Botswana Safari: Chobe, Okavango Delta, and Linyanti

Botswana with its famous Okavango Delta and Chobe River is a well-known and sought-after safari destination. While we had been lucky enough to have done other safaris in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, Botswana promised a new perspective with river safaris and canoe rides in ancient dugout canoes (or mokoros).

It was also a perfect way to visit Victoria Falls which combines nicely and was our first stop.

From Zambia at the falls, we had organized a land transfer to get to our first camp near the Chobe River and the start to our safari.

The transfer across the border was done in three steps. One driver took us to the border. Another across and then a third from the Kasane Airport to our camp. We also had to step into a murky flat bucket full of a solution to combat foot and mouth disease. They took our temperatures and checked covid vaccination certificates.

Kasane and Chobe River area

We stayed at Muchenje Safari Lodge for two nights and did both game drives in vehicles as well as boat safaris along the Chobe River. The lodge is situated on a hilltop overlooking the river and the view was spectacular.

The camp did early morning drives at 6am (returning for breakfast at 8:30) and afternoon game drives and even evening ones. All activities and meals were included, and we were lucky to be alone in the jeep that can sometimes take as many as six. They also did a wonderful day long safari that combines a boat safari with a driving one.

We exchanged stories with other guests almost all of whom had, like us, postponed their trip in 2020, postponed it again in 2021 and had finally decided to come in 2022. We also overheard other reservations being cancelled again by some.

Huge herds of elephants, towers of giraffes, troops of baboons, and bloats of hippos. Zebras and antelopes were plentiful. And we saw a pride of lions including a mature male. What a treat!

The camp was only an hour from Kasane village and airport and the proximity to civilization may have limited the game viewing. Our guide told us stories about conflicts between lions and farmers losing livestock. This in turn may have made the animals more skittish.

The Chobe River here was quite wide. Elephants and buffalos would swim across to the islands while crocodiles would lurk below.

Okavango Delta

Three hops in our small bush plane took us to our second camp which was in the Okavango Delta. We stayed at Shinde Tented Camp which was a charming spot right on the banks of the river. Here the terrain reminded us more of the Everglades. Papyrus stalks and water lilies would accentuate the tall reeds coming out of the narrow waterways. In June the floodplains were not fully submerged and the area was a maze of water passages.

This was our first experience in a tented camp. We had to laugh because after showing us the room our host left putting the latch on our door locking it from the outside. After unpacking we tried to open the door but could not get out. Hmm. Was this a test? A joke? I guess it was just force of habit after leaving to lock up to prevent the baboons from coming in. Well, fortunately my husband was able to climb out over the outside shower railing across the underbrush and save the day. I think the host got a ribbing from the rest of the staff for days to come.

On the afternoon game drive we lucked out spotting a mother leopard with a baby cub of nursing age. What a treat! The baby playfully chased its tail and played in the background. We stayed with this pair for a full hour being lucky enough to have the guide and jeep to ourselves. The baby was a little shy and remained in the background while mom lay in the sun just feet from the jeep. We finished the day marveling at the bright red African sunset.

Returning to the camp after dark we looked up at the sky. What a spellbinding array of stars. We could see the Milky Way.

Making our way back to camp, two female lionesses suddenly appeared in front of the jeep. Fresh from having feasted on a kill, their bellies were so full we could see them swaying from side to side as they walked along the roadway. They continued on their way as we admired them from a respectful distance.

The next day we couldn’t find the leopards again but had a nice surprise watching two female lions (mother and daughter) reunite with two young males. The four of them rolled around the grass acting like large house cats. Lying on the ground with four legs in the air enjoying life as a lion.

Other sightings here included many types of antelopes unique to the area that we had never seen such as Tsessebe, Red Lechwe and Reedbuck.

We loved this camp and if we could do it again would spend more time in this area or go into the Moremi Game Reserve. There were more animals here than we saw at the Chobe Safari Lodge and Linyanti Bush Camp.

Linyanti Concession

Our last camp was again near the Chobe National Park but this time on the shores of the Linyanti River which is narrower than the Chobe River. This time we had the bush plane to ourselves. Landing we were met by our driver-guide that told us it would be a two-hour jeep ride to the camp. A transfer and a game drive.

The Linyanti Bush Camp was almost empty. One other family of four was there with us but the last night it was just the two of us. Sad as the staff had been without work for almost two years during the pandemic. Some of them were doing shifts to share the salaries so we had different chefs every night.

This camp was also a tented one and we were bracing for three more mornings of waking up to temperatures in the 40s inside the tent.

This area of Chobe, while beautiful, was sparser for animal sightings. Be it our bad timing or simply bad luck there were fewer animals than the other camps. Even the impalas which has been so plentiful elsewhere were rare to see. Not much for the big predators to eat and while we saw some lion and hyena tracks, we didn’t have any sightings.

What’s more, the other animals we saw were seemingly afraid of the jeep. We were surprised at this as our experience in other safari spots was that the animals had become accustomed to the jeeps as non-threatening and simply ignored them. Here elephants would turn and threaten or even mock charge. Giraffes would run. Even buffalo would keep a distance backing away while staring at the jeep. We distinctly felt that these animals had had bad experiences with humans be that through hunting, poaching or who knows what.

Of course, the animals roam freely so it may not have been directly in this area but maybe in Namibia whose border was on the other side of the river from here.

Staying three nights we got a helicopter tour which gave a nice perspective of the river and waterways. But even from above we only saw a handful of hippos and a few elephants.

While much of the game drives were quiet. We concentrated on the large variety of birds. We must have a hundred shots of the lilac breasted roller and the colorful bee-eater.

We always finished the afternoon drives with a sundowner stop enjoying another breathtaking African sunset.

We did get lucky at dusk a few of times, once getting a glimpse of genet, a rare small African cat with a ringed tail.

One night we did a night drive and after an hour spotting only a rabbit and an elephant we gave up. Just as we came into the camp a black-backed jackal ran in front of the car, literally 20ft from the camp. In fact, the following afternoon from our tent’s veranda we saw hippos, elephants, baboons, impalas, and zebras enjoying the bank of the river below.

Conclusion and tips

We are happy to have experienced Botswana and for having the opportunity to see these majestic animals again.

It was also an experience to stay in the tented camps despite the cold. Both of our tented camps gave us hot water bottles (Bush Babies they called them) but getting up with the temperature in the tent in the 40s was still a challenge and wore us down after some days. Everything is cold in the tent. Your clothes are freezing and so is the toilet seat! If you are planning to come in June or July, bring some nice fleece pajamas.

Despite the cold it was thrilling and exciting to hear the hyenas howling, elephants roaring and hippos snorting just outside the tent.

Prepare for the unexpected

There was little to no Wi-Fi in the last of our bush camps, so it was challenging to check in for our flight and verify connections and updates. It was nice to unplug also but we did have news that affected some travelers that Comair had filed for receivership and cancelled all their flights.

We also got a scare that our Airlink flight was asking for PCR tests (we would have had to fly in a nurse!) but fortunately all went smoothly, and this was just outdated info. We were fortunate to have had our Go2Africa agent on standby in the same time zone to help answer some questions and sort out any glitches. Had we used a local resource, they would have been sleeping when we needed them!

A few days before our departure we learned that the United States’ CDC cardboard covid cards were no longer acceptable and we had to scramble to get an African CDC card with a QR code (fortunately easy to get and free to do online).

Experience has taught us to add a bit of a buffer for our connection to our international flight. You never know if strong winds or even brush fires or other things may impact your small bush flights. We added a couple of nights in Johannesburg.

We also brought enough medication for a few extra weeks and packed what we thought me might need if God forbid we should get stuck. This would be prudent at all times, especially now.

Above all, the key for a good safari is to be where the animals are going to be at the time of the year you are going. It’s never an exact science with nature but some research here will improve your odds of animal sightings.

Think about whether you want more of a lodge (permanent building) experience or a tented camp. Nothing compares to the noises you hear outside the tent but be prepared for the cold and for a more minimalistic experience (even with the luxury tents that include wooden flooring, working showers, sinks and toilets). There are also mobile camps with simple pop-up tents but that would really be roughing it.

After five nights of sleeping in the cold tents we were happy to have heat in our hotel suite in Johannesburg!