We said goodbye to the departing cousins, leaving only Neil, Sara, Rob and I.  Then we said goodbye to Zimbabwe.  We said hello to a passing giraffe crossing the road as we entered Botswana. A sign of good things to come. 

We raced through Kasane to reach Pangolin Photo Safari’s where we would be taken on a photo cruise on the River Chobe. The boat was amazing. 4 of us had a swivelling chair so we could get a 360 view. We were lent a Canon 7D, placed on a Gimble tripod that could be altered in 5 different directions to catch the perfect shot. Our boat guide pointed out wildlife and told us about the animals behaviours, whilst the camera guide taught us the ideal way to adjust focus, exposure and zoom whilst encouraging us to snap the perfect shot.  

We got very up close and personal with a crocodile, catching arty shots of his skin and tail. 

We spotted a water monitor camouflaged on a rock.

We were excited to have a chance to shoot Sable kneeling for a drink at the waterside. 

An elephant was pulling up grass to eat. With each mouthful she slapped the water. We later learnt that elephants have 6 sets of teeth through their lifetime. When their teeth are ground down they will die of starvation, so this determines the life of the elephant. This method is employed by careful eaters, removing as much sand from the food to preserve the teeth.  We also learnt that each day they eat for 15-18 hours, consuming 300kg of greens and excreting 100kg! 

Further along the water, elephants bathed and played, appearing to be jumping on each other and splashing in jest. 

A few other incredible sightings.

Next we needed to restock and refuel for the next part of the adventure. We went to several supermarkets in Kasane, learning what a mismatch the availability of produce is.

We didn’t realise our next two nights would be such luxury, but we were staying at a lodge on the edge of Chobe National park. The national parks aren’t fenced so animals can move freely, and the surroundings of Umbrella Thorn Acacia trees drew in huge numbers of giraffe, their cheeky heads popping above the flat topped bushes. Giraffe markings do indicate their heritage, but the markings also darken with age. 

The lodge had a pool which needed to be entered by jumping as the contrast of the cold water was so great. It was fenced, but with a view out to a watering hole where visiting animals could be seen. 

Our day started early as we were collected for a morning safari by our guide, Tati. Tati became a firm favourite, always laughing. He took us in to Chobe National Park. 

We will be on our way in just five minutes of Africa time – Tati, Safari guide for Chobe 

The area is so sandy. This part of Botswana is part of the Kalahari Desert which covers 9 countries and stretches for 900,000km2, the biggest expanse of sand in the world. The northern part of Chobe is along the Chobe river where elephants and hippos are always spotted, as well as the more secretive animals which leave footprints in the sand.  

We came across a kill. Lions had taken down a buffalo a few days before. They had since moved on and it was the vultures turn to feast. It stunk! There are four types of Vulture in Botswana and they have different feeding habits. The lappet faced vulture can tear open animal hide with their large beaks. White backed vultures feed on the fleshy areas of the kill. White headed vultures prefer the remaining ligaments and bones. The hooded vultures are the last in as they specialise in the hard to reach joints and bone marrow. 

We heard of a pride of Lions nearby and followed to find them. The animals nearby were on high alert, with the giraffes all staring straight at them making it easy to locate them once we were nearby. Unfortunately this wasn’t our nicest sighting as there were too many safari vehicles competing for a space and it felt a bit too much for the animals. North Chobe was much busier than all the other parks we had been in. However it is always a pleasure to observe their magnificence. 

In the afternoon we had a local drive around the wildlife area.  We weaved through the local village, where the unfinished road diverted off onto the sand after a few hundred metres.  Some ladies were out for a Mother’s Day drive, all the passengers holding wine glasses. They merrily wished us all a happy Mother’s Day.

It’s worth mentioning the termite mounds. They are everywhere and their impeccable construction by their saliva, dug soil and excrement can make gigantic structures that last 150 years. Many times we have puzzled “termite mound or lion?” as they form such prominent shapes which distort across distances. They have their uses for bushman as they point North/northwest as the termites construct them on the cooler side of the mound. The queen can live for up to 50 years!

The next morning we departed the lodge to head to the south of Chobe, Savuti. This involved about 5 hours of driving, 3 of which were in deep sand. We lowered our tyre pressure and bounced along the tracks of vehicles who had gone before us, meaning that the car felt like it drove itself and you bounced along with it.  We barely saw another vehicle, which adds to the need to be self sufficient in every situation. 

We entered South Chobe which had a feel of being much less visited. Dung beetles rolled elephant dung across the sandy roads, which was my surprising highlight. They can move 50x their own body weight, and look cute doing it!

The elephants certainly behaved that way. All of the elephants we have encountered before have remained completely calm. In our 30km traverse of the park we had to back up from moody matriarch’s several times.  It was very scary as the slightest turn of their huge heads feels massive, the ears start flapping and they head towards you.  We reversed out of sight each time letting them pass, but the dense bushes didn’t give you much warning before encountering the next one.  We also had our first deep water crossing, with both cars losing their number plates. We were relieved to arrive.

When you’re on holiday, every hiccup is just an adventure- Chobe park warden 

At camp, dwarf mongoose scuttled around. They are adorable, although we feared for our engines as they disappeared under the cars looking cheeky.  The area around our camp was a totally different habitat – big plains with long straw coloured thatchers grass, and prominent hills. We searched high and low for camouflaged cats on our evening and morning drives and found some Lions resting in long grass. 

Other highlights were bird related. The little bee eater, palm nut vulture and Bataleur Eagle. 

We left the park out the south entrance, heading towards the Okavango Delta. For several hours on the seasonal Marsh road we navigated bumps and carved up tracks, not seeing much wildlife. As we had listened to Robs playlist on repeat many times we swapped to my downloaded songs which included a few surprising Christmas hits. Closer to Mabebe gate, we emergered from dense bush to flatter plains where watering holes attracted hoards of giraffe, zebra, Maribou stork, Kudu and warthog.