Mystical Hogsback

If you are in the Eastern Cape area of South Africa – don’t miss Hogsback!!
This mystical place lies up in the Amathole mountains, and this is where Tolkien grew up and supposedly got his inspiration for “The Hobbit”.

The Hogs’ backs!

There are many local businesses, accommodations, hiking trails and other curiosities in Hogsback that are worth a visit! A business I found very appealing was Essential Amathole, which makes beautiful essential oils with local ingredients.

The most magical curiosity in Hogsback is undoubtly Diana Graham’s Ecoshrine. Situated on a beautiful outlook spot, Diana set up a number of touching murals, lovingly decorated with natural beauties.

The Ecoshrine

Through this shrine, Diana wants to enable the visitors to reach deeply into themselves and see their connection to nature, earth, and the universe. Through this, in my view, the Ecoshrine perfectly represents the missing link in our struggle to fight climate change and other human wrongs to nature: SPIRITUALITY.

In my own research on human-environment relationship this factor came up over and over again. What HAS to change in our relationship to Mama Earth is our spiritual connection to it. We ARE part of nature and we CANNOT survive without her. So we can keep on talking about behaving more climate friendly, but to REALLY get down to it, we have to understand the situation on an emotional level and we have to open our hearts and minds to our spiritual connection to the earth and nature. If we continue to try to dominate nature, it will eventually only mean our own end. The Earth will keep on spinning – whether with or without us.

I want to share with you Dianas Eco-Angel, that I found very touching.

The Eco-Angel

The description says: “An image of the Earth as seen from space has been moulded into a female form. She blossoms in spring. In this painting I explore the concept of “The Ecological Self” which reminds us that we are a physical part of the great ecosystem, Earth. From this viewpoint we realize that we belong to the Earth, rather than that the Earth belongs to us.”

If you can’t pay a visit yourself in Hogsback… Please see Diana’s website with the Ecoshrine murals fully pictured and explained. Otherwise check the website about opening hours and you’ll be likely to meet the artist herself in her beautiful studio and maybe be lucky to get a small tour through the Ecoshrine!

The artist in her studio

Another beautiful attraction in Hogsback is an eleven-circuit Labyrinth, which is similar to the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France. Walking this labyrinth in silence will center and calm you.

Labyrinth at The Hedge

If you are staying overnight in Hogsback and are interested in eco-friendly housing, you should not miss Terra Khaya! This backpackers consists of a number of houses build from recycled and local available materials, that are all unique and comforting.

Terra Khaya main house

Terra Khaya is completely off the grid by harvesting rain & spring water, using compost toilets, creating solar energy and using methods like the efficient rocket stove to heat up water for showering.

Terra Khaya is still expanding and aims to be fully self-sufficient, with a Permaculture garden already in place but under construction during my visit. What I found very cool was that at Terra Khaya, absolutely everything gets reused or recycled 🙂

recycling station

You can volunteer at Terra Khaya, or simply be a paying guest and fulljoy your time with the numerous interesting books in the library or during a horseback sunset ride… suitable for beginners!
If you wanna know more, check out this blog entry on Terra Khaya for a detailed story!

My first horseback ride!