Before arriving in Africa, my idea of a safari was hopping into a 4x4 jeep and charging through the bush in search of wildlife. But on the next leg of our journey — through a series of national parks spanning northern Namibia and wildlife-rich Botswana — we were soon to find safaris in Africa as varied as the continent itself. Along the way, we hopped into boats, helicopters, and local canoes to get up close to Africa’s amazing wildlife.
Our first stop — the sprawling 20,000-sq-km Etosha National Park in Namibia—is second only to Kruger in terms of size. But while Kruger required a great deal of patient searching (and the keen eyes of our guide ), Etosha’s desert landscape made wildlife easier to spot, especially because animals are limited to a small number of watering holes. Instead of driving around in the heat, you could just park up by the nearest watering spot and wait for wildlife to show. Nor did it hurt that we were camping outside one of the park’s main watering holes!
After pitching our tents, we watched a herd of elephants wallowing in the adjacent pool. After a quick game drive in the park — where we saw more giraffes, springbok, and herds of zebras — we returned to our camp to find three lions taking their turn at the watering hole. As the evening progressed, the lions were replaced by half a dozen of black rhino, who stayed on throughout the night. Usually solitary, these rhinos were clearly in the mood for socializing!
The next morning, we ventured back into the park, where we were rewarded with a steady procession of springbok, zebra, kudu, and red hartebeast — all in incredible numbers. By afternoon, the rhino were clearly recovering from their late night, and we saw increasing numbers of these critically endangered animals. For Jen and I, spotting a black rhino also marked the completion of our Big Five, although we hadn’t expected to see them in such numbers! Because of poaching, only 400-600 of these magnificent animals are left in the wild.
But the rhinos were only one highlight of our time in Etosha. Our most astonishing encounter included a group of three lions we saw sprawled out under a tree. At first, the cats appeared to be napping, but one lioness soon caught a scent and sloped off into the nearby tall grass. Her target turned out to be a hidden leopard, which lions will kill to reduce their competition for food. After a short chase, this leopard luckily escaped into a tree, where it nervously perched, waiting for the danger to pass.
After leaving Etosha’s wildlife behind, we slowly made our way into Botswana, just on the other side of the Okavango River. The river has also created the world’s largest inland delta — and a striking contrast to Namibian deserts where we’ve spent most of our time so far. Famed for its abundant wildlife, the delta’s lush waterways, marshy lagoons, and papyrus-laden river banks also offers ideal conditions for hippos, birds, crocodiles, and Africa’s largest population of elephants. On our first night in the delta, for example, we camped outside in the wilderness, only to be awoken by the unmistakable rumble of elephants moving near our camp.
We explored the delta again the following day, but this time in mokoro canoes. Traditionally made from local teak, modern versions are made from environmentally-friendly carbon fiber, but still require great skill—and balance—to navigate the narrow channels. Fortunately, we had a local guide to help us navigate this part of the trek, which culminated in a nature walk around the delta. Resuming our safari by boat — this time with a motor — we counted more elephants, hippo, Nile crocodiles, and an array of bird life, including African fish eagles, African skimmers, heron, yellow billed stork, and snowy white egret on our way back to camp.
With a free morning before driving back to Bagani — which is back on the Namibian side of the Okavango River but still the most direct way to reach Chobe National Park — some of us opted to explore the delta by helicopter. By air, the region’s vast expanse of lakes and rivers stretched into the horizon, making it easy to spot the giant crocodiles, hippos, and herds of elephants that call this fertile paradise home.
From the delta, we crossed back into Namibia and — making use of much nicer roads—journeyed along the Namibian panhandle before crossing back into Botswana at Kasane, where we checked into the plush Chobe Safari Lodge. Even though we were just camping outside, the lodge was easily the nicest place so far, with a large swimming pool, excellent facilities, stable WiFi (a rarity in Africa), and sweeping views of the Chobe River. We took advantage of the lodge’s 4x4 safari trucks to follow the river through Chobe National Park, where we found huge herds of Cape buffalo (rounding out the Big 5 for many people in our group) as well as hippo, monitor lizards, crocodiles, tortoise, and a wealth of river birds.
That evening, we took a sunset river boat cruise down the Chobe River, hoping to see animals as they came out to drink or bathe after the hottest part of the day. We didn’t see many animals on our morning game drive, even though this park supposedly has Africa’s largest elephants—and in great numbers, too — because early rains had supposedly pushed them deeper into the bush. But the slightly damp, overcast conditions were apparently ideal for hippo. Hippos typically spend daylight hours wallowing in deep, muddy channels, only venturing on land to feed after dark, so it was a great surprise to see hungry hippos feeding during the day.
From Chobe, we crossed the border into Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls, where we’d bid a fond farewell to many new friends we’d met on our tour. But before saying goodbye, we’d have one last adventure together at the ‘Devils Pool,’ where we enjoyed an uninterrupted (if slightly harrowing) peek over the edge of the famous falls. Victoria Falls was a fitting way to wrap up our travels through Southern Africa. That evening, we welcomed new arrivals who would be joining us on the next leg of our trip into Eastern Africa.
By Tom Mountford