Botswana to Namibia

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Having left Zambia we headed for our river crossing to Botswana. At this point we were looking at four countries; Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. A unique crossing. Our next safari was at Chobe National Park, which I can highly recommend. We saw many prides of Lions with cubs as well as many breeding herds of Elephants, some who mock charged the 4x4 to tell us to go away, so we did. In the late afternoon we went on a river cruise. This allowed us to get close to some very sleepy looking Hippos, many Birds and a male herd of Elephants who were having fun sparring with each other and playing in the water. It was fantastic watching the Elephants crossing to the mainland right next to the boats.

The Okavango Delta was our next port of call. We took the opportunity to fly over it in a 3 seater plane which was amazing, a must do for anyone entering the Okavango just so that you get an idea of the scale of it all. We entered on a mix of motor boat and makora (small canoe). We spent two days on a small island and had the opportunity to walk with wild Elephants on a nearby island getting within 50 yards of them.

Heading into Namibia we stopped at the Caprivi strip and camped at Ngepi, a must see with the worlds only Hippo and Croc cage dive experience (see pictures). The ablution block tour was a must with lots of unusual creations such as a throne toilet looking over the river. Then onto Etosha, we had to spend some time at Halali where there must have been around 35 Elephants all crowded around the waterhole. Our first night was spent at Namutoni, the waterhole was quiet but the entertainment came from the Jackals that were roamng around looking for scraps from the bins. We were woken by one crunching something outside the tent. The next two nights were spent at Okaukuejo where we were spoiled by seeing several Rhinos including some young. Just to know that they are safe here and breeding was very special. We spent hours watching the antics of a herd of Elephants who had sent a scout party to the waterhole and would not let any other animal drink until they and the following herd had departed after over an hour.

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Photos

Too hot even for the lions
or are they eyeing up lunch?

Oryx
very tasty