by Emma Buckardt, of SUNY ESF
This has been a week of travel. On Monday the 15th we had to say goodbye to our camp in the woods in NG18. We packed the cars in record time and were on the road back to Maun by 7:15 am sharp. Everyone was ready to be back in the city. The students were looking forward to having a pool to jump into when the heat of the afternoon sun overwhelms you. As we were traveling back to Island Safari Lodge, we had to turn around because Dix spotted a leopard sitting under a bush next to the main road. We sat and watched for a few minutes until it turned around and ran into the bush.
Male Leopard under scrub to escape the midday sun next to the main road to Maun. Photo by Emma Buckardt
The first place in Maun we stopped was the gas station, where everyone got something cold to drink. We had a busy 5 days back in Maun. We had class everyday and our first Grinnell Journal was due. We did manage to squeeze some fun into the days with afternoon swims and a birthday celebration for my 22nd birthday. After a stressful day for everyone finishing their Grinnell, it was time to party. I made stir-fry with peanut sauce and rice for dinner. For dessert Lauren made brownies in the cast iron pan over coals and we got a tub of ice cream. The brownies got a little burnt on the bottom, but we ate them anyways. This birthday will be one to remember because of good food, good people, and the wonderful place that I got spend my birthday in.
On Saturday, we packed and were off again, this time to Mababe and NG41. When we got to our camp we slowly set up because of the heat. Just as everyone was finishing setting up our camp and the Ians made their ranch – complete with Wyoming flag flying and front porch – a herd of elephants wandered near camp.
Ian Nadel on the left and Ian Nelson on the right in front of their newly made ranch. Photo by Ian Nelson.
There were many baby elephants in the herd all with super floppy trunks. As we watched, a Bull elephant started eating his way to our camp. He continued to wander towards us. When he was getting too close, a few of us had to slowly move to Lucy (one of our field vehicles). As we sat in the car for a few minutes, we continued watching him feed on the dead grass. The wind shifted and he got a big whiff of us, and something caught his eye, so he stumbled away. As the sun went down the herd came back, but a little further away. We could hear their rumbles throughout the night.
Dix watches a bull elephant leave our camp to join the rest of the herd. Photo by Ian Nelson
Sunday was the first day of transects in this new concession. While most people were out, Eli and I were struggling against the wind in everything we did. The stove kept going out and the tarp was flying all over the place. The wind was finally settling down in the afternoon, right as we started our project meeting. The meeting quickly stopped as we heard a pitter-patter on the tarp above. The first rain was here! We all started running to our tents to put rain flies on and close up windows so the rain doesn’t get in. After we all screamed for joy, we realized the car windows were down and the kitchen tent was open to the rain. After we double checked that everything was now rain proof, we started dancing in the pouring rain all over again.
The first rain is here and all we want to do is dance. Photo by Samara Müller.
We were all thrilled for the rain and thunder to help cool off today and the next few days. We have all been sweating buckets so it was finally nice to be soaking wet in the bush due to the rain.
That was not the end of it. As we were preparing for s’mores around the fire, the wind started to pick up again. Within about 5 minutes the winds became so strong that they were pushing tents over and things were flying. Samara gathered us up into the cars and as we waited for the wind to die down we watched the tents being blown in. Most were folded so all the stuff was in one corner and were not standing up straight. Time went by and the wind calmed slightly, so Eli and Samara went out and got each car s’mores stuff to eat to keep us busy while we waited. Eventually we were released to our tents to go to bed and help prevent the tents from blowing away. The storm persisted throughout the night alternating between high winds and downpours. We all made it through the night with just some wet stuff and a little less sleep than normal. This is an experience that I’m sure no one will forget. Thanks for the welcome NG41!