My Commute: The Sinuous Path to Success (Hogsback, SA)

Fuel prices are projected to fall below one pound a liter at the turn of the year, bringing much delight to those who battle the tarmac veins that keep this country functional. However, spending up to four hours a day in the car is time that can never be regained, which begs the question ‘is chronically glaring at a number plate through a demisted windscreen ‘really’ worth time spending?’

This gruelling journey is something we are all too familiar with, maybe even over familiar with. Even the charismatic Christopher Evans can go completely unnoticed as you dangerously daydream your thoughts back to a past holiday destination. But what if there was a commute so enlightening, diverse and unboring that spending precious time on its unspoiled voyage is worth every metaphorical penny.

Introducing the small town of Hogsback in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Lying 30km from Alice, the forest blanketed settlement inhabits a rich history of battle, traditional cultures of the Xhosa and all wrapped around the lush Amatola Forest where J. R. R. Tolkien was inspired to create the famous world of The Lord of The Rings. However, we start our journey from a small hostel positioned where a stone’s throw would not reach the rocky outcrop of The Hog’s mountains, but stumble gently towards the grassy Tyume Valley below.

Away With The Fairies is no usual hostel. Why would it be when on arrival you are welcomed by a Dorset accent more fitted to a combine harvester than hotelier work. Dan, an Englishman, is the owner of the hostel and greets us with a charm so British that you could have easily mistaken Hogsback for Hemel Hempstead, but to amplify the oddity further Dan shows us the open air bath overlooking the glorious Three Hogs Mountain. “I take it the bath is not functional?”, I ask confidently. “These pipes are not here for show you know”, Dan explains whilst following the pipes with his finger from the bath to the rusty barrel a few feet up. The barrel looks like something you’d find dumped near an Alaskan oil refinery, rusty, aged and scolding hot. The freshly cut wood burns fiercely underneath to give those wanting a steaming bathing experience in the hot South African February sun can do so.

I am at Hogsback with three other people, whose professional disciplines are that of teaching (all but me teach History). On our 24 hour adventure from West London to East London (think about it), we are trying to decide what to call this experience, since we are travelling to help run English language workshops to the primary school Xhosa speaking children of Tyume Valley. Holiday? Voyage? Jaunt? whatever it is we ended up calling it a trip. In 2012 the South African government passed a policy that put The Springbok’s national language as English, albeit the country having a disparity and variety of many traditional native languages, such as Afrikaans, Zulu and of course the clickety-clack of Xhosa. In turn this means that all teaching is to be conducting in English, which is a second language, at best, to most children, ultimately leading to poorer educational development due to that fact students cannot express their understanding due to a language barrier. The irony is that children can see Nelson Mandela’s university Port Hare in the distance, knowing that they will be unable to attend unless they can fluently converse and write in English. This is where we fit in and our weeklong ‘trip’ starts with our first commute.

It’s about 27 degrees centigrade; the wind is still enough to keep any towering tree motionless for the sun to reflect the green pigments of the Podocarpaceae leaves with intense sharpness. If silence had a sound, this would be it. Our commute starts with the stroll through a sleepy Hogsback, less we forget this is Monday morning and no one seems to be rushing to work along the one main road. After crossing friendly locals, we turn right down a footpath wide enough for two passing SmartCars. The trail is unfriendly to flip-flips and sandals but friendly on your optical senses. The gently flowing rivulets meander their way past our strolling feet as we take in the intense overwhelming growth of the diverse Amatola Forest, which conforms to the intimidating Middle Earth as well as personifies peace and freedom that suitably fits with the South African dream.

As we stroll the last and only incline towards the educational centre, called Hobbiton’s, the panoramic view that the Tyume Valley inhabits is breathtaking. As far as the eye can see are rolling rural green pastures dotted with satellite villages where the children visiting us this week reside. After wiping the sweat from our foreheads, we enter into the cooler canteen to not only investigate our classroom for the week, but to also shelter from the searing heat outside.

Primary schools in South Africa work differently in terms of ages. For examples, in Year 5 pupils can have the age ranges from 8-13. This is due to pupils starting school at different ages but entering school at the same starting year group. This leaves us with many English lesson planning difficulties since we are uncertain of the English speaking and writing level of the pupils. However, our professional experience has given us the gift of improvisation (or making it up as you go along), so I think we’ll be okay.

The arrival of all the children is something quite extraordinary. All lining up with an excitement for learning that a classroom in England should take notes from. Pupils enter the canteen and are seated. The buzz of excitement fills the warm air with each pupil fixing their eyes on either my colleagues or me. It must be very rare seeing a white skinned teacher who has a calm and welcoming aura but this is something to get used to! The activities set are ones that explore open tailed questions that require the formulation of an individual’s own thoughts and ideas, which is something that actually requires practice…from both sides of the desk. Most pupils in South Africa are use to being told by teachers what’s right and what’s wrong, so when asked to describe ‘what do you enjoy on your journey from school to home’ it becomes a daunting task where failure to answer it correctly could lead to a stern telling off! But as we know, there are no right of wrong answers here, but these questions did leave some pupils staring at you with either fear or little confidence to answer.

Throughout the day however, confidence, skill and enjoyment was all developed as pupils and staff learn in English and play in Xhosa and by the end of the day students are raring to learn and play again tomorrow (something every human should have a natural drive for, ‘work hard and play hard’ I think is the idiom). As the day draws to a close, we pack up our rucksacks ready for our commute back to the eccentric hostel looking over The Three Hogs. With East London being a mere 150 miles away, the poison of light pollution does not illuminate the nocturnal skies of Tyume Valley. So with our electric torches at hand we venture our way into the dark wilderness to retrace our steps back to sleepy Hogsback. I am made aware of the rich Amatola forest biodiversity through my heightened audible senses due to the eternal nighttime darkness, glossed over by incandescent moonshine shadows. The wildlife, which was invisible to the eye on our morning commute, really comes alive on our return voyage. The sound of distant cow moos mixed with the swinging of tree dwelling creatures are completely drowned out by the constant drone of the crickets. Nonetheless, they offer something I haven’t heard before so I myself am content. On arrival back at Away With the Fairies we dwell on a great days work conversing over a warm stone baked pizza piled with all the toppings in the world (including banana). But the dominant conversation was actually focused on this commute, which is what we were looking forward to most every sunrise this week…which got me thinking.

How can I revert back to my mundane M20 commute to Bexley, with the Radio 2 hum in the background whilst sitting at Aysleford waiting for the bumper to bumper conveyer belt of vehicles to crawl to my destination when I’ve been engrossed, captivated and in awe with the sinuous Hogsback to Hobbiton stroll for what will be a week? Well, no matter where you are and what your vocation may entail, whether your commute is from Brighton to Bournemouth or Huddersfield to Halifax, come rain or shine, steep or flat, just have the aspiration to make your commute well worth the journey.