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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The famous Planetwalker, Dr John Francis (77), passed through Mossel Bay this week as part of his walk from Cape Town to Cairo.
John is well known for not having spoken for 17 years, for his constant travels on foot and his environmental conservation efforts.
He wrote the book, Planetwalker: 22 Years of Walking. 17 Years of Silence. He didn't talk for 17 years, from his 27th birthday, because he found he argued his points on conservation too much and did not listen enough.
Oil slick
For 22 years he did not use motorised transport. It was his gentle protest after he witnessed the horrific destruction of an oil slick.
Mossel Bay local, retired teacher Derrick Hendricks, who walked a stretch of the way with John, said: "He is incredible. He doesn't talk much; he just listens. Meeting him in person, he is so much more than what you read about him."
Electric
Indeed, John's personality is electric and he brightened up a cloudy Mossel Bay with his big, dazzling smile.
He is extremely charismatic, without saying much, just making people feel extra special. He is super relaxed and humorous.
John said he was blown away by the St Blaize Trail and amazed at the diversity of the vegetation. "My goodness, it is awesome."
He visited South Africa last year and walked from Cape Point to Gordon's Bay, then arrived again last month, walking from Gordon's Bay to Mossel Bay.
John arrived in Mossel Bay on Monday, 12 February, and left for Great Brak the next day.
See a video here:
Plettenberg Bay
He is finishing his walk in Plettenberg Bay within the next few days.
Besides Derrick Hendricks, accompanying John for parts of his walk have been Mossel Bay locals, Lighthouse Pilgrimage of Hope walk coordinator Gerrie van Deventer; Mark Brettenny, involved in the GLOBE (www.globe.gov) programme and the @Peace Care Centre in Mossel Bay; and David Morimoto from Lesley University, Boston, who works on projects with John.
The Lighthouse Pilgrimage of Hope is from Mossel Bay's St Blaize Lighthouse to Agulhas.
GLOBE is collaborating with John's team to coordinate Planetwalk Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo.
John plans to return to SA soon and take up his walk again from Plettenberg Bay, northwards.
See a gallery here:
A resident of New Jersey in the United States, John points out that it is cold in New Jersey now, so hiking in the February heat in South Africa is an attraction.
"Also, it's easier for my family to let me go walking in the winter." He and his wife, a psychotherapist, have two boys, aged 17 and 23.
John told Mossel Bay Advertiser: "When I stopped riding in cars and speaking, people thought it was a sign that it was the end of the world. Some thought it was the Aquarian Age and some people thought I was crazy.
"I thought I would not speak for a year. I had to stop volunteering as a fireman. I walked across the US, played the banjo, went to college and got my undergraduate degree without speaking. I went to a boat building school, formed an NPO called Planetwalk and took off around the world. I hoped I could be a benefit to all of us. I did not know what that meant; I learnt along the way. I walked and sailed around the world.
Environmental studies
"I walked to Montana, got my masters degree in environmental studies, then walked to Madison, Wisconsin and got my PhD. I studied oil spills. I started speaking on the 20th anniversary of Earth Day. I had something to say about the environment.
"What I realised when I walked across America was that people are part of the environment and how we treat one another is really what manifests in the physical environment.
"If we harm one another, it comes back as environmental degradation. For me the environment became something more. It became civil rights, human rights, gender equality and economic equity.
'Kindness'
"The only reason I made it across South America and am now here in South Africa is because of human kindness.
"People were kind to me. Kindness is really important if we are to survive as a people."
Children
John has dedicated Planetwalk Africa to children everywhere, who stand to lose the most from climate change, and to "kindness".
John's project, Planetlines, offers an environmental curriculum programme for children. He told the Advertiser: "As we evolve and develop, we bump each other, we do things we might be sorry for. We must forgive ourselves and others, so we can go on.
"I will be performing and showing a documentary that has just started on the film festival circuit in the US. It will be shown on 5 March in Cape Town.
"I leave for home the next day.
"While in the US I hope to raise some awareness and funding from companies to sponsor me for the walk when I return to South Africa. We have to have a support vehicle."
After his stint of not using motorised transport, John started riding in cars again in 1995. Referring to not speaking, John says: "Every year on my birthday I would ask myself: 'Is this still appropriate?'"
'Amazing journey'
"I have had the most amazing journey in South Africa and I have been treated with the most utmost kindness and respect. I am almost speechless. All I can say is baie dankie.
"I was raised as a Christian. If people ask: 'What is your religion?' I say it's kindness and if anyone practises that, they are practising my religion.
"If someone said I would be silent for 17 years, I would have said: 'You've got to be kidding.”’
He notes that the Greek philosopher, Apollonius of Tyana, took a vow of silence for five years. John does not know of anyone else who kept silent for 17 years.
When asked why he walked, rather than cycled, John says: "Because that is what we do. We have two legs that attach us to the earth. Walking is like a prayer, a meditation, something sacred and something essential.
'Vulnerable'
"With walking, you become vulnerable; you are just with the people. Walking is a way of knowing."
John notes: "I met my wife soon after I started speaking. I started speaking in April and met her in October.
"My wife does not walk with me. When we were younger we would bike together and do normal trekking together."
While parenting, John went on short walks with friends and his students, rather than long excursions.
"In South Africa, I have been fortunate to walk with community leaders through the townships. It's been a wonderful experience. All South Africans have been kind and generous and hospitable.
With Planetwalk Africa, John intends to collect climate data.
He became the National Geographic Society’s first education fellow in 2010. In 1991, he was appointed the United Nations Environment Programme’s Goodwill Ambassador to the World’s Grassroots Communities.
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