Chobe National Park

Elephants, predators and a beautiful river

Great wildlife can be viewed at Chobe. The highlight is the hundreds of elephants who don the landscape in huge herds. Also lots of predators including crocodile, lions, and the elusive leopard! we even spotted one in a tree as our guide parked the vehicle right under the tree. It was the most surreal moment of the safari. Some hairs do stand up on the back of your neck. The lodges there are right in the middle of it all blending in very well.

Just our luck that the setting sun was in the wrong angle ie animals between us and the sun and therefore were backlit. Despite this with more time we would have been rewarded like the other travellers we had met on route including some of our own group who had separated from us the previous day to start another tour and what they saw.

Chobe is to touch Africa with all your senses and leave with a place in your heart forever.

The colors and smells of Chobe touched me..all your senses are heightened. The smell of the African Sage, the hippos in the water, the colorful birdlife, the crocodiles and the large herds of elephants playing at the rivers edge. The people are simple and friendly and the camping is a lifetime experience. Wake to a sunrise over the African bush and to the animals venturing out for the day. A monkey swings above you, a hippo serenades you, a warthog rustles through the brush...this is Africa!

Thousands of animals in their natural habitat

Chobe National Park is breathtaking. I have visited other parks in Botswana and Southern Africa before, but I had never seen so many animals all together. During the day you can see hundreds of impalas, zebras, elephants and giraffes going to drink from the Chobe river. There's also plenty of warthogs, buffaloes, kudus and fish eagles. Even the big cats can be spotted if you have a little patience.
Roads are well marked and there are also some resting and pic-nic areas.
Unfortunately tourists are easy to find too: you will often find other jeeps on your trail.

After spending the majority of our time in Moremi, I think we were too spoilt. Chobe has the quintessential safari theme going with the lodges and endless landrovers parading through the park. I was somewhat dissipointed in seeing a single lion with a kill surrounded by 7 vehicles with people leaning out making lots of noise. It felt more like a theme park than a national park. But that is just my opinion. We did see wonderful wildlife and incredible birds. I would not Not go back there, but I don't think it would be my first choice.

Meeting the African wildlife

The wildlife was the best ever. We first went by boat and watched hippos and crocodiles and birds of all kinds. Great guides that spotted even the smallest animals in the national park and pointed them out for us eager photographers. The weather was great and we had a great dinner at the Chobe Safari Lodge. After that we entered the national park by truck and had a great guide there too. We met elephants, giraffes and lions and a whole variety of different animals.

We saw so many cool animals in our two day one night visit. We saw tons of elephants, Kudu, crocodiles, zebra, a honey-badger, nile monitor lizards, hippos, fish eagles, cormorants, lions, buffalos, giraffes, the list goes on. Chobe is amazing and you definitely shouldn't miss it.

Very popular with a wide variety due to abundance of water for Botswanna. Popularity makes for more congested camps without the seclusion of some of the other camps.

Excellent variety of game and bird species. Habitat is not very diverse. Very rustic camping sites.

The most accessible herds of elephants by the river.