Getting to Chobe

On Friday, Sept. 12th, our tour group flew out of Johannesburg to Livingstone International Airport in Zambia which had one runway just long enough for our jet to land. There were several single-engine planes on the ground and now I can understand why bush pilots are so common in Africa given the distances to travel and lack of roads. We boarded buses for a drive lasting a couple of hours to get to the Zambezi River.

Our ferries were the size of the second boat in this photo. The river is approximately 10 feet deep at the height of the dry season when we visited so the crossing was easy.  There is only one large ferry capable of transporting trucks and the lines waiting for it were incredibly long. Apparently Zambia and Botswana have just signed an agreement to build a bridge in this area.

 

In this photo, you can see the width of the river from the Botswana side looking back at Zambia.

After passing through Immigration, we boarded 4-wheel drive vehicles

for the ride to Chobe Game Lodge.

 

It took 45 minutes on a paved road to reach Chobe National Park and another

half-hour on dirt roads to reach the Lodge, but it was worth the wait!

 

We ate our meals in this area. Served buffet style, there was always a huge selection of food.

There were many of these seating areas overlooking the property and the Chobe River.

 

Between game drives and boat excursions, we didn't even have time to enjoy the other amenities offered at the Lodge. Everyone in our group wished we could have stayed there longer!

During one of our luncheons, we were entertained by local dancers who pulled me up to join them! Some of the men wore bark strapped around their calves which they knocked together to make loud sounds as they danced.

These are the kinds of boats we used on the Chobe River.

 

One of the highlights of the Lodge are these walkways near the river. We saw plenty of baboons, warthogs and elephants without even having to leave the premises.

 

 

Only 48 hours after we arrived in Chobe, we retraced our steps to return to Zambia and continue on to our hotel in Livingstone near Victoria Falls. It would be fantastic to spend several days at Chobe Game Lodge, and I'm sure it would be quite a different experience during the rainy season.