Chobe National Park & Riverfront
Chobe National Park, in Botswana's far north, protects the largest concentration of African elephants on Earth — an estimated 130,000 animals that gather in thundering herds along the Chobe River each dry season. A sunset boat cruise here, with elephants swimming across the river and hundreds of buffalo drinking at the bank, is the kind of scene that makes people weep with joy.
The Chobe Riverfront Experience
The 11-kilometre riverfront strip between Kasane town and Serondela is the park's most accessible and dramatic section. Game drive vehicles and pontoon boats share the same wildlife corridor, giving you two completely different perspectives on the same animals within a single afternoon.
Elephant herds of 50 to 200 individuals are routine sightings, and the river also draws huge pods of hippo, Nile crocodile, sable antelope and the localised puku antelope found almost nowhere else in Botswana. Raptors including fish eagles and African skimmers patrol the water's edge.
Kasane: Your Gateway Town
Kasane sits at the meeting point of four countries — Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia — making it a natural hub for multi-country itineraries. The town has a good range of lodges from the luxury Chobe Game Lodge (Africa's first carbon-neutral safari lodge) to affordable guesthouses on the main road.
The Kazungula Border crossing into Zambia is just 8 km away, and Victoria Falls is a 90-minute drive, making Chobe a natural add-on to any Falls trip. Day-trippers from Livingstone and Victoria Falls town regularly visit on organised excursions.
Beyond the Riverfront
The Savuti Marsh, in Chobe's remote south-west, is legendary among photographers for its lion-versus-elephant stand-offs and its enormous dry-season elephant gatherings around the Savuti Channel. It requires a 4WD and advance planning but rewards with near-solitary bush experience.
The Linyanti Concession, bordering Namibia's Caprivi Strip, offers exclusive private camps with outstanding leopard and wild dog sightings away from the riverfront crowds.
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