Home » Botswana » Jul 24, 2004 Khwai River - Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana Part 2 - Conclusion

Pardon me for the interruption. I had to step outside for a moment to “gather my thoughts”. It feels as if there is a little more activity in the bush tonight. I’m hearing a sound that I can only guess is the troop of baboons near Stanley; or what could it be? There is a bird very close to us, I think in the tree overhanging our tent. I can’t hope to recreate the song in words, but it has a kind of “wind-up and pitch” aspect to it (“there’s the wind-up and therrrrrrrrre’s the pitch!”), to use what from me is a quite rare sports analogy. Then another sound I’ve never heard before; and now the recognizable grunt of a hippo... every so often the distant calls of hyena. There is a strange energy in the atmosphere. Perhaps it can be explained scientifically – waxing moon and increased illumination, barometric pressure, dew point, humidity – but the air feels different.

Jul 24, 2004 Khwai River - Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana Part 2 - Conclusion

Tom Schueneman
2006-03-27 15:40:37

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Pardon me for the interruption. I had to step outside for a moment to “gather my thoughts”. It feels as if there is a little more activity in the bush tonight. I’m hearing a sound that I can only guess is the troop of baboons near Stanley; or what could it be? There is a bird very close to us, I think in the tree overhanging our tent. I can’t hope to recreate the song in words, but it has a kind of “wind-up and pitch” aspect to it (“there’s the wind-up and therrrrrrrrre’s the pitch!”), to use what from me is a quite rare sports analogy. Then another sound I’ve never heard before; and now the recognizable grunt of a hippo... every so often the distant calls of hyena. There is a strange energy in the atmosphere. Perhaps it can be explained scientifically – waxing moon and increased illumination, barometric pressure, dew point, humidity – but the air feels different.

After all, it is the Night of the Quelea.

The evening game drive started off like usual; it was Jayne, Dan, Scott, and I with Stanley. But it didn’t stay that usual for long. I was riding like the wind; poking my ponderous frame through the roof of the Land Cruiser as Stanley drove down the tree-lined bush track, my face to the warm afternoon sun. I had my bandana on. I was the master of all I surveyed. Tom of Botswana... Tom? Tom? Hello?
What can I say? The wind in your face and the African wilderness all around – the ultimate thrill ride.

It’s hard to tell that it’s happened when you’re on the kind of roads we travel. I didn’t have a clue until Stanley stopped and got out of the truck mentioning something about a “puncture”. He would have changed the tire all by himself (that’s the kind of guy Stanley is), but once Dan and Scott got wind of what was going on they miraculously appeared outside the truck begging to help Stanley change the tire. Not to be upstaged, I offered my assistance as well. No sooner did we get the ...