South Africa in Winter. By Charlie
Dimech.
I was abandoned by the new government on a foreign shore, treading the wet sand, never to
see another fellow human being.
As I looked into the schlerophyll forest, the green belt encircling the beach I reflected that this was now
my home, if I survived .
Was this meant to be? I pondered.
Despite banishment, was this not liberty over enslavement?
That I was now free to be myself, to choose my own destiny within the limits of this place, of chance and
of my own efforts; that at least, was somewhat of an upgrade on my former existence under total state tyranical
control.
I felt a certainty inside that I would tame this wild place.
I would be tried, I knew, but I would survive.
I wouldn't be the first, I knew that also, but I had some pride. Despite the precariousness of
the situation, I aimed not just to survive, but to thrive.
Having stumbled from exhaustion, I rose on my feet again as another wave rolled over me. I felt a sense of
constancy from the incessant waves and strangely, this gave me, deep down, likewise a sense of security, as I knew that
although I could not change things, at the same time, I sensed things themselves would not change.
So I determined to adapt. The saying went, 'If you can't beat 'em join 'em.'
I was certainly about to do that, as I was in no position to argue with nature .
The channels cut in the sand by the tide on either side of me, seemed like a good place to start my search for food.
I walked to one looking for anything I could find - as long as I had something to put in my
mouth, that evening..
The various molluscs that I found and crabs were quite numerous!
Relieved that at least for now I would not starve, I had a raw treat, breaking open the shells with my knife, which
together with a dozen boxes of matches in a watertight bag were all that I posessed - apart from the clothes that I
was wearing. I treasured them now, my sole posessions, my sole source of distinction between myself and raw nature.
But all in all it made a difference. I saw markedly that there was a difference. I was after all a human being, which
raised me to a higher plane than the natural order and I did not have to descend to this purely natural plane to survive.
Indeed my survival depended on my maintaining my fully human functioning.
This I set out to do and in my mind I ordained it as the sole basis of my interaction with nature. I determined
from the start that I would not be an apeman.
The night was approaching, my first night on this deserted shore. It was preceded by a crimson sky which intensified
towards the western horizon as the sun set.
The brightness of sunset keeping aglow my will, my soul, like the red hot embers of a fire, long
after the flames had died down.
I placed all my cares in the hands of fate and tired from the days and months of ordeal and uncertainty culminating in
my complete abandonment and loss of 'civilization', I slept.
The weather was warm, the sea breeze gentle. I had a comfortable night and slept peacefully.
I was to need that sleep. The next day I awoke to the sound of branches crashing
as they broke and a shudder of earth. It came from somewhere far off to my left and within a moment I was running, fast
, to the farthest point of right my legs would carry me. I ran for about fifteen minutes before stopping from exhaustion.
I listened, all was quiet. I sat down under the protection of what looked like a large oak tree covered in a densley
foliated vine. It was like a room, or temple even, inside and I was comforted after the immediately preceeding ordeal
by the silence and the seclusion.
I was alone, all alone. An inexpressible, sad, sad conciousness of this fact dawned on me, as I sat there. There
was nothing to be done, but I knew that for the moment at least, I was safe.
I had to eat. I had to stay alive no matter what.
The time had come for the reckoning, and inwardly I knew I could withstand this lonliness, and would withstand
it for a long time to come
... but I had to eat.
There were natives, I believed, a long way from here, fifty, maybe a hundred miles inland, without any tracks that
I knew of. Did I prefer what I thought, their foreign culture to my own company? It was a decision I would make in time,
I guessed.
I decided this tree enclosure would make a good temporary home. I might not find another like it. It was superb in a
sense, and I gave thanks for it.
I believed I was dependant on the mercy of God, not only for sustenance, shelter, and freedom from harm in this frightening,
unknown land, but also for keeping me from despair, from panic and from barbarism. To this end, no day was to pass without
a prayer escaping my lips.
I remained there for from a half to an hour unable to move from either caution or fear.
Then I summoned up courage and left the enclosure.
I was in a thick wood and found my bearings only by the shafts of light which penetrated various sparser places
and visible through the woods. My first priority remained to eat. I made up my mind to face whatever it was out
there.
I found my way back, partly by instinct and also by the disturbance I had made to the surrounding bush and on the
ground, during my initial flight. Before I left I marked several trees with an arrow so that I could find my way back to the
'oak tree'.
I needed water. My plan was to get to the shore and walk along the coast about a hundred yards inland looking for
fresh water. I made my way quickly. The sound of the waves took me in a different direction to my initial flight as seen by
the disturbancees I had made. I marked the larger trunks with arrows pointing back from where I had come. I reached
the shore quickly and began walking southward just inland of the shoreline.
There was a mountain range off to my left. I headed for it with ernest. I arrived at the base after about an hour and
after a further half an hour I came across a stream. I gulped down about a litre of water as a few small fish scattered. I
saw a large crab which had stood motionless on the bottom. I grabbed it quickly and killed it by dashing it against
a rock. As I walked upstream I managed to catch two more and dispensed with them in the same manner. I cut away
the shell and ate the flesh raw.
I saw numerous fish and soon began searching out vines in the hope of intertwining them so as to prevent
the larger fish from escaping a makeshift trap.
This took up two days and at the end of the two days sleeping once again in the open, I had two nets which could be fastened
across the stream in two places 200 yards apart to prevent fish escaping.
This took up my third day, adding to the twine when necessitated by the depth of the water and the shape of the river.
It was fixed in place by sticks driven into the bottom of the stream and sides.
The sides of the net were strengthened with thicker twine I had found in the jungle and double strands when this was
insufficient. I then made a net about two feet square and three feet deep and attached to a stick about four feet in length.
Together with a third barricade midway between the two I managed to catch sufficient fish, and gained in confidence
that I would not starve. This panic behind me, I also lit a fire of dry twigs and leaves and cooked my catches.
I was now too far from my 'temporary home' , the 'oak tree' to warrant going back there each night and slept in
the warm, gentle breeze.
Instead of snakes which I feared, I was attacked by insects. Some, such as spiders instilled in me such a fear
that I could not 'enjoy' my surroundings once night fell, and it was without comfort of covering of any kind that
I had to bear up in misery each night between the few snatches of sleep that I was able to aquire on the nights
of that first week.
After that I built myself a makeshift platform in a sprawling tree out of branches tied together and
covered over with twine and I slept in relative peace of mind, without the insects that appeared to infest the ground,
but of course not entirely. There were still mosquitoes and other flying insects up here but thankfully no spiders and other
creeping insects which were about two to three inches long. They resembled the beatles, bugs and other creatures which were
measured in millimetres where I had come from rather than inches here.
After around another week it rained and I was forced to seek shelter greater than that afforded me by
the tree I was sleeping in. I found it in a tree covered so thickly in vines, not unlike the "oak" I had previously discovered,
that little water penetrated through.
There was nothing to stop me getting wet once I ventured out to get food and there was no way I could get
dry easily and this made life a little more miserable.
It was some time before I ventured far enough and found edible fruit and berry bearing trees.
Some almost cost me my life.
