Heading north out of Savuti Camp, the deep sand sometimes seems to get worse in places. One leaves the Savuti via the exit gate at Ghoha (a distance of 29kms). You are now in the Chobe Forest Reserve, which stretches right up to the main road (a distance of 77 kms) that runs from Katimo Mulilo in Namibia to Kasane in Botswana. The dirt road does improve the closer you get to civilisation and the main road.
The Forest Reserve is a large area of Chobe National Park which is designated for human habitation, with local communities having permission to run livestock here. There are nevertheless good wildlife populations and some reasonable camping options that the traveller can source. Many visitors simply pass through this reserve en route between Kasane and Savuti.
The Chobe River in the north that forms Botswana’s border with Namibia, part of which lies within Chobe National Park is part of a migratory route between Chobe National Park and Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. These areas are known for having the greatest concentration of elephants on earth. It is estimated that there are between 45,000 and 90,000 elephants here!
The most popular area in and just outside Chobe National Park is the short 9-mile (15km) stretch of Chobe River from Kasane town to the Serondela campsite. Few people come to Chobe without taking a trip on this river to see hundreds of hippopotamuses and crocodiles. Both hippos and elephants epitomise this park more than any other animals and are often featured on the cover of brochures to the area.
The only subject more photographed in Chobe are the exquisite sunsets sinking slowly over the water. Chobe National Park is probably the most affordable of Botswana's parks and with the lure of excellent game watching both on and beside the river; the well frequented areas can become quite crowded. Chobe has some of the finest game viewing in Africa with its huge herds of buffalo and zebras, lechwe, Chobe bushbuck and being the southernmost point where puku antelope can be seen. Where there are buffalo, lions are never far away and there is a good chance of seeing large prides who laze around in the shade all day and only yawn themselves awake at dusk. Hyena and leopard also hunt at night while cheetahs are diurnal predators.
Chobe is rich in bird life with the Pel's Fishing owl a favourite for bird watchers and the peculiar strangely beaked African skimmer another speciality. African fish eagles are common and their distinctive cry is as evocative of the African wilderness, as is the roar of the lion
The Forest Reserve is a large area of Chobe National Park which is designated for human habitation, with local communities having permission to run livestock here. There are nevertheless good wildlife populations and some reasonable camping options that the traveller can source. Many visitors simply pass through this reserve en route between Kasane and Savuti.
The Chobe River in the north that forms Botswana’s border with Namibia, part of which lies within Chobe National Park is part of a migratory route between Chobe National Park and Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. These areas are known for having the greatest concentration of elephants on earth. It is estimated that there are between 45,000 and 90,000 elephants here!
The most popular area in and just outside Chobe National Park is the short 9-mile (15km) stretch of Chobe River from Kasane town to the Serondela campsite. Few people come to Chobe without taking a trip on this river to see hundreds of hippopotamuses and crocodiles. Both hippos and elephants epitomise this park more than any other animals and are often featured on the cover of brochures to the area.
The only subject more photographed in Chobe are the exquisite sunsets sinking slowly over the water. Chobe National Park is probably the most affordable of Botswana's parks and with the lure of excellent game watching both on and beside the river; the well frequented areas can become quite crowded. Chobe has some of the finest game viewing in Africa with its huge herds of buffalo and zebras, lechwe, Chobe bushbuck and being the southernmost point where puku antelope can be seen. Where there are buffalo, lions are never far away and there is a good chance of seeing large prides who laze around in the shade all day and only yawn themselves awake at dusk. Hyena and leopard also hunt at night while cheetahs are diurnal predators.
Chobe is rich in bird life with the Pel's Fishing owl a favourite for bird watchers and the peculiar strangely beaked African skimmer another speciality. African fish eagles are common and their distinctive cry is as evocative of the African wilderness, as is the roar of the lion
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