When googling info on today's interviewee, I came across the following search result: "Galileo: Saint or Scientist?". The same could be asked of Galeo Saintz.
Many of us love our planet and talk about doing something to protect her. Galeo Saintz actually lives that out in a way few of us ever do.
10 questions for Galeo Saintz
"The one thing we can do is: change ourselves and the world will follow" ~Galeo Saintz
- What place (in SA) do you call home, and why?
The mountains, its where I spend most of my time, either rock climbing, hiking or walking. I always maintain home is where my books are, so in that case right now home is spread out amongst some amazing friends.
- Favourite place to have breakfast near(ish) where you live?
Beside a rock pool looking out into a mountain wilderness or in my hammock under a tree - often referred to as my 'Lounge'!
- You’re involved in a number of different projects and ventures, all with conservation at their core. What instilled a passion for protecting and caring for the earth, specifically South Africa, in you?
Being out in nature as a boy and then an adult, exposing myself to the wild within and the wild without resulted in what can be called a “deep experience” of the interconnectedness of all life. When I woke up as an adult and saw how we were destroying the systems that afford us that experience of interconnectivity, I was moved to do what I could. My favourite words as a guide in life are the those of the rouge writer Edward Abbey, who said: “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.”
"After 400km you discover all you want to do is keep walking... " ~Galeo Saintz
- Which of your projects are you most passionate about and do you put the most time and energy into, and why?
The projects that seem to have the strongest legs are ironically those projects that involve walking. So
Rim of Africa is my main focus right now, The
Eden to Addo Great Corridor Hike pays the bills and requires a lot of time. Most passionate project? It has to be my pet occupation of
trying to find a way to make conservation and finance and information science link together in a more effective manner. I guess that’s where my
PhD research is a reflection of my passion.
- Tell us a little about the Eden to Addo Walk (be as detailed as you like, mention the experiences of the walkers as well as the conservation aspects & goals)
This walk of
400km through five distinct biomes ( ecological speak for specific vegetation types), has got to be one of the more remarkable walks in the world. We start on the
Garden Route coast and meander through the forests of
Knysna where we still have
the last free-roaming un-fenced elephant in South Africa. From the forests we head into the mountains and cross into the Langkloof and Kouga Valley before traversing the entire length of the
Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve, side-stepping rhino and buffalo; the Baviaanskloof is a jewel and in my view one of
South Africa’s best kept secrets. The last third of the hike takes us into the Springbokvlakte, with its game and game farms, until we enter the gates of
Addo Elephant National Park and end on the banks of the Sunday’s River, keeping an eye out for the occasional hippo.
Most people who walk this route find themselves altered in some way. Life is just never really the same, after 400km you discover all you want to do is keep walking.
The
primary purpose of the hike is to raise funds for the
Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative – a Public Benefit and Conservation NGO, that is working to create meaningful conservation linkages between the three parks, Garden Route National Park, Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve and Addo Elephant National Park.
- What inspires you? (In your work, every day, in life)
Beauty inspires me. Paradox excites me. Getting things done at work makes me happy. And a small contemplative walk everyday is all that is needed to find peace. In life? In life what inspires is the blessing of the in-breath followed by the blessing and release of the out-breath – I figure nothing is permanent and change is the only truth.
"In life what inspires is the blessing of the in-breath followed by the blessing and release of the out-breath" ~Galeo Saintz
- You must have some great travelling tales to tell! Tell us, briefly, about your best (or one of your best) South African holiday or travelling experiences.
Wow, ok. I once took a journey with a friend through the back of the Tankwa Karoo on route to Sutherland. We had got lost and were running very low on petrol in an old short-wheelbase Landy. At some point after driving literally over mountains off-road and through a thousand farm gates with no farmsteads in sight, we came across a ‘Bushman” farmhand. He was just walking out in the open plain of scrub and stones. I stopped and went to ask for directions to the closest farmstead with petrol.
He stood so silently in front of me and held in his hands a large ostrich egg. As I approached he gave the egg to me, just passed it over, as if it were the most natural thing to do in all the world. No words. Then we spoke a moment in Afrikaans and he pointed us in some direction. I left carrying the gift he had put in my hands.
On returning to my friend in the Landy, she asked, What did he give you? I then realized I was still holding the egg. My friend insisted I go back and give him some money for it. So I took R20 and walked back to the man and put the money in his hands, no explanation. He accepted it as if it were the most natural thing to do in all the world. No words.
On returning to the vehicle, I realized the horror of what we had just done. He could not spend that money anywhere for perhaps hundreds of kilometers. We had literally stolen his dinner for the night. He had nothing with him, no bag, no ostriches in sight, who knows how far he had walked to find that egg or where his ‘home’ might be, the landscape was empty. So I decided to return the egg and leave him with the R20 as gift for his advice regarding the directions. But when I turned, he was gone, vanished into the dying light of day. That ostrich egg got us through the night and the following day. I still think about that man, walking far out in plains and into the end of the day.
- Who is / are your South African hero/es, and why?
The unsung heros: teachers, mothers and nurses.
The unseen amongst us: those who get up each day and try and make a difference by living their lives with integrity and right action.
The uncounted: those people who action change in their lives and the world, despite circumstance and fear they do it anyway.
- When travelling abroad, where do you like to go and what do you miss the most about SA?
I miss seeing the smiling faces of my African brothers and sisters when abroad. Where do I like to go? Honestly ? I like to stay here when I have the choice. The world is beneath my feet, no need to fly anywhere anymore. That said, there are still a lot of mountains out there I would like to climb or visit.
"The world is beneath my feet, no need to fly anywhere anymore" ~Galeo Saintz
- What one thing can anybody do today that will help make a difference in the future of our planet?
I wrote the following words in October while leading the
Rim of Africa walk in the Cederberg:
"We are so concerned with fixing the world, fighting for the environment, raising the kids and doing the right thing.
We forget, there is only one life we can really alter,
and through its altering
so change the world."
So, I guess, the one thing we can do is: change ourselves and the world will follow.
~~~~
Image credits: Pic 1: Joan Berning, Pic 2: Sally Flanagan, Pic 3: Anthony Gardy, Pic 4: Andre Britz, Pic 5: Joan Berning
Connect with Galeo
- Read about Galeo and all the projects and initiatives with which he is involved at www.galeosaintz.com
