Wind impairs the sense of hearing, and can make animals subject to predation a bit edgy. Not really anything to worry about, unless you are tracking black rhino in a sicklebush thicket.

I often hear "too much wind" as an excuse for poor game viewing, both on foot and by vehicle. There is a bit of truth in this, but not much. It is of course convenient to blame the weather, I have heard every conceivable weather condition being blamed, with the sole exception of excessive snowfall.

A sure sign of this is when your guide develops a sudden and inexplicable cough, or an equally surprising need to clear his throat repeatedly.

Was your camp in Botswana in a national park, or in a concession area? Firearms are not allowed in the former, which means that guides there don't carry them. I actually prefer that. If you don't carry a firearm you can't possibly shoot any animal. The lack of a firearm also instills a modicum of caution. I've had guides in Botswana armed with a stick and an axe respectively. Not sure how much use they would have been. Especially the guy with the axe, who stood on a small rise whilst we were swimming in the Delta, on the lookout for hungry crocodiles.

Johan