Chobe National Park

Excellent wildlife density

Chobe National Park is one of the great natural reserves of Africa. It is a rather arid environment kept alive by the Chobe River which helps to concentrate wildlife and permits excellent viewing of large and small animals. Elephants, buffalo, and antelope are common and often in large groups. The river attracts birds, hippo, crocodile and one of the best vantage points to view animals is by boat. Surrounding the river, vegetation can be dense and animal viewing must be from vehicles on defined roads which may limit visibility of animals but provides more privacy and less environmental impact. July is dry season, and probably the best time of year to visit Chobe because they must seek water from the river. I stayed in a tented camp hosted by And Beyond Chobe under Canvas which created an immersive experience with the land, and the sounds of yapping jackals, roaring lions, and other animals provided nighttime entertainment and wonder. Food was prepared by campfire and the roving camp was specifically designed to cause low environmental impact. Our guide and camp team were knowledgeable, friendly, and seemed genuinely concerned about our experience. Nights were cool and the days were warm to hot so preparation is needed. Choose is an excellent destination for photographers. Consider the animals may be farther away then some reserves and a long lens is advised. I primarily used a 100 to 400mm. Chobe can offer a wide variety of experiences; the best thing about safaris is that you never know what you will see, but almost certainly, the magical experience will never fade in your mind.

Beautiful park with lots of animals but crowded

Chobe is a beautiful park next to the river. I saw many animals including elephants, hippos, lions, anthelopes and birds. However, too many cars on the same route. We were like 8 cars chasing two lions and at one point the lion had to go around a car. I felt so bad that we were harrassing the lions...

Beautiful park with many scenic view next to the Chobe river. Great for animal watching.

Personally, I found the bush drives a little tame. The river cruises were better.

After Moremi and Savuti Chobe (east side) felt a bit like a zoo with More tourists than animals. Still lots to see especially elephants and baboons.

Chobe National Park, elephants EVERYWHERE!

I took a day trip to Chobe National Park as part of a vacation to Victoria Falls. My only regret is that I only had time to spend one day in this AMAZING park. Timing is everything and we were blessed with literally hundreds of elephants. From the river, we spent time with several families as they took turns rolling in the mud (to put on their "sunscreen"). We also saw several pairs of young male elephants trying to show off in the water. There were also several water buffalo, impalas, hippos, and birds. We had a delicious lunch and then went on a land game drive to the same area of the river. By early afternoon literally hundreds of elephants had arrived at the river. We had so many up close views of elephants and giraffes it was spell binding. We also saw impalas, gazelle deer, and some very busy dung beetles. Although we didn't see a huge variety of animals, it was more than made up for in the sheer volume. I can only imagine what life lives deeper in the park. Kudos to Botswana for their action against poachers and it's ability to maintain a high density of life! I would definitely travel to Botswana again, only I would stay for several days.

A fantastic day in Chobe national park and on the Cuando River

My wife and I booked a day trip from Victoria Falls to Chobe national park. The guide picked us up at the Botswana border and we spend the morning on a river safari at Cuando River. Beautiful view of the river and the landscape around, we get close to the animals like crocodiles, hippos and bathing elephants, and for a bird lover this was an excellent place to spend the morning. We saw kingfishers, egrets, bee-eaters (including the beautiful southern Carmine bee-eater), African Jacana, African Darter Southern red Bishop, African fish eagle and many many other birds.

After lunch we was driving into the Chobe national park and we get an opportunity to see the wildlife from another prospective than we did from the river. During this afternoon we see zebras, giraffes, antelopes, elephants, buffalos etc. etc. and late in the afternoon we was lucky to see a female lion passing a few meter from our car. The animals was relaxed and it was easy to get close to them to get a good view and good pictures. The birding in the park was fantastic with many different beautiful birds.

We was there in March and the weather was fine we just have a short rain shower in the afternoon. The guide was excellent with good knowledge of the park, animals and birds. This was a fantastic day and Chobe is one of my favourite national parks in Africa, and a visit to Victoria Falls are strongly recommended if you are in the area.

Elephants everywhere

With excellent access by both land and water, Chobe is probably the best location for elephant viewing in all of Africa. The ability to view game up close silently from a drifting boat is unmatched anywhere. Botswana is safe and well governed and has done a fantastic job of managing natural resources and controlling tourism pressure. Many popular parks in the rest of Africa feel like large zoos crowded with tourists. Chobe feels like the real bush.
We take groups there each winter with remsberg.com and teach photography workshops staying at the excellent Garden Lodge in Kasane. There is no better place to learn wildlife photography than Chobe and it is so close to Vic Falls that you end up with an amazing two for one experience.

A fantastic place, Chobe N.P.

Last July of 2018, during a trip to Africa, I had the opportunity to visit the Chobe National Park. This place seemed like a paradise for a traveler and photographer, the safaris are amazing and fascinating, with all kinds of animals and birds. It is an explosion of wildlife and nature.
Of the several National Parks that I visited on that trip, this and the Okavango Delta are the ones I liked the most. For a lover of animals and wildlife, it is essential to visit the Chobe National Park.

The garden eden in a role model country

Chobe is one of the top destinations for safari in Botswana. You have plenty of different wildlife species. I really enjoyed the enormous number of elephants and also the lion population. The accomodation are not cheap, but with the high rates Botswana als protects the area against mass tourism. Only around Kasane it is very busy.