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“The Night of the Quelea...” Has kind of a ring to it, don’t you think? Like some bad B movie I saw as a kid in the late sixties. (Why do the late sixties seem like another epoch?) Well if this evening’s game drive were to be given any sort of moniker, “Night of the Quelea” would be it; and it’s a far, far cry from any second-rate film seen at some matinee on a summer afternoon when I was ten. Sometimes nature just opens up her arms and reveals something that is beyond imagining, letting you know that all your petty ambitions are of little consequence and most times just silly. Hey, don’t just take it from me, the Africa newbie; both Alwyn and Stanley said they’ve never seen anything like it either, and they do this for a living. Upon returning to camp this evening I made the comment to Nicky what a great writing exercise it would be to describe what we had just seen. Well, I’ve now set the stage and have no choice but to follow through with those words and embark on an exercise that will only prove my inadequacy in such regard. I persevere nonetheless (dragging you all along with me); but not before bringing us up to date on the last two days – a slight reprieve. The reward will be the Night of the Quelea. <br />
Jul 24, 2004 Khwai River - Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana
Tom Schueneman2006-03-27 15:39:27
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“The Night of the Quelea...” Has kind of a ring to it, don’t you think? Like some bad B movie I saw as a kid in the late sixties. (Why do the late sixties seem like another epoch?) Well if this evening’s game drive were to be given any sort of moniker, “Night of the Quelea” would be it; and it’s a far, far cry from any second-rate film seen at some matinee on a summer afternoon when I was ten. Sometimes nature just opens up her arms and reveals something that is beyond imagining, letting you know that all your petty ambitions are of little consequence and most times just silly. Hey, don’t just take it from me, the Africa newbie; both Alwyn and Stanley said they’ve never seen anything like it either, and they do this for a living. Upon returning to camp this evening I made the comment to Nicky what a great writing exercise it would be to describe what we had just seen. Well, I’ve now set the stage and have no choice but to follow through with those words and embark on an exercise that will only prove my inadequacy in such regard. I persevere nonetheless (dragging you all along with me); but not before bringing us up to date on the last two days – a slight reprieve. The reward will be the Night of the Quelea.
We left the Xugana Lodge yesterday morning, using two Cessna six-seaters to take us a short ride back down the delta near the north gate of the Moremi Game Reserve (our entry earlier this week was at the south gate). Not surprinsingly, I was quite full of my pilot-self as the two planes made their approach and landed on the soft grass strip. I was allowed to sit in the co-pilot seat, though I think it was out of a misguided feeling of security for some that were a bit apprehensive about flying in a light plane. No doubt a result of my bragging the previous night of my flight school days. Okay, I could have gotten the thing down in a pinch, but it wouldn’t have been pretty – it being a good six or seven years since I last landed
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