Chobe National Park
Trip Start
Apr 03, 2008
1
13
27
Trip End
Jun 25, 2008
Kasane, Kasane, Botswana
Monday, April 28, 2008
5am wakeup was not necessary, as I woke about 3:30 unable to sleep longer. Thus, I hopped out of bed ready for my 6am safari drive into Chobe. Mario was not keen on such an early rise, so I headed solo to reception to join a group of German and French tourists in a safari vehicle.
A Casual Stroll - Chobe
Highlight of the trip was seeing a dead elephant being absolutely hounded by vultures. No worries folks - this elephant was not killed, but died of natural causes. That is, if you consider anthrax a natural cause. Still have no idea how anthrax killed this poor beast, and was well ready to leave the site due to the putrid odor stemming from the carnage left on the ground. To date, there have been no lion spottings across three countries - they better come soon!Rather than just chilling by the pool for the rest of the day, we opted to head on a 3-hour boat cruise up the river in hopes of spotting herds of elephants and hippos. The river itself seems to be a divide between countries of Botswana and Namibia, and it was easy to locate the flag which seperates the two nations. From first 5 minutes out from the lodge we were staying (which I must say is extremely nice, as viewed in the pic shown) there were elephants all along the banks. It became clear that toward the end of each day herds of elephants headed down to the river banks to get a drink of water prior to heading back into the bush for the evening. Another piece of advice for those coming to Chobe National Park - TAKE A RIVER CRUISE. Just trolling along at a leisurely pace, we viewed hundreds of elephants in groups of anything from 1 to 30 at a time. They were washing, drinking, playing, swimming, defecating - you think it, they were doing it
Baboon - Chobe
. Ha. Truly, the numbers of elephants here were astounding - I have never in my entire life seen with my own eyes the numbers of elephants that were present here. Awesome. Crocodiles - these were quite the disappointment. I have seen bigger reptiles in my home town in Texas, and these miniature-sized dinosaurs seemed harmless compared to the oversized elephants and hippos.
Hippos - again, schools (is that right?) of hippos were all over the place. They seemed to stay together in groups of 5-15 at a time, but it was great just chilling watching them play and interact with one another. If you have never heard a hippo communicate, it is a snorting sound similar to a pig, but much more aggressive. As our boat approached the schools of these big beasts, it was a cacophony of snorts and grunts and grotesque sounds. And I as continued to sip upon my 2nd gin and tonic of the day, which I realize many of you would have partaken in should you have been with me on this cruise, I thought life as a whole could not get more interesting.
Day 3: Still though, we await the sighting of a lion and thus intend to head on a game drive into Chobe National Park
Chobe elephants
. This will be Mario's last chance for a lion spotting, so fingers will remain crossed at all times. I, on the other hand, hope I have ample opportunities to come across the king of the jungle as I continue my trek across parks in Zambia and Tanzania. Sidenote: Went for a run this morning, and when asking for a good route, was told not to run up the hill toward the airport. Note, the airport is only about 2 miles from our lodge, but i was told that lions at times can be seen on the sides of the roads. Now in my mind, that would likely be a good workout and the fastest i would ever have run in my life. Instead, I opted for a route taking me thru the town center, and by town I am being generous. This place, Kasane, while nice is nothing more than a 1-street town with a couple lodges and parks all around. In other words, heaven for game viewing!
This is it for Botswana. In leaving this country tomorrow, I have to say that my week here has been incredible. From Ghanzi to Maun to Kasane, the people I have encountered have been incredible, the sights beautiful and the opportunities to see and do something different unimaginable. All in all, this country is beautiful and I would advise anyone looking for an adventure and something special to head here at some point in their lifetime. Now onto Zambia!
