Spending A Night In The Serengeti

I thought I knew what Nighttime sounded like. That is until I slept in a tent in the middle of Tanzania, and you guessed it… I was wrong.

June of 2022, I went on an adventure with my Business partner to Africa. This would be my second time in Africa, and I was excited. The first time I was able to visit Senegal, which is such a beautiful place as well. From the landscape, the people, and the food.

This opportunity, though, would come through a beautiful travel company called Talking Drums. The owner's name is Yaa, and she blessed us with a journey that we would hold near and dear for the rest of our lives.

Okay, like all normal adults, we had activities planned. We could opt out of anything we want. I am an experience guy, so as long as it's not too dangerous, I’m down. On the itinerary was sleeping in the Serengeti. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Rome, that's dangerous & you said as long as it's not too dangerous..” Yes, I know, but let me explain. You see, I knew it wouldn't be like a regular tent in the middle of the pit of dangerous animals. It was Glamping style, which includes a bed, shower, and toilet. The tent was military grade, okay? Now, let’s continue…

The whole day leading up to sleeping in the tent was amazing; it was the day we were adventuring through the Serengeti. I saw all of The animals I had been dying to see in person in the wild. The very first thing we saw was a live Cheetah chase, and it was intense. Loved it. Of course, we saw lions lounging around like they worked a 9-5 shift that day, elephants, hippos (I still don’t know how they move that fast with those short legs), leopard, giraffes, and plenty of zebras. It was a beautiful day, but it was day. In the back of my mind, I was a little nervous about what this would look like at nighttime, in a tent.

One beautiful moment we had, though, was when we stopped at a rest stop on the way to the tents. I wish I could explain it, but there was a point when before we were about to leave, all the other cars had left, so it was just us in the middle of this vast landscape, and it was SILENT. The silence was so heavy you could almost hear your heart beating. I had never experienced anything like that. The acoustics of nature out there was nothing short of incredible; I wanted to meditate for a moment, but that was interrupted when the truck started up and off we went.

We arrive at the Glamping site as the sun is starting to come down. There are rows of tents and the main building where dinner will be had. Everyone there was super nice; they welcomed us and gave us a tour of the place. Showed us where we would be staying and how to utilize everything. One of the main rules was if you had an emergency and needed to leave your tent, then you must use the flashlight to wave someone down to come get you and not go out walking when lights were out. Of course, because it was dark and probably because there are things out there that can eat you, yeah, I'm guessing that's why. We had a great dinner, then it was time for night-night. I get into my tent, zip everything up, and make sure it’s properly secured and shower before bed.

Now it’s probably around 10 or so at night, I expected to, of course, hear some sounds because it's nature. I had been camping before, but that was in North Carolina, which obviously does not have the same kinds of animals running around. As I snuggled into bed and turned the lights off, I thought to myself, “Damn, it’s super dark.” I mean, but what else did I expect? We had to be up at 5 in the morning because the next day was a hot air balloon, which I was super excited about, so I needed to go ahead and get some sleep. I did not get that sleep right away because it was at that moment I realized I have never heard nighttime like this. Remember, it's pitch black, and I'm in this tent in the middle of the Serengeti, and outside is a shit ton of nocturnal animals. It literally sounded like the night came alive. I'm hearing calls from animals that I have never heard before. I can't even describe it in writing, but it sounded like mini sirens going off. Then I'm hearing all kinds of creatures running full speed by my tent. Probably zebras and gazelle, running for their dear life as I contemplate mine. I wasn’t scared(Maybe a little), but I was just a little uncomfortable at this point just because I'm trying to sleep, but the way the mind works, nah, not right now until we get used to this.

Now, this is where years of watching Discovery Channel and Animal Planet come into play. Right by my tent, I heard what sounds like a howl/scream, and I knew EXACTLY what it was, a H

yena. I can hear the damn thing right by my tent just scratching by the ground. In my mind, I was like, “I've never thought about fully fist-fighting a hyena, but today may be the day.” I sat very still as it kept making the noise and scratching by my tent for the next five minutes. All the tents in this camp and you want to come over here? Why?! Then suddenly, it stopped. It went back to that silence that I heard earlier at the rest stop. It kind of felt like time stood still. All the nervous feelings I had slowly trickled away, and I was left in my bed with a sense of calm.

It all just made me realize that it’s just the nature of the outdoors. These things are regular in this environment, and I was uncomfortable in it because I never experienced it. The beauty of life is that it has its moments just like that, and sometimes you just have to wait for the moment to be over. Through the chaos of the moment, which is usually temporary, learn to get into that silent place to calm yourself. That night in the Serengeti taught me that metaphor for our everyday lives. It also taught me to keep watching Animal Planet, just in case I come across any more wild animals.

Until next week, Peace and blessings.