Botswana’s famous Chobe National Park is a must-see wildlife destination that includes the Savute Channel and natural beauty of the Linyanti River. Covering almost 11,000 km² (6,836 square miles), Chobe was Botswana’s first national park and remains one of its best, boasting the biggest concentration of wildlife in Africa.
An oasis in a dry, at times desolate region, Chobe National Park’s Chobe River offers an irreplaceable lifeline to the reserve’s wildlife. The largest concentration of elephant in Africa occupies this park and, in the mid- to late-afternoon, herd after herd comes down to the Chobe banks, some small in number and others counting in the hundreds. Each takes its turn to drink the precious water, swim in the cool river or just jostle for position. Inland from the river is a semi-arid habitat, while around the oasis vegetation is abundant.
Herds of sable antelope, mostly seen in the dry regions, can be spotted coming down to drink, only to disappear back into the drier areas. Special game sightings include the indigenous and endangered puku antelope that can only be seen along the Chobe River banks and in pockets in the Linyanti swamps, along with roan antelope, giraffe, kudu, bushbuck, waterbuck, zebra, wildebeest, warthog, lion, leopard and the occasional African wild dog. Large herds of buffalo are found along the Chobe riverfront and grazing on the islands, crossing from one to the other or back to the mainland.
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