Latest Posts — Sarah Clews Photography

Nov 4

Nov 4 The Best of Botswana: Chobe National Park: The River Safari

Chobe National Park was a standout highlight of my overlanding adventure in Southern Africa. Situated in the North of the country, the park is extensive and is home to one of the largest populations of elephants in the whole of Africa. In terms of variety, this park has it all, and Chobe gave us some of the best wildlife sightings of the whole trip! We went on a fantastic river cruise on the Chobe River in the afternoon, and saw elephants swimming across the river, hippos bathing, plenty of birdlife and crocodiles lurking at the water's edges; it is insane how well camouflaged they are!

The animals were all very relaxed around the boats, meaning we could get up close and personal without changing their natural behaviour. It's important to remember this isn't a zoo and the animals here are wild. One couple on our boat threw an apple core to the elephants, and rightly so our guide got very angry, as feeding the elephants causes them to expect food from humans and when this expectation is not met it could potentially lead to aggression and attacks on humans in the future.