The Chobe National Park is one of Botswana’s most popular safari destinations and has a uniqueness to it that only those that have visited can explain. Undoubtedly one of Africa’s most beautiful rivers, the Chobe supports a diversity and concentration of wildlife unparalled anywhere else in the country.
The elephant populations are abundant and the river front is littered with herds of buffalo, sable, lion and the occasional group of elusive roan antelope. The puku, an antelope that crosses the boundary between impala and red lechwe, finds its southernmost distribution here and is the only place to see them in Botswana.
The Chobe National Park is also a wonderful place to explore by boat, and for the keen ornithologist, species that may have not been picked up elsewhere, can be seen here, such as the African skimmer. As the dry season pushes into full flow, animals can be seen by the thousand, lining the banks for a desperate drink of thirst-quenching water, ever wary of the beady and calculating eyes of the huge Nile crocodiles found just out of sight, ready to strike at the first opportunity.
The most accessible and frequently visited of Botswana’s big game country, the Chobe Riverfront is most famous for its large herds of elephants and Cape buffalo, which during the dry winter months converge upon the river to drink.
During this season, on an afternoon game drive, you may see hundreds of elephants at one time. You may be surrounded by elephants, as the main Serondella road becomes impassable and scores of family herds cross the main road to make their way to the river to drink, bathe and play.
