Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park is a 7,000-sq-mi/18,130-sq-km swamp-and-grasslands wilderness on the flood plains of the Chobe River. We rank it as one of the finest parks in Africa: Its programs offer enough structure to put a first-timer at ease, yet its backcountry areas will get even the most jaded traveler’s adrenaline pumping. Chobe Game Lodge reigns over the northwest area. Comfortable and tasteful – it’s where Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were remarried – Chobe’s stucco buildings offer 50 luxury rooms (semiprivate swimming pools are attached to the suites). The lodge offers morning and evening game rides, but its specialty is guided excursions on the river. During the evening Sundowner Cruise, guests board a double-decker river boat to have cocktails and to watch herds of elephants coming down to the river’s edge for a bath and a drink (nonalcoholic). The experience is fascinating, bordering on decadent.
The lodge also offers a boat excursion that is sheer excitement, bordering on terror. Guests are taken in a small speedboat to a calm part of the river, then the engine is cut. It doesn’t take passengers long to realize that they’re in the midst of slithering, hunting crocodiles and herds of restless hippos.
Chilwero Lodge, a resort on a hill offering spectacular views at sunset, is also deluxe but less formal. The latest luxury accommodation is Chobe Marina Lodge, whose thatched building enjoys extensive river frontage overlooking the Caprivi Strip and the national park. These lodges and other, less-expensive ones, offer their own game drives and river cruises.
No matter where you stay at Chobe, you’ll see plenty of elephants, Cape buffalo, hippos, warthogs, various antelope and a wide variety of birds (watch for the beautiful peach-colored carmine bee-eaters along the Chobe River). Spotting hyenas and lions takes a bit more luck, but you’re almost guaranteed a sighting in the Savuti Marsh area, on the park’s wild west end. The marsh has the highest predator density in southern Africa, and there’s a good chance you’ll see lions, cheetahs and leopards, as well as wild dogs, jackals and hyenas. The relatively short grass provides excellent photo opportunities. Migrating zebras pass through the marsh in one direction October-November (depending upon the rains) and return March-April. Accommodations are in tents set up in one of four camp areas. Gubatsaa Hills, another site within Chobe, contains prehistoric rock paintings. 400 mi/645 km north of Gaborone.
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The Linyanti
When the Okavango experiences exceptional flooding, the Selinda Spillway feeds water into the Linyanti River, linking the Chobe and the Okavango systems. In this time the flood plains around the Linyanti resemble those of the Okavango, with meandering waterways through papyrus beds and a maze of little islands. Wild date palms and tall riverine trees line the flow, which ultimately links up with the Chobe and then the Zambezi. Wildlife includes crocodile, hippo, and a host of fish species; wild dog, lion, elephant, lechwe, sable, impala and so on. There are over 300 species of birds in the area,
Hippo : Wildlife Southern Africa
Hippos are the most feared animals in southern Africa. Each year more people are killed by them than by all the other animals together.
Hippos weigh up to two tons and can be four metres long. Hippos are vegetarians and feed exclusively on grass.
Hippos watch strictly over their territories and threaten anybody invading it by what looks like yawning. If the invader does not withdraw, they usually attack without any further hesitation. Smaller boats are particularly at risk, because a rhino can easily topple it over, and as their front teeth are as sharp as razorblades,
Zimbabwe Travel Destination : Victoria Falls
The town of Victoria Falls (called Vic Falls locally) is a pleasant enough place, created especially for visitors. There are some hiking routes in the area, and bicycles can also be rented. Vic Falls has a number of trinket shops, selling everything from cheap T-shirts to antique African musical instruments. Carvings of wooden masks and animals are a long tradition around the area (as is the intense bargaining required to purchase them for a reasonable price). The Victoria Falls Hotel, a short walk from the falls, still operates in full colonial splendor and should
The Savuti
Regarded by many as the prime wildlife viewing area, Savuti is in the western section of the park, and is renowned for great concentrations of both elephants and lions. Wild dog, cheetah and leopard are also often sighted. Situated at the head of the Mababe Depression, once a great lake, and held in the arm of the Magwikhwe Sand Ridge, the Savuti Marsh is anything but wet. This is the culmination of the Savuti Channel, a spillway for overflow from the Linyanti and Chobe floodwaters and very occasionally the Okavango spills a little floodwater into the Channel. Flowing in
Botswana Travel information
When you travel to Botswana, make sure to visit destinations like the Kalahari desert and Chobe National Park. Whether you are looking for a Botswana safari or a Mokoro ride through the Okavango Delta, Botswana offers a wide range of adventure travel activities. But before you travel to Botswana, be sure to educate yourself on all that you can expect with this Botswana travel guide.
What you won't encounter in Botswana are large flocks of travelers. The high fees discourage large crowds and keep tourist density low and the sense of being surrounded by nature high. Botswana can afford
