk for an accumulated one hour in 24 hours you are doing very little of what your body was generically built for.

Ok here is another thought a very simple one I might add. Walking is cheap and doesn’t pollute the environment we live in.

The 5 Senses

Did you know that it is possible to remember a place by scent? Or feeling the sense danger without seeing?

The world we live in speaks to us but we choose not to listen, we chose to take for granted what we look at and not really see it. We feel the warning signs of danger and the cry out for help but we ignore them. We choose to see no importance of life to anything none human. A lot of us don’t understand the importance of an ant, a thorny bush or even the breeze we feel on our skin.

If we always have a choice in life, why not choose to walk away from laziness. Walk without the aim of exercising. Walking slows down a lot of the things we take for granted and gives us the chance really see what we are looking at especially the nature surrounding us. I promise if you could walk at least a kilometer per day out of town and away from roads (if possible) your life will change for the better.