On the other side of the rusty gate, baboons roam along the dirt road, clearly unbothered by the four of us cyclists, Flo and me, accompanied by our guides, Max and Kenny from Horizon Mountain Biking. The gate swings open, and off we go into an unprecedented adventure. Mountain biking through the Mashatu Nature Reserve means sharing the trails with creatures, big, small, and ugly. Yet, as it turns out, the bush does not conform to the tidy expectations of a bucket list. It soon becomes clear that this experience is about something far greater than any checklist.
To truly understand our journey, it is essential to consider where we come from. Austria is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with a highly developed social system that effectively caters to most fundamental needs. However, there is something even more valuable, something that forms the very foundation of life and well-being on this planet, that Austria, and indeed much of Europe, largely lacks: vast, intact ecosystems. What we often regard as “nature”, basically cultivated fields and straightened rivers, stands in stark contrast to what we encounter at Mashatu.
