Chobe National Park

A great place for wildlife lovers

Chobe National Park is an amazing place for wildlife and safari lovers.
The parc is really beautiful and the guides very competent. I did an early morning drive and saw lions, baboons, elephants, giraffes...
I also did the cruise on Chobe river and it will remain as one of the highlights of my stay in Botswana. Everyone is very quiet and respectful of the animals, you can observe crocodiles, hippos, herds of elephants and a large variety of birds.
I definitely recommend this place!

Chobe gives the opportunity to experience the bush in a river setting and a rich mix of species.

We visited Chobe, whilst staying in Kasane, as part of a road trip from Cape Town to Namibia and Botswana. There has been little winter rainfall this year in Southern Africa and Etosha in Namibia was very dry and dusty. Chobe, with its river location, was, by comparison, green and lush. This results in a varied mix of animal and bird species in a relatively small area.
We completed the whole trip in a two wheeled drive VW Polo, which was perfectly adequate for the majority of the trip and was very frugal on petrol. However, this means that access to Chobe National Park in your own vehicle is not possible, due to the sandy nature of the roads in the Park and the need for good ground clearance. Instead it was necessary to use game drives, which whilst costly, has the advantage of a driver / guide, which gives you a greater opportunity for viewing and photography.
Elephants abound in Chobe and it is nice to see them visit the river in groups for bathing and drinking. Buffalo are also common.
It is particularly important to visit the Park on a boat trip from Kasane. Not only does this give a different viewing dimension but it provides the opportunity to have close encounters with Buffalo , Hippo and Crocs. The rare Puku and Red Lechwe antelope species were easier to see from the boat. The bird species seen along the river are also impressive. Fish eagle, open billed stork and giant kingfisher, being highlights.
Kasane offers a range of accommodation from safari type lodges to bed and breakfast accommodation to suit all tastes. It also has an excellent range of shops, banks, petrol stations and eating establishments. As independent travellers we found it is easy to organise the game drives and boat trips. As a bonus, it is also a good location to visit Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

Chobe Park Botswana

I stayed at Chobe Game Lodge- Botswana in October 2010.
It was an amazing safari, the Hotel was very good, beautiful view and scenery on Zambezi River, from our luxury room was possible to observe herds of elephants . Food was good and the staff very kindly. Weather , sunny, 30°, good for morning safari, not so cold as Krueger Park.
Super wildlife, the park is full of elephants, we saw a lot of animals, only the rhino we didn’t see. Guides are women, the safari jeep is open and contains about 10 people.
River Safari on Zambezi River in the morning, gives you a fantastic view of the elephants herds drinking in the river , hippos and crocodiles.
I recommend a safari in Chobe Park-Botswana.

Chobe's vibes

Our trip to Botswana started at Kazungulu, where we drove in from Zimbabwe early in the morning. As a lucky forebode, we saw a leopard less than a mile away from the border post, sitting some ten metres from the main road watching us curiously. We were welcomed at the Chobe Safari Lodge and then had a river safari just for the two of us. I remember our guide's name, Tobishu, who was extremely well informed. Tobishu was excited when I expressed a particular interest in birds, about which he happened to know a lot. He also shared with us some of the higher politics concerning the ownership of that part of the Chobe river. Neighbouring country Namibia questioned Botswana's claim to this very fertile piece of land; and the matter was brought to the heart of international law in The Hague: The peace palace, just a short walk from our Dutch home! While enjoying coffee, tea and cakes we were brought close to Yellow-billed Storks, nesting eagles, some huge crocodiles, water monitors and the peculiar Hamerkop bird. Big wildlife included elephants, close to and interacting (or not) with waterbucks and the ever elegant impalas. There were many hippos and Tobishu told us about the genuine threat they pose to people and when one made his way to us and started to yawn from not too great a distance this seemed to genuinely frighten our guide. After an excellent buffet served at the Chobe Safari Lodge (built between hugely rooted trees) we had an equally wonderful land safari. Again we saw many birds: different species of vulture, a Martial Eagle, Marabou Storks and lovely strikingly coloured beeeaters and rollers. The driver/guide (whose name I regretfully forgot) pointed out the almost symbiotic relationship the Chobe Park has with the elephants, who come exceptionally close to the four by fours, having learnt not to fear humans. He went further to explain differences between his park and South Africa's famous Kruger Park (which we had just visited), stating that the Chobe Park has no fences (good, but the downside of this: they are short of rhinos here) and the management's policy of not interfering with the animals. When we saw many creatures eating of a fresh carcass, the guide set out to find the lions responsible for the kill, and after some driving we found them: Three lionesses, stuffed and asleep near some not very covering shurbs. When our car got stuck in the mud not far from these apex predators and a colleague guide had to drive towards us and pull us out, we had some thrill moments too! Despite the fact that it was not summer, the temperature was lovely, just not sunny. So Chobe National Park differs considerably from a park like Kruger, and is definitely worth a visit. The day was over before we knew it, and we drove to the exit amidst a large herd of the beautiful sable antilopes: an animal you won't encounter as far south as Kruger. Botswana (and for that matter: Zimbabwe and Zambia) has that edge, a little more roughness than the better known (parks in) South Africa. The guides are friendly, very able, and their English is excellent. In all: Highly recommendable.

Wow. If you've ever seen the scene in the movie Jurassic Park where the family finally comes upon the vast plain with hundreds of dinosaurs of different species spanning across a vast plain - that's Chobe. The sheer volume and diversity of species is incredible, multiple antelope species, literally thousands of elephants, lions, leopards, dogs, etc. are easy finds. Herds of buffalo, zebra, and antelope; and large quantities of giraffe and baboon; and easy bird spotting all make Chobe a "destination." You will be spoiled after visiting Chobe. You should go here as your last safari destination. We stayed at Chobe Under Canvas, which is a truly tented camp. The entire camp relocates every 5 days. The advantage of "glamping" at CUC, though, is that at 6 am, when the park opens, you are already in the camp and are not being "picked up" at your out-of-the-park hotel/property. You get earliest spotting and best conditions with no other vehicles/tourists around.

A destination to view magnificent creatures with minimal interference from man.

My visit to Chobe National Park satisfied the wildlife viewing and photographic opportunities I have been yearning for. I began my stay with a jumper flight from Maun International Airport to the Orient Express Savute Elephant camp. My guide Rob drove us into a remote camp area with amazing views along the way. We spotted zebra, impala, and several species of birds on just the drive in. That evening and every morning and evening thereafter we had game drives to explore different areas of the park and spot game.
We were not disappointed, and although we went in what is typically considered the off season, we were deluged with a variety of amazing animals in the park. Elephant, leopards, lions, cape buffalo, kudu, zebra, giraffe, jackal, mongoose, warthog, ducks, herons, and eagles were just a few of the many animals we viewed.
Our accomodations were in a safari style canvas tent with en suite bathrooms and a beautiful wood deck overlooking the Savute Channel, which was flowing again for the first time in decades. The food was superb, and the service at our camp was truly better than we could have even dreamed. Our guide was an incredibly knowledgeabale young man who not only knew the basics of each animal but was able to go in depth about mating habits, juvenile coloring, pack habits and many many other things. Our daily excursions were tailored to our viewing interests- in our case, we wished to see predators especially! Every day was warm and we had almost no rain during our stay, but there was a high level of humidity.
Overall, Chobe was a once in a lifetime experience that did not disappoint.

Chobe is truly amazing, the landscape is beautiful and offers so much in wildlife. This was our first safari of many and still one of my top 3 for sure.

For us it was a baptem / This Safari was really beautiful

Small Park but really interresting to discover a Safari / 1 day was enough for us

Beautiful nature, many animals and birds.

Was great opportunity to see the wildlife in one day from Zimbabwe