Chobe National Park & Savuti

With thanks to Tracy Clements for allowing us to use the photographs above, which she took during her Safari Drive journey in Botswana with three friends in 2005.

Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park lies in the far north-eastern corner of Botswana. It is well-watered by the Chobe River and thereby contains Botswana’s densest and most varied game populations.

The river runs through the northern part of the Chobe and with its perennial water supply supports the greatest population of game in the park. The Savuti Marshes in the west and the Linyanti swamps in the northeast also attract a huge amount of wildlife and, during the wet season, they draw abundant birdlife.

A major feature of Chobe National Park is its elephant population, currently estimated to be approximately 120,000. These elephants are migratory as they journey on a seasonal basis from the Chobe and Linyanti rivers during the wet season to the pans in the southeast of the park where they go during the rains, a journey of up to 150 miles.

Savuti

This is one of the best game-viewing areas in Africa. The range of species is enormous and their numbers can be quite staggering. Major species include giraffe, elephant, zebra, impala, tsessebe, roan antelope, sable, wildebeest, kudu, buffalo, waterbuck, warthog and eland. Predators include lion, hyena, jackal and bat-eared fox. Wild dog and cheetah are also occasionally found in the region.