Chobe National Park, located in Northern Botswana, is Botswana's first national park. It is the third largest and has the highest concentration of animals. We can certainly attest to a high concentration of animals, as from the moment we arrived it was non stop animal sightings!
We had a bit of time to relax on our first afternoon at Chobe Safari Lodge, but then it was full on! We had to be up at 5:00am and at the lobby for 5:45 to leave for our 6:00 game drive! When our guide asked what we wanted to see we all said lions of course! Some wanted to see leopards also which I didn't even think about! I was definitely focused on lions!
The bird life and hippos started our day off as the sun came up, and then the elephants. It was a beautiful start to the morning, but it all became a rush of excitement when one of the other vehicles spotted lions on the plains. We called it the "lion rush" as our driver drove faster through that bush than he had on the highway!! And then we saw them!!! A pride of 8 lions... Brothers and sisters moving together. Wow! Wow! Wow! I don't even know what else to say because it was just so incredible to see! 8 lions moving along, with no care or worry about us, basking in the newly risen sun! This was definitely one of my top moments so far!
We had our morning coffee shortly after and enjoyed visiting with the other people on our safari vehicle - people from England, Australia and Taiwan. Everyone was so friendly and one of the guys from England had even climbed Kiliminjaro! This is part of what I love about traveling.. Meeting new people, learning about where they've been and what they've seen; it's all part of this wonderful adventure.
After coffees, the safari continued and we saw so much more wildlife!! Giraffes, elephants, kudu, reedbucks,impala, puku, and heaps of bird life. It was just non stop! And then as we were about to leave the park, a herd of elephants blocked our road and we got some amazing views!
That was an incredible morning for sure!!
Later that day, we went on a sundowner cruise on the Chobe River, which took us along our property's riverfront and back into the National Park... But this time, on the water. We saw almost everything from this am, except lions. Watching the elephants up close and how they thrash the grass and reeds around to get the dirt off, was very interesting to see.
We also got to see crocodiles for the first time! Very cool! We watched baboons cleaning each other and eating on the beach, a huge herd of impala moving along the beach, all while moving through, under and around 2 giraffes, and hippos relaxing in the water. All of the wildlife sightings followed by another incredible, but quick, African sunset.
This whole day was just so Africa! It was everything I thought Africa would be and believe me, it is not a day I will ever forget!! Chobe was so incredible and I'm so grateful for the experiences it offered to us! It just goes to show that sometimes the best adventures happen when you least expect them or in the places you never knew existed. Chobe will always be at the top of my list for the most amazing things we saw and did in Africa!
Watching the lions!
My favourite animal so far!
Probably the most fun to watch!
The herd that blocked our road.
So you can sort of see where we have been - Botswana
Mom and Dad on the sundowner.
Looking from the restaurant out towards the pool and river.
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