Chobe National Park

This national park offers a very varied wildlife experience, as broadly speaking, it covers two very different districts. The north of the park lies on the southern banks of one of the River Zambezi’s biggest tributaries, the Chobe River, on the gently sloping savannah, covered by many large trees, that run down to its waters. The river also forms the border with Namibia’s Caprivi province. In this section of the park elephants are undoubtedly  the most dominant animal seen on a  safari, whether it takes place in a car or on a boat in the river, which is this area’s speciality.

Over half of Botswana’s impressive population of more than 100,000 elephants live in Chobe, which can clearly be seen on the effect they have on many of the trees as they hunt for fresh bark and leaves. Together with those in the surrounding area these animals represent Africa’s largest population of elephants -  in fact the biggest in the world. Usually it is possible to approach close to the elephants, both on land and from the water. Along, and in, the river you can also see many hippopotamus and some huge herds of buffalo, which sometimes can consist of more than 1,000 animals. These are the local lions main prey, but their hunts usually take place in the denser vegetation a little away from the river. You can also see many other large herbivores, including the greater kudu, roan antelope, sable antelope and impala.

The southern part of the park lies on the sandy soils around the Savute channel, which only carries water periodically, and the Savute marshes, which often dry out. Here the landscape is more open, and there are not quite so many elephants, however they are still plentiful enough for the local prides of lion to have specialised in hunting them, by separating them from their herd. In this area giraffes are common, and at times it is possible to see many zebras, which in these parts have shadow stripes running down the center of their white stripes. Leopards, spotted hyena and African wild dogs can be seen all over the park, but cheetahs usually stay on the flat savannah around Savute. Around the Chobe River and the wetter parts of Savute it is possible to see impressive numbers of water- and fish eating birds, while on the savannah you will see many vultures and eagles. The town of Kasane on the borders of Chobe in the north east or the Victoria Falls about 80 km to the east are usually the gateway to the park – or the end destination of your safari.

Highlights:

   •      Atmospheric cruises along the Chobe River - with masses of birds and big game

   •      Elephants, elephants, ….. : the continent’s, and thereby the world’s, biggest population!

   •      Savute-channel and Savute-marshes-  rich fauna with huge herds of animals

High season: July to October