It’s Not about the Destination, It’s about the Journey (especially when you get lost)

By Gwen (Neuroscience; Biochemistry, ’27)

An important life lesson was learned by the V-Hawks today: it is about the journey and not the destination. Today was the second day at Project Gateway. After spending three blissful and reflective days at Goedgedacht, it was time to transition to the long anticipated stay in the prison. The first day was spent getting a tour of the grounds, hearing about the history of the prison and then getting to spend time at the Christian school here. At the school we learned (well tried) to learn how to play netball. I had the privilege of being on the Year 6 team, named ‘the winners’. After playing for an hour, it was decided that we should come back on Monday to watch a game and learn how to play properly.

We all went to sleep anxiously awaiting the day ahead, which would be our first day outside the wall since being ‘locked up’ at the prison. The day was originally intended to entail a trek to a cave with rock art from early inhabitants. We started the (VERY BUMPY) journey estimated to be 1.5 hours long, which was where the initial suspicions should have been raised as this cave is 2.5 hours away. This cave is located in the middle section of a large national park, and we ended up arriving in the southern part of this national park. So, after a 1.5-hour drive, if we had wanted to go to the cave paintings, we would have had to backtrack and still drive at least another 2.5 hours long drive – an option that was neither well received nor practical. This seemed like an opportunity to appreciate the journey that we took to get to this location, get out, and walk around.

After discussing the options in this part, we learned there was a waterfall that was “close,” and we started our long trek of contemplation on this hike. There was a race going on, and we decided to ask for directions from one of the racers who were spread out along a 32km route in the Drakensberg. The woman asked “where are you going?” To which we replied “we don’t know”. This was our first mistake.

Our fearless leader had also never been to this area, and we decided to follow the directions on the rocks. The paths were clearly marked, so we walked. After walking for 1 hour (and only coming across a stream), we turned around and walked back to where we began. Turns out that at the very first fork in the road, we picked the wrong direction. Because of this, we set our goal on crossing the suspension bridge (rather than a the waterfall, which we learned was 8k away and up a steep path – cue memories of the “easy to moderate” Table Mountain hike from the first part of the trip.).

We finally reached the bridge (after asking for help from the sweepers cleaning up the race guidelines) and were able to see a beautiful mountain stream. We crossed the bridge (2 at a time) and then we continued down further where there were pools. At first, we were all sitting on the rocks and then our fearless leader struck again. Because this was not in the plans, no one had a swimsuit or a change of clothes. He decided to jump into this freezing water, and many of us followed like little ducklings. We swam around and froze a bit. Then we ultimately hiked back and headed to the van to begin our 1.5-hour trek back.

The day closed with an intense game of spoons involving 7 players.

After sitting and reflecting on the day, it turned out better than I could have imagined. It is a testament to the importance of wandering and finding your path in life. We were all together and had a wonderful day. The journey to get to the pools was the best part. A group of us were singing and talking as we walked along without a destination that we needed to reach and a time that we needed to be there by. Although seeing ancient cave paintings would have been cool, it was a day that will be remembered. The day that we went and hiked around the African bush without knowing where we were going.

Since being at Project Gateway, it has shown us how one can make something that was negative into a positive. This prison was home to many political prisoners from kings of tribes, to women and people of all different races. We saw where people were hung and where they were tortured for sticking up for what they believed in. Seeing this first has shown us how there is opportunity for beauty, not just in old buildings, but also in ourselves. This prison has been reborn into a place where there is hope for everyone. It is important to learn the history of this place and realize that this happened here. The same is true for us. We need to recognize our past and our own history to learn from it and then use it as a point to grow. How will you use your past to pave a better future for yourself and those around you?