Highlights of Chobe, Botswana

By Roxanne Reid
Chobe National Park in northern Botswana is famous for its large elephant population and its beautiful riverfront drive in the Serondela section. Although Chobe encompasses other ecosystems like the Savuti Marsh and Linyanti Swamps, I’ve concentrated here on the section from Ngoma Gate in the west, hugging the Chobe River to the Sedudu Gate near Kasane in the east. 

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​A winning view

​Ngoma Safari Lodge ​just outside Ngoma gate in the west of Chobe National Park has sweeping views over the river from decks on three levels. A baobab tree added an aura of mystery, and there was a waterhole where buffalo, giraffe and elephant could pay a visit. At night the tables were lit by baobab trees made from wire, with romantic fairy lights on them. Our first night we were lucky enough to have a small deck to ourselves for dinner, as if we were honeymooners.

Private pool deck

Our chalet at Ngoma Safari Lodge had tall windows and its own small pool and sun deck, so we didn’t have to give up the views over the river and the waterhole for even a moment. One afternoon a baboon troop came to visit, drinking from the pool and sitting on our low window ledge. Unlike in Cape Town where baboons are used to people and can be a pest, at Chobe they’re still wild and fun to watch. They were startled whenever they saw us trying to sneak a photo.

Small wonders

Chobe is often associated with huge elephant and buffalo herds, but it’s much more than that. We watched a redbilled hornbill feeding his mate and her chicks inside a hole in a dead tree. Ngoma Safari Lodge guide Bevan Machira explained how the female strips off all her feathers to make the nest inside the hole. The male busies himself with bringing mud to seal her in to keep her safe, leaving just a small slit through which he can feed her and the chicks. When the chicks are ready to fledge, he breaks through the mud and sets them free.

Wooden decks

Chobe Marina Lodge in the little town of Kasane is just a hop-skip-and-jump to the east of the Chobe National Park. It’s a big lodge, but its wooden decks overlook the river and its lush green gardens of candlepod acacia, leadwood and mopane make it an unexpectedly peaceful place to be. Décor touches include intricate carved front doors, ostrich-egg chandeliers and mokoros cut in half and used to display clay pots and wooden masks.

Sunset cruise with hippo

On a sunset boat cruise from Chobe Marina Lodge we saw lots of water birds, elephant and buffalo coming to the river to drink. With our guide Muguna Makala, we also came across a big breeding herd of hippos, which showed us their big mouths and teeth at close range.

Traditional dancing

The community-based Matsosa Ngwao song and dance group welcomed our boat trip back at Chobe Marina Lodge’s jetty after sunset. First-timers to Africa lapped up the energetic dancing, the strong rhythms and harmonies, as something foreign and strange. We loved it too, a chance to connect with the local culture of Botswana through song and dance. (The group also made an appearance at lunch one day at Chobe Game Lodge.)

Photo safari 

For something a little different from the usual game drives or sunset cruises along the Chobe River, we signed on early one morning for a three-hour hands-on photo course with Pangolin Photo Safaris. The Pangolin photo boats are super-stable, with swivel seats and custom-designed camera mounts, so there’s no excuse for missing a shot. Photographer-guide Guts Swanepoel was enthusiastic and inspiring, showing everyone special tips and tricks to tame his or her own camera and use it to its full potential. One or two people were using Pangolin’s cameras, lent for the occasion. We got close to breeding yellow-billed storks and jacanas, bee-eaters, fish eagles and various members of the kingfisher family. If you’re even vaguely keen on wildlife/bird photography, this should definitely be on your list of things to do at Chobe.

A night on the river

Fired up by what we’d learnt on the photo course, we boarded the Pangolin Voyager houseboat at lunchtime. It goes up and down the river all day, towing boats fitted with swivel seats and camera mounts, so we could venture out to get closer to birds and animals. Our eagle-eyed guide was tuned in to exactly what keen photographers were looking for. Or we could just sit on the houseboat’s top deck to enjoy the sunset or moonrise over the river that forms the boundary between Botswana and Namibia – truly a bucket-list experience.

Houseboat cabin

This was our cabin on the 10-berth Pangolin Voyager houseboat. The other cabins were taken by a group of eight who had booked the houseboat for five nights. Luckily, they were friendly and welcoming so we felt part of a Pangolin family rather than gate-crashing outsiders. While we chilled, talented chefs Melody Maiba and Sabrina Siboleka did everything from making bread and feather-light pastry to more-ish cheese muffins, roast lamb and fluffy omelettes in a tiny kitchen.

Something a little different

Chobe Game Lodge isn’t your typical African safari lodge. It was built in the 1970s by Southern Sun and is now part of Desert & Delta Safaris. It’s decorated in a Moorish style, with squishy sofas, patterned rugs and heavy wooden chests. It’s also the only lodge inside the Chobe National Park, so we didn’t need to stop our game viewing once the park gates closed; we could wander along the raised boardwalk to see hundreds of elephants drinking at sunset. Also different were the lodge’s team of 16 female guides and our game drive in a whisper-quiet electric safari vehicle.

Elephants and solar-powered boats

Our guide Gobe Motshidisi took us on a wonderfully quiet river cruise in Chobe Game Lodge’s electric boat, the roof of which was cleverly made of sun-catching solar panels. Being on the river is a totally different experience to a game drive on land, letting you get really close to elephants drinking, crocs and water monitors basking, hippos peering at you from the water, and a host of water birds like fish eagles and kingfishers.

Sunset over the river

Chobe may be chockfull of elephants, buffaloes and some 450 species of birds – we even saw a pride of lions – but perhaps the best sighting of all was sunset on the river from one of Chobe Game Lodge’s silent electric boats. Such moments are Prozac for the soul, a time to remember what’s really important.

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Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za

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