Our first three hour drive in the Chobe National Park really got the safari juices flowing! We were thrilled and awe-struck by the hundreds of elephants migrating to the shores of the Chobe River as the sun was setting. Chobe National Park with its 65,000 elephant population claims to be the largest concentration of elephants on the planet. With so many elephants, the vegetation which was known just 12 years ago for its lushness is becoming very scarce in spots. Bare trees are everywhere. The elephants are almost hypnotic - magnificent animals to watch and photograph. We took about as many photos as there were elephants! Our open 4X4 was a great vehicle for maneuvering in the deep sands along the Chobe River.
About an hour and a half into the drive, there was great buzz on the walkie-talkie which all guides use to communicate with other drivers about animal sightings. In no time, we were fish-tailing through the sands to reach two magnificent lionesses who had just killed a cape buffalo that was lying on the sand while they kept guard exhausted from the kill. It was a sight we enjoyed with numerous other 4X4s for almost an hour. We're getting spoiled seeing some of the "big five" so early!
The variety of wildlife in Chobe is plentiful - giraffe, impala(referred to as the McDonalds of the jungle because of the "m" on their rear-ends), kudu, cape buffalo, hippos, warthog, baboon, zebra and birds galore. We had great sightings of the liliac breasted roller (national bird of Botswana, yellow-billed storks, starlings, vultures, African Skimmer and a whole lot more. Our first safari drive was a wildlife orgy and certainly set the bar high for the drives and boat excursions to follow.
Upon returning to the lodge, we enjoyed wonderful native entertainment by the bar and then went to the upstairs alfresco dining room overlooking the river for another stupendous dinner - curried Chobe fish preceded by chicken liver salad and two bottles of Pinot Noir from Franschhoek. At dinner, we were joined by a wonderful gentleman named Fanie from South Africa who was on his way to Zambia where his paving company is doing extensive road work. We hit the sack at 10:30pm as we had an early rise for our 6am drive. What a dizzying day!
About an hour and a half into the drive, there was great buzz on the walkie-talkie which all guides use to communicate with other drivers about animal sightings. In no time, we were fish-tailing through the sands to reach two magnificent lionesses who had just killed a cape buffalo that was lying on the sand while they kept guard exhausted from the kill. It was a sight we enjoyed with numerous other 4X4s for almost an hour. We're getting spoiled seeing some of the "big five" so early!
The variety of wildlife in Chobe is plentiful - giraffe, impala(referred to as the McDonalds of the jungle because of the "m" on their rear-ends), kudu, cape buffalo, hippos, warthog, baboon, zebra and birds galore. We had great sightings of the liliac breasted roller (national bird of Botswana, yellow-billed storks, starlings, vultures, African Skimmer and a whole lot more. Our first safari drive was a wildlife orgy and certainly set the bar high for the drives and boat excursions to follow.
Upon returning to the lodge, we enjoyed wonderful native entertainment by the bar and then went to the upstairs alfresco dining room overlooking the river for another stupendous dinner - curried Chobe fish preceded by chicken liver salad and two bottles of Pinot Noir from Franschhoek. At dinner, we were joined by a wonderful gentleman named Fanie from South Africa who was on his way to Zambia where his paving company is doing extensive road work. We hit the sack at 10:30pm as we had an early rise for our 6am drive. What a dizzying day!
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