BEHIND THE SCENES

Hoedspruit local Grant Christie is a civil engineer turned hiking guide, who once walked from Alexander Bay to Kosi Bay and is passionate about sharing the wilderness with everyone, especially kids. Read about his big day out in the Blyde River Canyon on p 96.

You work with lots of school groups. Why is it important to expose kids to nature?

Thanks to technology and social media, humans are spending less and less time outdoors; we’re losing our connection with nature. This results in several developmental, cognitive and psychological problems. It also results in apathy towards wild spaces – natural resources are being plundered at rates never been seen before. If people never experience wilderness, it will never occur to them to try to protect it.

Best hiking experience?

Tough one! I’ve hiked the jungles of Vietnam and Thailand, the Himalayas, the Fish River Canyon… But if I had to choose just one stretch, it would be the Wild Coast, which I experienced during my 3 500 km expedition along the coast of South Africa. The scenery is great, the people are so friendly, and the energy of the place is just incredible. It’s definitely a stretch I would walk again.

Worst hiking experience? I’ve been lost in the dark and pelted by rain and hail; I’ve had scary lightning encounters and some falls; I’ve had to deal with injured hikers and nearly stepped on snakes. I’ve even been charged by an elephant! But the hardest three days I’ve ever experienced were on the section of coastline between Knysna and Plett during my coastal expedition. As beautiful as it is, it’s not friendly to walkers: The bush is impenetrable, the rocks are jagged, and the cliffs tumble into the ocean. Even if I had wanted to give up, no one would have been able to fetch me – not even with a helicopter. I just had to push on.

Why should readers go hike the Blyde River Canyon? If the canyon was in the USA, there would be queues of people waiting to get in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad there aren’t crowds of people, but that’s how spectacular it is. It deserves to be experienced. I’m mesmerised every time I go there.

What’s always in your backpack? The “boring” stuff (water, rain jacket, sun protection, basic first aid kit, snacks etc.) and a phone or camera. I never set off without something to take photos with.