BOTSWANA

Chobe

Chobe National Park is an enormous stretch of wilderness, the vast majority of which is featureless mopane woodland.

During the dry season ... June to November ... the game emerges from this woodland to converge along the Chobe Waterfront and at the waterholes of Chobe Savuti. Animal densities in these locations at this time can be very high ... especially elephant.

The trouble is that these areas also attract huge numbers of self-drive and overland safari vehicles. In fact the traffic has become so bad that we no longer offer any safaris into Chobe or any other public access area in Botswana, heading instead for the superb private concession areas.

Chobe Forest Reserve

The riverside route between the Northern Waterfront and Chobe Savuti passes through a large enclave known as the Forest Reserve.

This area is designated for human habitation, with communities permitted to run livestock here. There are also some hunting safari camps.

Despite all this, the area sustains good wildlife populations and is pleasant enough if you are overlanding through the park.

We do not operate any safaris that overland through Chobe, but we do occasionally include a fly-in visits to Muchenje Lodge, the one decent camp in the area.

Chobe Ngwezumba

During the wet season ... December thru May ... much of the game in Chobe moves away from the over-grazed riverfront areas and migrates into the wooded hinterland.

The Ngwezumba Pans are rain-fed pools which act as a magnet for game in the early dry season, as the lesser pools out in the forest dry up. In May and June this area can provide some decent game-viewing.

There are no lodges out here, so camping is the only option.

We do not presently operate any safaris into this area because during this early dry season period there is so much going on in other, frankly more interesting locations.

Chobe North

The Chobe Northern Waterfront is a legendary safari area, where the elephant gather in enormous numbers during the dry season ... June to November. It is also the place where famously one can witness from a boat the spectacle of families of elephant swimming the river.

But in recent decades this wonderful area has been really spoiled. The number of vehicles that spill into the parks from Kasane and the number of booze-cruise boats out on the river has had a real theme-parking effect.

The bottom line is that on safari in Northern Botswana in the dry season you will see your fill of elephant without having to come here and spoil your impression of this largely wonderful part of the world.

Chobe Savuti

Chobe Savuti is historically one of the great safari locations ... a place of legendary proportions. Unfortunately this is no longer the case ...

The main problem is the failure of the water supply ... the Savuti Channel has been largely dry for decades, even in high water years the flow rarely reaches these swamps. A number of pumped waterholes do manage to sustain decent game populations, but it all feels rather artificial and sad.

But the real problem here is people traffic. We have personally shared sunset at the main waterhole with over fifty vehicles. It was that evening we decided we would no longer operate any safaris into this second rate area.