Safari: Chobe National Park – Botswana
The next morning we woke up bright and early to catch a 7:30AM charted bus that would take the entire crew to the Zimbabwe Botswana border. The journey to the border took us approximately forty-five minutes. After crossing the border we boarded another bus that drove us 10 minutes into Botswana.
Before we knew it we had arrived at a lodge like structure fully equipped with hotel rooms and all. No sooner than we arrived, we made our way down a path that led us to a river boat tied up at the end of a dock. While walking along the path, we were spooked by a Black Mamba snake coiled around a tree limb. When we reached the end of the trail we all jumped on the boat and our two tour guides steered the boat out into the morning air of the Chobe River.
As we cruised along the river and approached multiple banks and river islands our minds were blown away by the sheer amount of wildlife that surrounded us on all sides. Just listing to the different kinds of animals we encountered does nothing to describe what we were lucky enough to witness with our own eyes, but the list follows anyway. The animals we came across included African elephants, hippos, crocodiles, numerous species of birds, lizards, water buffalo, impalas, other deer family creatures, and baboons, all in their natural habitat. One of the more spectacular sights we came across was a herd of about twenty elephants drinking water from the river. Amongst them were multiple young elephants, along with a baby elephant. The boat was also able to get us about twenty feet from a gigantic crocodile, fifteen feet in length, basking in the morning sun. Not only was the wildlife above ground, but near the river islands hippos were hovering at the surface of the water.
Around midday we headed back to the lodge where we had taken off from and headed up the path all in the name of LUNCH! The food was nothing to write home about, so we won’t. After lunch the entire crew climbed into two sport utility vehicles to continue our safari on land. We hopped in the open air vehicle, while the closed air vehicle was used for added protection for the little kids. The land safari took us off road into Chobe National Park. The land safari began by driving down the river bank where we observed more of the same animals we had encountered from the river boat. Animals that we added to our already impressive list were giraffes and zebras. The most memorable experience from the land safari was definitely when our vehicle was engulfed by a herd of elephants! The elephants were making their way up from the river bank when we got caught on the path, so we stopped for a closer look. The elephants were only ten to fifteen feet away from us! This was truly a thrilling experience that we will never forget.
Words just don’t do our adventures in Botswana justice…for a true sense you have to see the pictures. We still can’t believe it when we see them!
After crossing back into Zimbabwe we went back to the Kingdom Hotel/Casino where we had pizza for dinner and watched the World Cup Finals at the bar. For the record, Italy beat France.
On the agenda for the next day: white water rafting on the Zambezi River!
The Africtravelers
Before we knew it we had arrived at a lodge like structure fully equipped with hotel rooms and all. No sooner than we arrived, we made our way down a path that led us to a river boat tied up at the end of a dock. While walking along the path, we were spooked by a Black Mamba snake coiled around a tree limb. When we reached the end of the trail we all jumped on the boat and our two tour guides steered the boat out into the morning air of the Chobe River.
As we cruised along the river and approached multiple banks and river islands our minds were blown away by the sheer amount of wildlife that surrounded us on all sides. Just listing to the different kinds of animals we encountered does nothing to describe what we were lucky enough to witness with our own eyes, but the list follows anyway. The animals we came across included African elephants, hippos, crocodiles, numerous species of birds, lizards, water buffalo, impalas, other deer family creatures, and baboons, all in their natural habitat. One of the more spectacular sights we came across was a herd of about twenty elephants drinking water from the river. Amongst them were multiple young elephants, along with a baby elephant. The boat was also able to get us about twenty feet from a gigantic crocodile, fifteen feet in length, basking in the morning sun. Not only was the wildlife above ground, but near the river islands hippos were hovering at the surface of the water.
Around midday we headed back to the lodge where we had taken off from and headed up the path all in the name of LUNCH! The food was nothing to write home about, so we won’t. After lunch the entire crew climbed into two sport utility vehicles to continue our safari on land. We hopped in the open air vehicle, while the closed air vehicle was used for added protection for the little kids. The land safari took us off road into Chobe National Park. The land safari began by driving down the river bank where we observed more of the same animals we had encountered from the river boat. Animals that we added to our already impressive list were giraffes and zebras. The most memorable experience from the land safari was definitely when our vehicle was engulfed by a herd of elephants! The elephants were making their way up from the river bank when we got caught on the path, so we stopped for a closer look. The elephants were only ten to fifteen feet away from us! This was truly a thrilling experience that we will never forget.
Words just don’t do our adventures in Botswana justice…for a true sense you have to see the pictures. We still can’t believe it when we see them!
After crossing back into Zimbabwe we went back to the Kingdom Hotel/Casino where we had pizza for dinner and watched the World Cup Finals at the bar. For the record, Italy beat France.
On the agenda for the next day: white water rafting on the Zambezi River!
The Africtravelers
posted by Unknown at
8:11 PM
