Safari Botswana Style

Still enjoying the Elephants
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We again found ourselves crossing from Namibia to Botswana as shortly after we left our campsite in the morning we arrived at the border.  Immediately across the border was the Chobe National Park, which is one of the premier places to see elephants and hippos in Africa.  This is due to the Chobe River which flows through the area year round providing a steady source of water.  Upon entering the park, we were fortunate enough to see a small herd of Elephants just wandering around by the gate.  The group included a number of smaller elephants.  When I first saw them, I thought they were tame ones that stayed by the gate to greet tourists.  Michelle and I got out to go watch them, and I realized that we were just lucky that they were walking through the area.  However as I started to take pictures and try to get Michelle to pose by the Elephant the security guard came by and said no pictures.  Apparently we had only paid to cross the park, not view the game.  Tongai was even told not to slow down or stop to watch the animals.  Although, I guess it was fair since we are not allowed outside the vehicle at any other part of the park, and we were walking around near a family of Elephants, but that does not excuse not allowing us to take pictures.

A Elephant greets us at the gate to Chobe
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Despite the guides warning we drove slowly spotting a number of Elephants, though mostly in small groups of one or two alongside the road.  It was at this time however that the funny noise with the car came back to haunt us.  Appartently the attempt to fix the car made it worse and it was leaking oil all over the place, so the oil pressure warning kept coming on and every 15 minutes we had to stop to add another liter of oil.  Despite the car troubles we managed to see a number of different animals on our drive to Kasane.

The water of the Chobe river slowly floods the islands
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When we arrived at our campsite, it was attached to a huge lodge.  I could see the look of dissappointment in Michelle's eyes as we drove past the lodge to the campground area.  However, we did not have too long to be down on the accomodation, our car troubles made us arrive only about an hour before our evening cruise to see the animals coming down to the river at night.  So we ate a quick lunch then got our stuff ready for the boat cruise.

Like most of the rivers in Southern Africa the Chobe is starting its anual flood and the water level is increasing causing many of the small islands to disappear.  The river forms the border between Namibia and Bostwana and our cruise went around a large permanent island on the Botswanan side.  At first is seemed like we were going to spend the majority of the time watching birds as we seemed to stop for every passing bird.  As the trip continued however, we started to see a number of crocidiles laying on the side of the river waiting for an unsuspecting dinner guest.  We also saw a large Water Monitor Lizard being chased away by some King Fishers.

Two Hippos fighting over some grass
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As we rounded the bend, however, we were awarded with what we came to see.  There was a large flat section along the edge of the river, the flood waters had flood sections of it making a series of small channels and pools.  Walking around this area you could see the outlines of probably 20 Hippos and two or three Elephants.  The first area we went to was a pool large enough for our boat that gave us a good view over the flat area.  We could see a number of Hippos still resting in the water, while others fed themselves along the shore.  The Hippos in the water were amuzing to watch as they would start making loud noises and attacking each other.  Others would get discontent with their position while sleeping and try to put their head on another Hippos butt.  Usually it was the one on the bottom that decided it was time to move causing quite a comotion.  But I believe the funniest part about the Hippos was their attempting to imitate a sprinkler when they went to the bathroom.  In order to mark their territory they would use their tail to fling their waste pretty much everywhere.

Nap time for the Hippos
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After leaving the Hippos we went a little further down the river to see a large herd of Elephants coming down to the water for a drink.  One of the advantages in coming in the wet season is that most of the large mammals have just given birth and we were fortunate enough to see 4 or 5 baby elephants walking very carefully under their mothers.  They were extremely difficult to see because they aways seemed to be in the shadow of their mother.

So we spent a long time drifting as the elephants walked along the edge of the river.  At one point we could see a couple of Crocodiles laying in the mud, a herd of Elephants heading straight for them, a number of Hippos getting out of the way of the Elephants and some Impalas and Antelopes in the back ground watching the whole seen.  It is amazing how the different types of animals interact so closely together.

Walking around to mark his teritority
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We returned to the dock just as the sun was setting, again prompting me to think that Africa has some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.  The entire sky lights up in shades of orange and red, and all the land seems to change under it.  For a brief period you have a hard time believing that you are not watching a movie where there are perfect sunsets everyday.

The next morning we woke up early take a game drive through the Chobe National Park.  Unlike some of our previous game drives, we did not see the massive herds of animals, but rather a few of a number of different types.  Our driver, Lucky, seemed to know where all the animals would be and took us to see as big of a variety as possible.

Michelle gets as close as possible while on the boat
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There were two things that stood out above everything else.  First we saw two female Lions right on the side of the road.  As we approached they literally disappeared into the grass as they moved less than 10 feet from the road.  I see why they do not allow walking tours, you could practically walk on top of a Lion and never know.  As we tried to pick the lions up in the grass two other tour groups pulled up trying to see them as well.  One was from the Park Office, and the other was a private tour similar to ours.  Anyways the Park Office tour got bored quickly and left, at which point Lucky coordinated a drive off road into the grass to try and get us another view of the Lions.  We saw them briefly as they headed into a thicker area where our truck could not go.

The Elephants come down down to the river for a drink
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The other highlight for me was the massive troupe of Baboons that we saw crossing the road.  I guess crossing the road is not right, they were walking down it like it was their path.  There were probably 200 Baboons all marching along the road, looking at us.  They were funny to watch because the older males would stare at us trying to make sure we knew not to try and funny business.  The females were all tending to small babies, sometimes stopping to eat some grass or feed the baby.  And then there were the adolescents, who seemed to be running  around and having a great time playing.  They would start wrestling, then climb a tree to jump on another.  Every know and then it would get a little carried away and a big male would have to step in to break it up.  I guess it shows that we have not progressed that fair from our roots as Monkeys.

Bill and Michelle having a good time watching the Elephants
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After our game drive we came back and had breakfast before we headed to the border crossing.  Though Botswana and Zambia share only a border at a single point where they meet with Namibia and Zimbabwe in the middle of a river, there is a ferry boat to take you there.  Though I guess boat is a little strong word, it was more like a small barge that ran on cables.  It could only accommodate two cars and one semi truck at a time.  Along with all the people that could cram around the outside edge.  We were told that between dealing with exit customs, the ferry crossing and entry customs that trucks could be stuck here for two or three months.  Not a very efficient system.

The Elephants march along the edge of the river
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Once on the other side, we had a short drive to Livingstone where we would get the chance to see Victoria Falls.

Bill