Chobe Elephant Camp

Kasane Airport is undergoing an extensive expansion which will obviously increase its capacity. Other than Maun, all of the other airstrips we have been at have been nothing more than a sand path carved out of the jungle. When the plane picked us up at Selinda, it was full so Craig volunteered to be copilot. It was quite a trip as it was a six month old turbo prop, with lots of cool stuff to look at. Twenty minutes and a few bumps later, we arrived at our destination. We were picked up by Face from Chobe Elephant Camp and after the arrival of Kate from Boston and Eileen from New York, we headed out. For all those people who think we are adventurous, we are amateurs compared to these two ladies. They have an impressive résumé which we could only dream of matching. We also enjoyed the company of Andy and Natalie from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. They were just starting their safari vacation and their enthusiasm was contagious.

Chobe Elephant Camp is high on a ridge overlooking wheat coloured plains.The view is impressive. They have 11 cabins, the main lodge and a swimming pool. It is an un-fenced camp so after dark, the guides walk guests to and from their cabins. Animal visitors are not uncommon. Apparently the elephants have enjoyed the pool a little too much. It is now protected by an electrified fence at night.

Chobe is a national park which means that the hours are restricted and there is no off road driving. This makes it more difficult to view animals, but our guide Innocent worked very hard to maximize our experience. On our first morning we saw a leopard drag an impala high into a tree to escape from two hungry lions prowling around the base. We saw another pride of five lions sleeping in the shade. There were herds of buffaloes, roan and sable antelopes, and vast numbers of giraffes, zebras and impalas. We also saw many different kinds of birds, especially on our afternoon cruise on the Chobe River. We are only just beginning to appreciate birding. Sometimes, it is just too overwhelming.

The interesting thing about the Chobe River is that it is the dividing line between Namibia and Botswana. Animals regularly cross between the two countries. About twenty minutes away is the Kazangula border crossing. It is the place where four countries intersect: Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This was where we went after three nights in Chobe to cross into Zambia. Thanks to Bushtracks Africa we successfully exited Botswana and entered Zambia with no fuss. The only issue was the souvenir hawkers who persistently tried to sell us their wares. We were able to escape into the van to fend them off.

Photos

It's hard to believe, but we are down to our last four nights in Africa. How did that happen?