This is not a race toward a destination. This is something else entirely. This is a practice in slowing down, in arriving fully where you are.

Driving through South Africa’s semi-arid heartland, the pace shifts naturally. The road invites reflection. The land does not scream for attention; it hums with it. Here, the act of travel can become mindful driving, a kind of rolling meditation rooted in the physical world. The feel of the steering wheel in your hands. The dry heat drifting through an open window. The silence between bursts of birdsong.

Mindfulness is often associated with stillness, but here, behind the wheel, it takes on a new form. You begin to notice how the road bends around a koppie outside Montagu, how the light changes near Barrydale in the late afternoon. You drive not to escape, but to see more clearly. Each kilometre becomes an invitation to be present, to meet the landscape with attention rather than distraction.

The R62 South Africa is more than a scenic alternative to the N2. It is a route shaped by story and silence. In Calitzdorp, grapevines tangle against old stone walls and farm stalls offer hanepoot under shady awnings. In Ladismith, the Swartberg rises like a memory of ancient upheaval. These are not just towns. They are pauses. They are reminders that haste is optional.

The practice of mindful driving also cultivates safety. When you are attentive to your surroundings, when your breathing slows and your shoulders drop, you are less likely to make impulsive decisions. You check mirrors more often. You respond, rather than react. There is room in the stillness for better judgement.

This kind of driving does not require silence in the car, though it welcomes it. It does not demand meditation music or incense. It only asks that you arrive, not only at your destination, but in the moment. Even the necessary routines of a road trip - the checking of maps, the stop for coffee, the refuel - can become part of the rhythm.

You begin to notice the lean of a windpomp, the colour of the dust kicked up by a passing truck, the exact moment when the dry landscape gives way to the greenery near Uniondale. These details root you in place. They remind you where you are, and more importantly, that you are truly there. Not lost in thought. Not already at your next stop. Here.