After spending a week in Victoria Falls, Botswana was my next destination. As I mentioned, the falls are very close to the border with Botswana and I had already read about them in books. From Livingstone wanted to take a share to reach the border taxi but there was no one out there so I finally had to take a private one, but I went for a fairly reasonable price. Within an hour I was already there. In fact, Zambia and Botswana are played only a small dot on the map, known as Kazungula, next are Namibia and Zimbabwe. At this point, you have to cross the river with a small floating platform that continuously transports vehicles forth.

Before boarding, I asked a guy who was there what to do once he had crossed and he told me to ask another guy who was with a car to take me. At first, I did not feel it was a good idea to get in the car, but the guy was working for a car rental company and was returning the vehicle to the company after being left by the clients. It was nice and a great opportunity because I got a free ride, so I felt safe and we continued. I crossed on the ferry with the guy from the car and once on the other side went through the immigration offices of Botswana.

The truth is that I was lucky that this guy gave me a lift, there was no one and would have had to wait for a while. He left me in the town of Kasane, which is just a few kilometers from the border and is the main gateway to visiting Chobe National Park, one of the most famous in Botswana. The main problem with Kasane town is there is no cheap backpacker accommodation. But as I was with the tent could settle in any campground of any lodge. He planned to settle on one that had been seen in the directory but it was far from the center and the guy told me to go somewhere that was next to the supermarket and so could save on meals, it was good advice.

Chobe Safari Lodge – Botswana

I stayed at Chobe Safari Lodge, very large and quite luxurious, very different from other places I usually stay. But Botswana is a very popular country for luxury and organized safaris and is not intended for independent travelers. Luckily this lodge has a camping area and there planted my tent. It is also very popular among travelers for adventurous rides on 4×4 through southern Africa, so the camping areas are full of jeeps with rooftop tents. The issue is that people travel in these jeeps carrying things to cook and then be saved. But if you can not cook, as I do, or eat in the hotel restaurant which is quite expensive, or strips of food from the supermarket, the options are very limited. The lodge was fine but it was not at all my style, not lower mean age of 60 and most were with organized trips, such that they have absolutely everything programmed. I fully understand that there are people who prefer to travel this way, but I do not feel identified.

What I loved about the site is that it was surrounded by animals. His shop is a few meters from the river with beautiful views. Around the camping area, there were several signs indicating that it could find hippos and crocodiles. In addition, throughout the grounds of the lodge, there were many monkeys, wild boars, and some gazelle. I realized that in Botswana, you are really close to the animals, in fact, on the way to the lodge I had seen some elephants in the distance.

After planting the tent, I had a good time watching and photographing the monkeys around him. There were so many monkeys playing around and jumping through the trees, running and playing with each other. It’s amazing how much they resemble humans. These are already very used to seeing people so let’s get close enough to them.

Morning Game Drive in Chobe National Park

It’s also very funny to see mothers with babies. When are newborns do not leave them alone for a moment and if they walk they carry and hang them on the belly. There was a female with a dead baby who had not realized he was dead and it was awesome because it was carried from one place to another and caressed as if it were alive. I wondered at what point it stopped! Males have a super eggs gaudy blue, something rather curious. Then I went to the central area of the lodge, where the restaurant and pool with several tables around. Also, monkeys scamper around in search of food. The Liab was enough and broke more than a glass jumping between tables. We must be careful because as dawdle a moment you run out of food. At night we heard the sounds of hippos so strong that it seemed were next door but actually were in the river. In the morning when I got up there was a group of more than fifty baboons, another monkey a little bigger, jumping and playing around. It was great to sleep surrounded by many animals. It’s such a lifetime adventure experience in Africa.

The next day, I went to visit Chobe National Park organized by the lodge where I slept, and joined a route three-hour drive through the park. We left at 6 am because it makes less heat and is the best time to see the animals. We were 6 people in a group. We were in an open three rows of three seats each jeep. It is curious why in every country I made safaris have a different standard vehicle. In Kenya are minivans and jeeps in Tanzania with the roof closed rising, and in Botswana open jeeps. In Uganda, they use a 4×4 Land Cruiser Prado or hard top and all with an enclosed roof but with a pop-up for excellent game viewing and photographing. Everyone was in the same type of car. Within minutes of leaving the lodge and before passing the park gate we came across a family of elephants on the road. Once inside we circulating paths with very soft sand, sometimes we were gliding. We were quite a while circulating parallel to the Chobe River, which crosses the park and attracts all the animals that come to drink. We saw a couple of lions resting in the distance, several groups of buffalo, antelope, and some giraffes. The scenery was very nice.

Boat Cruise on Chobe River

That afternoon I did a safari boat cruise on the Chobe River, also organized by the lodge. It was a huge boat with about 50 people, too many for my taste. We were about three hours on the river slowly. We saw huge crocodiles, buffalo, and hippos. But the best was the elephants. There was a huge group on the riverbank and we could see them for a long time at close range. It was late afternoon and the light was beautiful.

The next day happens me the lodge, sunbathing and bathing in the pool. It was really hot, about 40 degrees, and it was quite stifling. The town of Kasane has almost nothing, in fact, I think it can not be considered a city. There is a gas station, a supermarket, and a restaurant, but nothing interesting to see. The next day as I went to northwestern Botswana to see the beautiful Okavango Delta, as I tell you in the next post.

Covering a combined area of 38,000 square kilometers (15,000 square miles) and largely found within the southern Kalahari Desert, Kalahari Gemsbok National Park was gazetted in 1931 to protect the migrating wildlife especially gemsbok from being poached while Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park was established in 2000.  This Protected Area is where the red dunes and scrub fade into infinity and herds of game, especially blue wildebeests, gemsbok, elands, and Springbok follow the seasons where camel thorn trees offer shade for the large black-maned lions and vantage points for the elusive leopards and numerous species of raptors.

• The weather at the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park

The general weather of the Kalahari desert sometimes reaches the extreme with January being mid-summer within Southern Africa and the daytime temperature rising to 40 Celsius Degrees whereas the winter nights are generally cold with temperatures dropping below freezing point with the extreme temperatures being -11 Celsius Degrees.

• Flora and Fauna of the National Park

The landscape of this vast National Park mainly consists of red dunes, occasional trees, and scattered vegetation as well as the dry riverbeds of the Auob and Nassob Rivers. These Rivers are believed to flow only once in a Century but waters also flow underneath thus providing life for camel thorn trees and green grasses thriving within the riverbeds.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park is endowed with rich and varied wildlife species including migratory herds of large herbivores and mammalian predators such as the blue wildebeests, South African lions, Elands, Red hartebeests, brown hyenas, Cheetahs, Springbok, leopards, and spotted hyenas among others. The majority of the animals gather within the dry river beds and water holes. Not only that, this Southern Africa National Park is a haven for more than 200 species of birds such as the secretary bird, vultures, buzzards,  eagles, and many others.

• Activities within Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park

Some of the interesting activities to be enjoyed by tourists who visit this National park include swimming, game drives, bird watching through some of the fantastic birding and scenic trails, nature walks, and hiking.

• Accommodation Facilities within Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park

There are only three fully-serviced Rest Camps with amenities such as swimming pools, shops, and air conditioning. The largest Rest Camp here is Twee Rivieren and features facilities such as an Information Center that is wheelchair friendly, a swimming pool, public telephone, a cell phone reception, and a shop as well as an a la carte restaurant that serves your meals from breakfast to dinner.

Additionally, there are also 6 wilderness Campsites within this remote National park and they offer comfortable accommodations and bathrooms but visitors are always advised to bring their own firewood, food, and drinking water during Camping.

If your idea of a perfect and unforgettable safari is to encounter a wide range of wildlife species in large numbers, then Botswana’s Chobe National Park is where you have to be during your African safari. Whether you enjoy camping under the stars, self-driving, or flying into the Luxury Lodge, this National Park can be enjoyed by everyone.

Chobe National Park is situated within the northern side of the country gazetted in 1967 and covers an area of 11,700 square kilometers (4500 square miles), making it Botswana’s first Park and third largest Park after Kalahari Game Reserve and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

Chobe National Park Tour

Comprising woodlands, swamps, and floodplains, this Protected Area is prominent for being one of the most biologically diverse places in Africa hosting the World’s largest herds of giant elephants (totaling over 50,000 elephants) as well as a full suite of predators, especially lions. Before the establishment of the National Park, the San Bushmen (also referred to as BaSarwa people) were the original inhabitants of the area and were nomadic-hunter-gatherers that always moved from one place to the other to find food, especially bush meat, fruits, and water and these days you will be able to see the San Paintings inside the rocky hills of the National Park.

This popular African National Park is divided into four regions/areas with each of them featuring a distinctive ecosystem they include the Savuti Marsh area extending for 10,878 square kilometers and comprises the western extension of the Park, Serondela area (also known as the Chobe riverfront) is found within the far north-eastern corner of the Park and is characterized by dense woodland, verdant floodplains, teak and other hardwoods that have however reduced due to high elephant population, the Linyanti March found within the northwestern corner of the Park, north of Savuti and contiguous to the Linyanti river and finally the hot and dry hinterland that lies between Savuti and Linyanti marshes and is mainly characterized by the Nogatsaa grass woodland.

Attractions within the National Park

River Chobe, one of Africa’s most spectacular River drains along the north-eastern border of the National Park making it the main watering spot during the dry season (July to September) as well as a large breeding spot for herds of elephants and families of giraffes, Cape buffaloes and Sable antelopes. The vast flood plains are the only spot within the country where herds of Puku antelopes can be spotted and when in flood, bird species such as ducks, spoonbills, species of storks, waterfowls, and Ibis usually flock to the area, thus making the Serondela area the most visited part of the Park but also because it is not far from the magnificent Victoria falls, one of the World most beautiful waterfalls.

The Savuti March area covered by rolling grasslands and vast savannahs offers shelter to African bush elephants, Zebras, warthogs, Rhinos, Impalas, kudus, and wildebeests during the dry season as well as South African cheetahs, hyenas, lions, zebras and hyenas in addition to the abundant bird species during the rainy seasons.

There are also large numbers of African wild dogs, crocodiles, leopards, herds of elephants, the rare red lechwe, African wild dogs, Hippos, Sitatunga, Roan antelopes, and Sable antelopes occur in the Linyanti Marsh, at the north-western corner of the National Park and north of Savuti adjacent to River Linyanti.

In the middle of Savuti and Linyanti marshes are where you will be able to spot antelopes such as elands and sitatungas. However, the three iconic areas for wildlife viewing in Chobe National Park are the remote and soulful Savuti, the Chobe Riverfront that supports Chobe’s highest concentration of wildlife, and the Okavango-like Linyanti Marshes with animals to rival anywhere.

With over 450 species of birds recorded within the Chobe National Park, you wouldn’t want to miss exploring this destination during your safari in Botswana. This Park offers interesting adventures including private river cruises, unforgettable bird watching, game drives, and perfect photographic opportunities.

Best Time to Visit Chobe National Park

The ideal time for exploring this part of Botswana is the dry season from July to September and December to February and is wonderful for game viewing around the waterholes and rivers. However, this is the busiest and most costly time to explore this destination but the rainy season from August to December is good for spotting the migratory bird species.