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Tenaz
US
Visited:
February 2015
Reviewed: Feb 19, 2015
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The safari in Chobe National Park was fantastic! We saw lions, hippos, giraffes & crocodiles day 1.
Chobe National Park is a gem! Our guides were very patient and knew a lot about animals. We drove in open jeeps and had great access to photograph the beautiful birds and wild-life that we saw.
The park is teeming with life! We witnessed a pregnant giraffe, playful baboons, kissing hippos, grazing elephants ( swimming elephants, nursing elephants - over 200,000 elephants in Botswana) an angry lion and many impalas and kudus. The scenery was lush and green and the Chobe river was full of fabulous surprises like hippos and crocodiles! Do go!
Terry Carew
Visited:
August 2010
Reviewed: Apr 5, 2015
It is always a pleasure to visit the Chobe national park.
The other centre is
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to the south and west of Kasane and is referred to as Savuti. The Savuti channel runs through the park and drains into the Mbabe depression. This part of Chobe is very popular with visitors and during peak times of the year can be a bit busy. Very well wooded it is one of the best areas in Africa to see four of the big five. Birding is also of the best. Both centres are connected by a road that can be traversed only by a four wheel drive vehicle. About here to five hours traveling is the norm if conditions are good.Visitors can access the park by self drive 4X4 vehicles (fully equipped and available for rent in Kasane) and camping is available but can be rough, or by booking with an operator and be driven around the park. Advance booking for self drive is essential as camp sites are limited.
The scenery in the park is pretty much dominated by bush and trees, but along the river edge the sunsets are superb as dust and smoke in the air make for vivid colours.
Peak seasons for visiting the park are April to September. October is very dry and can be windy and November to March is the rainy season.
More information can be obtained from the Botswana tourist board or by "googling" Chobe itself.
bonsaisai
Visited:
February 2015
Reviewed: Apr 6, 2015
First time doing safari and I'll be sure to return
So what did I miss when doing safari in the wet season? Animals are not as numerous and concentrated but there are no crowds. More importantly, with plenty of water to
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drink and grass to eat, the animals are not stressed; they're not fighting for their survival. The lush vegetation is beautiful and pleasing. The cool and comfortable weather (at mid day) more than makes up for seeing fewer animals. The deep blue sky reflects on the serene water of the Chobe River like a painting. What a great place to be for the animals! And for humans, too!
France and Roger
FR
Visited:
September 2011
Reviewed: Apr 16, 2015
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
it was excellent in 2011, but went back in 2014 and it was over crowded.
oldparson
GB
Visited:
April 2015
Reviewed: May 1, 2015
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful for birds and elephants.
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impala and warthogs. No big cats seen - and the zebra had migrated to Namibia. Weather was cool - low 20s, overcast and dry. There were a lot of other safari vehicles all following the same route - our guide explained they had to keep to set tracks so we couldn't go and see what was attracting the vultures a couple of hundred metres away. However he did try hard to keep us away from from the larger group and we had great views and enjoyed our day.
C H
AU
Visited:
April 2015
Reviewed: May 3, 2015
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing elephant river crossings
Guide was great. The boat ride on the river was an amazing way to see the wildlife from a different perspective. Wildlife was a bit scarce but we did have two river crossings to watch with elephants which was the key highlight. Great sunsets. Chobe Elephant Camp was great, the staff were very accommodating.
johannekekroesbergen
ZM
Visited:
May 2015
Reviewed: Jul 9, 2015
Email johannekekroesbergen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Never seen so many lions!
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really there. Also, when you are staying in the Bush Lodge or the Safari Lodge, the boat is really big, so it can't come close to the banks. Food at the lodge was okay, though the menu promised more than was actually given. My ciabatta with mozzarella, pesto and tomato turned out to be a cheese sandwich without any pesto or mozzarella. It tasted good, but was not what I expected.
Gauthier
HK
Visited:
August 2015
Reviewed: Aug 17, 2015
Email Gauthier | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice experience !
We did not expect much from Chobe, since the only thing we knew about it beforehand was that it was famous for elephants.
Our stay was fantastic, we enjoyed very much the boat cruises, from which you can really enjoy all of the wildlife on Sedudu island.
I am not a big fan of birding, but we did see lots of interesting birds, and some people apparently seemed very into the matter and enjoyed it very much !
We also did a morning game drive, which was good, but not excellent. There were too many vehicles compared to some private game reserves, and since we could not get off-road, the animals
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we saw where quite far away. Still, it was a good experience, and the park still has lots of animals, and for a much more affordable price than what you pay in a private game reserve.Overall, our experience was very nice, people were very friendly, the scenery was fantastic, and we did see lots of animals !
Ken Griffiths - Naturally wild Photography
AU
Visited:
September 2015
Reviewed: Nov 5, 2015
River cruise was excellent but safari drive was more like Dakar Ralley
The Chobe river cruise was excellent. Plenty of wildlife, relaxing and a great sunset. I did a safari on a safari vehicle, 9 people and it was dusty and more akin to the Dakar Ralley I thought. Guide didn't take time to show in detail, everything was rushed.
Overwhelming game.Safari heaven for first timers
It's not got
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the iconic African landscapes of the Delta or Moremi and it hasn't got that wild bush feel, but it packs such a punch in terms of animals that you can't fail to be impressed. For a first timer, it must be safari heaven. I love lion and on our first morning drive, a male and female sauntered lazily past our vehicle, almost within touching distance;a young male began calling further off then followed the pair up into the shrubbery to find shade.And this is where, like all National Parks, it can be frustrating because the rules mean no off roading, so unlike Sabi Sand or other private concessions, you can't follow them; you can only sit and watch as they disappear out of sight, thrilled at the encounter as ever but wanting more.
We chose Mosu Safari Tours for our 10 day safari trip, an excellent operator who assigned us Custard as our guide/driver and Kilos as our cook, with LT as camp assistant.They made our trip, really first class guys. A testament to their expertise, both Custard and Kilos had been employed by the BBC while they filmed their documentary about the lion pride that had learned to take down elephant.Custard knew everything there was to know about the animals and got us some incredible sightings and Kilos' cooking is well known as the stuff of legend.
One of the most thrilling moments of the whole trip came as we left Chobe by the Kasane Gate; just 100 yards away, resting beside the main road ,we spotted a pack of wild dogs with several puppies, a superb sight.
We took the Sunset Cruise with Thebe River Camp, where we stayed for two nights and fortunately found ourselves with just two other fellow birdwatchers.
I didn't think there was much else to see to be honest after 9 days and 15 or so Game Drives but the view from the river was wonderful.And the birdlife was mesmerising, with malachite kingfishers the highlight.The river bets very busy and there are some big, crowded boats around so it may be worth checking how many fellow passengers there are,depending on what you want out of it.
Being in the boat also gets you closer to the elephants,as they seemed to me much calmer round these than the vehicles.We followed a mother and calf as they swam back to shore, the baby using his trunk like a periscope.A beautiful sight.
Thebe River Camp was first class, with a nice bar area, spotless showers and toilets and well maintained.We enjoyed our stay here very much,especially after the wild sites we'd been in the rest of the trip.No hyenas at night! The camp is well protected by electric fencing so it's very safe.
We did our trip in mid till late September and this time , for me, was just too hot.40C or 104F in the shade.Like being in an oven.Next time - Green Season!