Oh my goodness. Four countries that touch each other – who would have known! HA!
Ok – I knew about Zambia but I didn’t know Botswana was right there and then while in Botswana we learned that Namibia was right across the river. We were in Namibia in December and noticed this long flag pole portion of Namibia going east from the desert portion that we visited. It turns out to be Zambia’s attachment to the Zambezi River.
When we learned Botswana was only an hour away Bill and I giggled like we captured a leprechaun.
I did research online and used safaribookings.com to find an operator who would take us on a safari to Chobe National Park the following day. This time a last minute plan worked out!
Warning: there are way too many elephant photos. *click to enlarge and click on blue words to see videos.
We had a 7:00 am pickup by Brian, the owner/operator of the tour company who drove us an hour to the border between Zimbabwe and Botswana. There he left us in the good hands of Cobra aka King our safari guide – funny and fearless.
It was a heart pumping morning as we had two different elephants charge our vehicle. One towards the hood who wanted to play chicken on the road and the other who came running, down an incline, off the side of the road, closest to me, like he was going to t-bone us.
This one headed for us
The encounter on the road stopped when Cobra turned on the engine. The sound was enough to frighten the elephant and stop the charge. We were told they have terrible eye sight and really couldn’t see what he was heading towards – he just sensed the threat.
The next elephant, by the grace of God, swerved before hitting us.
In between these incidents word got out in the radio that there were lions in the bush. Mr. Fearless driver decided he should be to one to find them. Sure enough a pride of lions lay in the shade under the drooping branches of a wide tree deep in the bush. Sleepy, they showed no interest in us beside the one who got up and walked away (to where?). I’m snapping photos and Bill tells me to be careful and look for the lion that walked away – concerned that he could circle around us. I teased Cobra that he was safe in the cab and then asked Bill what was I to do if the lion decided he wanted to eat us???
The drivers are constantly on the radio informing each other when they find game. As other vehicles approached Cobra had to back and forth it in the bush to turn us around to leave. Kudos to Cobra. He had bragging rights this day.
We lunched at the Mawana Lodge on the edge of the Chobe River and then headed for an afternoon boat ride. Maguna, our captain.
Cruising in the river was marvelous. Botswana rested on one side and Namibia on the other. In the middle was a narrow island that has been the cause of friction between the two countries for years. Both sides claim ownership, each calling it by different names.
Hundreds of elephants and African cape buffalo grazed on the island and Namibia side. The river was narrow enough that we got to go where the action was. It was peaceful and thrilling.
We witnessed a herd of elephants with their young traversing the river. It was remarkable how they stayed together and kept the babies afloat.
We also saw giraffe, a monitor lizard swimming, and very big crocodiles on our afternoon cruise.
Immigration was super easy and Brian waited for us so he could drop us back off at the lodge in time for Sundowners. What a day!
