Safari in Botswana (& Namibia)

Africa » Botswana » North-West » Chobe National Park
October 19th 2012

Published: November 15th 2012

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JLewX2

On our way to Botswana

It's our last full day of our trip... we are both incredibly sad about that and do not want to go home at all 😞

We went to Botswana for an all day safari (both boating and driving) in Chobe... we crossed over to Namibia so have now visited 5 countries this trip. Lucky was our guide, and on the boat ride we came to the only place in the world where you can see 4 countries (4 corners): Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia.

Botswana's main industries are beef, tourism, and mining. Because of the beef, we had to "clean" our shoes as we walked over the border.

In the morning, we did a boat safari down the Chobe river. Botswana was on one side, Namibia on the other - they had a fight over the island in the middle, Namibia wanted it for agriculture, Bostwana for wildlife as it attracts elephants, buffalo, etc. Botswana got it because of where the deeper channel/main thoroughfare lay.

We saw lots of hippos. Their skin is very sensitive to the sun, at night they travel long distances from the water, but only then.

Bird Jacama - Female lays her eggs

On our way to Botswana

and then leaves the male to take care of the eggs and the young while she goes off to find another male to lay eggs with.

We saw a "snake bird" because the neck is shaped like a snake.

Red billed ox peckers - on the buffalo, eats the bugs and ticks off of them.

Crocodiles cool their brains by keeping their mouth open.

Also saw: monitor lizard, African fish eagle, grey heron, elephants, warthogs, sable antelope (black antelope)

We then had lunch at the Chobe game reserve which was not very good... we realized how spoiled we have been where we have stayed. Only half of me would be coming home had we had food like this the whole trip!!

After lunch we did the drive safari and saw elephants, elephants, and MORE elephants!! Very cool watching them bathe in the water and mud. The babies don't quite have the coordination with their trunks yet, so while they try to spray themselves with mud they end up wallowing in it. It's not until they are 4-5 years old that they really have this coordination.

Had dinner at the Royal Livingston restaurant again,