Book Excerpt: The Marginal Safari by Justin Fox

by Amanda on Jan 11th, 2012

Read an excerpt from Justin Fox‘s The Marginal Safari: Scouting the Edge of South Africa, in which Fox describes beginning his journey on a rather ominous note, having just learned that his father is ill. Despite the setback of this news, Fox says that the journey ahead is not just an “escape”, but a form of taking responsibility – “like getting married or buying a first home”.

Read the excerpt, courtesy Namibiana Buchdepot:

The foreshore traffic light is red. across the intersection stands the convention centre my father designed. Up the street is his office. Behind the convention centre an elevated freeway feeds out of the city. Beyond that lies the open road and my dream of travelling round the edge of the country Except my father is ill. And it weighs on me. I left my apartment beside the lighthouse a few minutes ago, turned onto Beach Road and drove past trawlers heading west into the murk. A 10000-kilometre, anticlockwise journey around my homeland lies in store. It’s chilly outside and a strong wind is blowing off the Atlantic, a good day to be leaving the Cape of Storms. Restless, anxious about an uneventful slide into my late thirties, hungry for adventure – or colourful change at least – I’ve been craving the road for some time. Cape Town, for me, has grown predictable. I, too, have grown predictable here. Although it is a kind of escape, this journey seems like a form of taking responsibility, like getting married or buying a first home.