An African Eden
Abundant birdlife, swathes of lush riverfront scenery and enough animals to trip over, make Botswana’s Chobe National Park one of the most idyllic and rewarding game viewing spots in Southern Africa.
Arriving in Botswana from neighbouring Livingstone can be deceptive. It involves a boat ride across the wide, blue expanse of the Zambezi River, which divides Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. As the driver kicks the speed boat into top gear, a fine mist of spray from the river is a welcome relief from the African heat. Surrounded by all this blue wetness, one can’t help thinking that you will be met on the other side by lush tropical greenness.
Nothing could be further from the truth as you sink into the soft sand on the Botswana side of the river. While Zambia boasts green leaves and sprouting fields, Botswana at the end of the dry season is just that – and bone rattlingly so. What little greenery there is, has either been stripped of its colour by the heat or coated in a fine layer of brown dust, like everything here. Even the trees look so brittle and sapped of moisture that a strong puff of wind seems likely to turn them to dust too.
And so, an hour or so later after you pass through the gates of the Chobe National Park, your first glimpses of blue and green seem so improbable that you hardly believe your eyes. Rising out of the surrounding desert, the Chobe River cuts a swathe through the dusty landscape, bringing with it lush green islands and verdant river banks. These islands are so lush and improbable in their surroundings that they appear as a mirage out of the shimmering heat waves that crinkle the air. But as you drive closer, you realise that not only is what you are seeing real, but that it is also teeming with wildlife. Animals fill the riverbanks, flood plains and islands by the hundreds. Herds of antelope munch grass alongside zebras and warthogs, while baboons play lookout in the surrounding trees. Hippos happily galumph in the shallows, crocodiles sun themselves on the riverbanks, and kingfishers dart in and out of the water with tiny silver fish in their beaks. If Noah was filling an arc of animals two by two, this would undoubtedly be the place to do it!
The Chobe National Park is one of the largest national parks in Botswana, and covers approximately 10,500 km². Due to its sheer size, the park can be divided into four sections, each characterised by its own distinct ecosystem. These are: the Serondela or Chobe riverfront area in the far north-east corner of the park; the Savuti Marsh in the west; the Linyati Swamps in the north-west; and the dry hinterland region between Savuti and Linyati.
The most popular area of the park is undoubtedly the Serondela area, and in particular the stretch of park that lies between the town of Kasane and the Chobe River. This is partly due to the fact that it is so easily accessed from neighbouring Zambia (it is a two hour journey from Livingstone Airport), but also because of its namesake, the Chobe River, which flows along the border of the park and is a major watering spot for the park’s resident animals, particularly during the dry season (May through October). The area also boasts forests of hardwood trees and abundant birdlife, and its flood plains are the only place in Botswana where visitors can see Puku antelope.
Then there is also the fact that the park boasts one of the largest concentrations of game anywhere in Africa. So much so, that game guides here merely have to drive and point, as every turn in the road or bend in the river yields up another miraculous sighting.
Boat safaris offer wonderfully up close and personal sightings of both the river’s inhabitants and those that are drawn to it. There is nothing quite like sitting quietly watching an iguana sun itself on an outstretched ledge of riverbank, while a nonchalant buffalo peers down at you from a slope above as it chews sedately on a piece of grass. Or witnessing the odd juxtaposition of a majestic fish eagle perched on a dead tree stump, while behind it domestic cattle wander the river bank. (Our guide was quick to point out, though, that this only happens on the seemingly “lawless” Namibian side of the river!) Everywhere you look there is birdlife. Carmine bee eaters chase their prey in a whirl of constant flutter and activity, while storks and cranes wade through the shallows looking for their next meal.
And then there are the elephants. Impossible to miss due to their sheer size, true, but in the Chobe they are impossible to miss quite simply because they are everywhere. The Chobe National Park is a paradise for those passionate about pachyderms, as the population of these gentle giants has been allowed to grow unchecked here – to the extent that there are now an estimated 120,000 of them in the park! And even when you aren’t tripping over the ellies themselves, you are often surrounded by their handiwork, usually in the form of stripped and battered trees, the saddest of which have to be the majestic baobabs that dot this part of Botswana. Towering above the landscape they have watched over for often centuries, these trees are undoubtedly some of Africa’s most iconic and imposing. This is why it is sad to see their huge trunks nibbled away to tiny waists just waiting to topple over, or to see massive specimens that have finally succumbed, lying prone on the ground.
It is because of this, as well as the general damage to the vegetation that the elephants inflict, that many people believe the park should put measures in place to control the population. It is an understandably sensitive subject, however, and one which the government is not quite ready to broach. So in the meantime the elephants will remain kings of this African oasis, and visitors to the park can revel in some of the best sightings of these animals anywhere on the continent.
One of the most memorable sights has to be seeing a family of elephants swim across the expanse of the Chobe River to reach the sweet green grass of one of its many islands. As they congregate at the water’s edge, the largest among them usually leads the way and plunges into the water while the others fall in behind in single file, from largest to smallest, like something out of a Disney movie. In a perfect straight line, the leader plunges deeper and deeper, until the water forms a perfect plimsoll line across his head, with just the tips of his ears and the top of his head visible. The smaller ellies are forced to swim, and after a while all that can be seen of the babies is their trunks sticking out of the water as they paddle along in the parents’ wake, until finally they can huff and puff themselves out of the water on the other side – slick and black from the water – with sweet green grass as their reward.
Watching this is one of the great African experiences, and one which a trip to Africa’s Eden, The Chobe National Park, will certainly give you – along with many more.
Story by Nicky Furniss
