Tuli Wilderness Tour

At the end of the second term, 14 students embarked on an unforgettable adventure to Botswana for the Tuli Wilderness Tour. This journey to one of Southern Africa's wildest regions has been a highlight for outdoor enthusiasts over the past few years. The area is unfenced, allowing the boys to share the space with a variety of wildlife. Elephants wandered through the camp, leopard tracks were found between the huts, and the experience of listening to the sounds of the night around a mopane wood campfire was truly remarkable.

The boys hiked up Eagles Rock, taking in views of the Motloutse River, enjoyed game drives in open vehicles, and immersed themselves in the raw beauty of the wilderness. The group was fortunate to witness incredible wildlife sightings, including five different leopards on a single game drive (two of which were cubs) and a dramatic encounter involving three lions fighting over a kill. They also observed black eagles dive-bombing a young female leopard to defend their nest, massive herds of elephants, and smaller creatures like bat-eared foxes and lilac-breasted rollers that made the trip even more memorable.

The group stayed at Mohave, Serolo, and Eagle’s Deck Camps, each offering a unique perspective of this distinctive landscape. Tuli is a land of contrasts, where the dry terrain is dotted with giant Mashatu (Nyala Berry) trees along the riverbeds. On one game drive, the group watched as a young elephant searched for seed pods in the crevices of one of these trees, bathed in soft, dappled light and dust, inspiring a poem:

Mashatu Tree
By Courtney Watson

Giants live here.
Their ancient footsteps
Have become welded to the ground:
Limbs growing roots;
Ancient wrinkles
Like cracked mud
Forming fat trunks
That reach for the sunlight.
Crooked elbows and arthritic fingers
Become branches
Laden with small elliptic leaves
And rich orange brown seeds.
The Giants have turned to statues,
And their canopy cloaks hold secrets.
Between their folds
Are streaks of yellow oriole,
Iridescent blue starlings
And heart-faced monkeys.
Deep within the shadows
Scops owls are still like bark
And bush shrikes tell ghost stories
To the wind.

Tuli is an incredible place, and it was Mr Hagspihl and my privilege to share this adventure with the boys.

#HappyFulfillment #One4AllAll4One #MakingAWorldOfDifference #PassionDriven #PurposeInspired #OneAndAll