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CHOBE NATIONAL PARK

Chobe National Park, located in northern Botswana, is named after the Chobe River, a tributary of the Zambezi River.  The river flows into Botswana from the highlands of Angola and is known by several different names.  Upon entering Botswana it's called the Kwando River, then the Linyanti, and finally the Chobe as it approaches the Zambezi.

The park itself encompasses an area of over 4000 square miles and, in combination with surrounding forest reserves, provides a major sanctuary for northern Botswana's wildlife.  The Chobe ecosystem protects a rich variety of habitats: riverine, wetlands, mopane woodlands, grassland, and thorny bush. These habitats support vast herds of game, including the largest elephant herds in Africa. During the months of June through November, Chobe is mostly dry.

The topography of Chobe is one of low, undulating hills and sand ridges.

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Elephant Family

Millions of years ago the rivers flowing from the highlands of Angola drained into central Botswana, creating a super-lake (Lake Makgadigadi) with an area thought to be over 30,000 square miles.  The Magwikhwe Sand Ridge in the Savuti shows evidence of the ancient lake's shoreline.  Tectonic forces eventually shifted the course of the Chobe River to it's current postion. 

The interior of the park is mostly dry bushlands scattered with pans that provide a seasonal water source.  During the rainy season game is widely dispersed throughout the park but as the pans dry out wildlife congregates along the permanent water sources of the Chobe River and Linyanti Swamps creating unparalleled game viewing.

Perhaps the most accessible area of the park is the Chobe riverfront and the areas of Serondella and Ihaha.  The riverfront offers a wonderful opportunity to see hundreds of hippos and croocdiles, as well as Chobe's famous elephant herds. Seeing an elephant family come to drink at the river's edge while a red sun slowly descends to the horizon is a sight that will last a lifetime

The riverfront is also a great place to see antelopes that favor aquatic habitats like the puku, the lechwe, waterbuck, or the Chobe bushbuck (a brightly colored subspecies of the bushbuck found only along the Chobe River waterfront).  Bird life is abundant along the river as well.  Wading birds can be see along the quiet river edges while African skimmers glide along the water surface hunting for fish.  The African fish eagle, with it's brilliant white head, are often seen perched on dead snags.  Hearing the call of the fish eagle is a sign you'll be returning to Africa.
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Sunset over the Zambezi

The riverfront is also a great place to see antelopes that favor aquatic habitats like the puku, the lechwe, waterbuck, or the Chobe bushbuck (a brightly colored subspecies of the bushbuck found only along the Chobe River waterfront).  Bird life is abundant along the river as well.  Wading birds can be see along the quiet river edges while African skimmers glide along the water surface hunting for fish.  The African fish eagle, with it's brilliant white head, are often seen perched on dead snags.  Hearing the call of the fish eagle is a sign you'll be returning to Africa.

The Savuti area in the southwest corner of the park is rich in history and game.  The San/Bushmen had settlements here and examples of their rock art can be seen in the surrounding hills.  The Savuti Marsh fills the Mababe Depression, a large flat low area that was once an extension of the super-lake, Lake Makgadikgadi.  Surrounded by grass and woodlands, the Savuti Marsh attracts large numbers of game.  The Savuti Channel erratically carries water from the Linyanti Swamps in the north, though the channel mysteriously dried up in the 1970's.  Savuti is famous for it's unusually large lion prides.  Elephant, buffalo, and zebra are abundant.  Perhaps most exciting are the resident hyenas that make nightly visits to the campsite to scavenge for food.