Amphibious

Soul

Finding the Wild
in a Tame World

This original series of twenty-seven short films created over two and half decades highlight some of the most compelling moments in my book Amphibious Soul, from diving with crocodiles to meeting the San tracking masters of the Kalahari to learning the secrets of the animals of the Great African Seaforest.

Amphibious Soul is my wholehearted attempt to describe what it’s like to be inside the original womb of Mother Nature, and how to get in. There is no better feeling than to be in dialogue with the wild, to be able to speak the oldest language on earth.

Watching this short film series is a bit like tracking an animal. By themselves the films seem a random series of ideas, like a random set of unconnected footprints. When the book has been read, then the footprints can be joined, and the tracking story emerges.

When we can live like this, within the bounds of our original design, our entire human ecosystem sparks with joy and life. I hope these short films give you, the reader, a felt sense of our amphibious nature.

Introduction

IN SEARCH OF WILDNESS

“For much of my life I searched for wildness outside of myself.”

Page 1

Into the Dragon’s Lair

Our team diving with the species considered to be among the most dangerous on the planet, the Nile crocodile.

Chapter 1

Inheritance

“All things that molded me from childhood and young life—the people, animals and plants that define my dreams—are my inheritance”

Page 16

Isopod Intuition

As a young child I knew when the storms were coming, because the isopods told me through their mass migration to higher ground or even into our house.

Page 23

The Milkwood

The giant milkwood tree that leaned over our bungalow and eclipsed it in size held the artifacts I collected from the ocean and shore.

Page 30

Cosmic Africa

The jackal diviner predicts future events by observing tracks left by a jackal in the night.

Chapter 2

Cold Cure

“You can’t think of the cold; you just have to think of the gifts it brings you.”

Page 53

The Cold Cure

Days I got cold were good days.

Chapter 3

Track

“When I first returned to the Seaforest, it was like a deep immersion into pure sensation—I had to give myself fully to the elements, open myself up to the mysterious discoveries hiding under every rock.”

Page 83

The Great Dance

My brother and I learned from small San groups in the Central Kalahari who were still using the old tracking ways. They were the inspiration for our film The Great Dance.

Page 91

Curiosity Is the Key

Why would ostriches attempt such a journey?

Page 101

Establishing a Connection

He was tracking an animal that could leap ten feet into the air and catch a flying bird in its hooked claws.

Chapter 4

Love

“She was like a creature to me, a giant of many parts.”

Page 120

Hunter’s Heart

In Namibia with my brother we filmed the trance dance of the San, possibly the oldest known ceremony on Earth.

Page 136

Mother of Mothers

Big Mother is speaking my name.

Chapter 5

Ancestry

“It hit me like a tidal wave—five thousand generations of people had lived in this place.”

Page 144

Origins of Innovation

The world’s oldest time capsule. This place held the key to everything.

Chapter 6

Fear

“Fear is my savior and my teacher.”

Page 177

Africa’s Underwater Seaforest

A glimpse of magic.

Page 193

An Altered State

I was an animal whose natural habitat had been destroyed, and in its place was an artificial world built up to meet my every need and desire—and yet for all those comforts, I could not sleep.

Insert

Tracking journal

“This is a small glimpse of my tracking journal that comprises thousands of notes and pictures, my way of learning from wild creatures and getting inside nature.”

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Jellyfish Swarm

A huge mass of compass jellyfish enter the bay, and are attacked by many predators, but they have a fascinating way to survive.

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Patchwork Cuttlefish

The patchwork cuttlefish is the larger cousin of the tuberculate cuttlefish and lives in small caves in the sea forest for about half the year, mating and laying eggs in the shallows.

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Octopus Reflection

An octopus creates a cephalopod mandala and alters my mind.

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Baboons Underwater

Baboons feed in rock pools and sometimes even dive underwater.

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Octopus Thief

This special octopus stole my camera and filmed us.

Chapter 7

Connect

“All the animals of the Seaforest eat the wind.”

Page 212

Guardians of Breath

Sharks are the guardians of our seas—they regulate the ocean’s ecosystem and are fundamental to its health.

Chapter 8

Play

“The first encounter with the ocean is like a soul remembering its amphibious nature.”

Page 256

Ancestors

Our song-catching project found its voice when Ronan introduced me to the South African vocalist and songwriter Zolani Mahola.

Page 245

Cannon Rock

Awakening wonder.

Page 259

Seaforest Instrument Creation

Through the process of song catching we made musical instruments from kelp, whale ear bones and shark eggsthis is how it happened…

Conclusion

The Healing Wild

“It felt so good to be in a place so wild.”

Page 273

Near-Pristine Island

Re-woven into the wild fabric.

Page 277

Silver Tornado

Silver in the dark.

“What can each one of us do in our own small way to support biodiversity? What can each of us do to support the Mother of us all? She has fed us from the beginning; it’s not much to ask that we now support her. All of our lives depend on it.”

Learning the Wild Language

How to start your own tracking practice

“For most of human history, tracking was a primal language that all humans could speak. As natural as breathing or walking, tracking is how we survived. Every wild child knew how to track. Most of us have forgotten this language, but it’s one we can relearn.”

Page 288

Ropes to God

A wonder of biological splendor.

Page 294

Universal Tracking Language

I was able to apply the tracking protocols I developed in the Great African Seaforest to this totally different tropical ocean, and unlock the secret lives of eels and crabs.

Page 294

Tracking Dance

“Tracking is like talking with God,” the San tracker !Nqate Xqamxebe told me.

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