Going on Safari in Chobe
Trip dates: March 26, 2017 - March 29, 2017
After seeing Victoria Falls, we were off to safari for the next 2 weeks! We made our way into Botswana from Zimbabwe by land transfer and it was all relatively easy, with a hand-off at the border to a second vehicle. Once in Botswana, we were going to be staying in three different lodges in three different areas. The first lodge was Chobe Elephant Camp, which is near Botswana's Chobe National Park. The area of Chobe is also known as the "land of the elephants" and has one of the highest elephant population on the continent. There's so many eles that I spotted one even before we got to our lodge! Our safari adventure was off to a great start already!
We weren't really sure what to expect of our accommodations on safari, since they're in more remote areas and we weren't super impressed with our hotel in Vic Falls. So we were very pleasantly surprised when we pulled up to Chobe Elephant Camp. The lodge was extremely clean, the setting was absolutely beautiful, and as we'd soon learn, the food was delicious! Eric was also delighted that our room had A/C, as it could get quite toasty out with the sun.
The peak season for going on safari in Botswana is July/August, with the shoulder season starting in April and ending September. Since we arrived at the end of March, it was still considered green season. This meant that we had the whole lodge to ourselves for one night before other guests arrived. It also meant that we'd be in a gaming vehicle by ourselves for most of the duration of our stay, aka private game drives - awesome!
After being introduced to the staff and having a delicious lunch, we had some time to explore the lodge and settle into our rooms before heading out for an afternoon game drive. Since we had the whole lodge to ourselves, we decided to scope out all the rooms (there are 10 rooms total) and ultimately decided that the one we were given (room #5) definitely had the best views. If you're looking for a smaller, more intimate lodge with friendly and exceptional staff in the Chobe area, we'd highly recommend Chobe Elephant Camp - and try to get a room towards the middle if you can; those have the least unobstructed views of the Chobe River and the plains around it. You'll be treated to the sounds of the baboons and other wildlife when you go to sleep no matter which room you're in though.
Around 4pm that afternoon, we headed back to the main area to get ready for our afternoon safari. But first, afternoon tea and snacks! Now, if you haven't been on safari before, then (like us) you don't realize how much you're going to be fed. Our schedule in Chobe was the following:
- Wake up at 530am
- Light breakfast snack at 6am and then head out for morning drive
- Coffee and snack break around 9am on the drive
- Lunch around 12pm
- Afternoon tea and snacks at 4pm before afternoon drive
- Sunset drinks and snacks around 530-6pm on the drive
- Dinner around 7pm
That means you're being fed 6 times a day every day, whew! Sure, some of those are just snacks but still, it's an eating safari. Make sure your tummy is prepared when you go!
Now on to the good stuff! This was Eric's first time going on safari, while I had done a day-trip safari to Pilanesberg park near Joburg previously. However, it was nothing like this and neither of us were prepared for how much wildlife we'd see. For one thing, my safari in Pilanesberg was in an enclosed vehicle. At Chobe (and the rest of our safari destinations), we were in an open jeep vehicle. And since it was green season, we saw very few other vehicles around and it was absolutely amazing being out there and seeing nature at work.
I know most folks go out on safari in search of the Big 5 and/or the cats (don't get me wrong, we're super excited when we had those sightings too) but I also enjoyed all the "non-exciting" wildlife we saw too. I could probably sit and observe the ever-present impalas for hours as well. Animal behavior is just absolutely fascinating and hmm, did I miss out on my life's calling as a wildlife researcher somehow?
And the sunsets! Oh my! You hear about how the African sunset is amazing and it's true, there is really just something magical and unique about seeing the sun setting in these areas with no buildings, no skyscrapers, no human impact around. Even the sunrises were beautiful. Ok, I'm ready to go back on safari now.
In addition to the game drives, we also had an afternoon river cruise on the Chobe River, which gave a different perspective to the park and also let us see some different wildlife (namely birds). The cruise was the last part of a full day spent out in the park so it was a relaxing ending to a long day and, needless to say, a nice nap time for Eric.
While the river cruise is generally less about the big mammals, we were lucky enough to witness several hippos and a huge amount of elephants playing in the river.
In our 3 night stay at Chobe Elephant Camp, we went on 5 game drives and the river cruise (included if you stay 2 nights or more) and we were fortunate to see SO much! In addition to the countless impala, giraffe and other game, we also had multiple sightings of three of the Big 5 (buffalo, elephant, lion, leopard, and rhino) - we couldn't spot the leopard and there aren't rhinos in Botswana (except for a little sanctuary island for them in the Okavango Delta). By the way, the Big 5 are called that not because they are the largest mammals (leopards are smaller than hippos, just saying) but because these animals were the most dangerous ones that were hunted, and sometimes the predator would become the prey!
Spring time in Chobe isn't the most ideal season for going on safari, since the grasses are really tall so animal spotting can be tough. But spring time also means that everything is so lush and green and contrasts beautifully against the clear blue skies and, when you do spot wildlife, you often spot them with young. And really, what animal babies aren't cute?
Surprisingly though, we didn't see any zebra in the park. The only zebra we saw were these guys on the main road outside the lodge. We would see them every evening as we returned to the lodge, although on our final morning, they were there to say their farewells. How'd they know we wouldn't be returning that evening?
Stay tuned for the first of a series of posts titled "Safari Tails", highlighting some of the more rare and exciting animal encounters that we had while on safari!
