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Africa Travel Newsletters > Chobe National Park

Botswana has some of the world's last remaining unspoilt wilderness. Though it occupies an area the size of France, the human population is only 1.8 million. The country is characterised by endless horizons of rough-hewn landscapes. It is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which occupies 84% of its land area. The Kalahari is not a desert in the Sahara sense, as it has substantial vegetation in the form of short thorn and scrub bush, trees and grasslands. But it is very short of water indeed.

Botswana has been a good custodian of its wildlife, and elephants in particular have done well. They have grown in numbers from a few thousand in the early 1900's to the current population of about 120,000. In the mid 1970 to early 1990's, civil war raged in neighbouring Angola, and elephants were hunted for ivory. Together with those fleeing poaching in southern Zambia, these elephants found refuge in tranquil Botswana- specifically in Chobe National Park.

Chobe is a real gem that attracts the discerning wildlife fan. Bill Clinton- while still US president went on a Botswana safari to Chobe in 1998. He was so fascinated by the experience that he went a little further to enjoy the wildlife. Affirming his position at the top of the food chain, the president had for dinner some of the animal species he had seen on safari. His evening buffet included zebra, crocodile, impala in monkey sauce, and giraffe. "I tried it all", he declared with satisfaction.

But the former American president is only one in a long line of heavy hitters to enjoy the wildlife delights of Chobe. Hollywood legends, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor chose to remarry here.

Chobe National Park is like a diamond among rubies; it is the finest and most rewarding of Botswana's game sanctuaries. It is no surprise that the park ranks second among Africa's top ten safari destinations, after Kenya's Maasai Mara Reserve -according to About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. At 11,700 sq km, it is the county's third largest park after Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and Gemsbok National Park. It has one of the largest concentrations of wildlife in Africa.

The Chobe region is the ancestral land of the San Bushmen -an indigenous hunter-gatherer community found in southern Africa. Known in Botswana as the Basarwa, these people are thought to be the original inhabitants of the country. Today they are found well across south of the continent, with their largest populations in Botswana and Namibia.

Genetic evidence suggests that the San are some of the earth's most ancient people, having been around for the past 22,000 years. These itinerant people have for ages resided in and around the unsympathetic Kalahari Desert. They have amazingly defied its harshness, and can even claim to have mastered it. The generations have told their story through song and folklore, and the rock paintings that are found across large areas of southern Africa.

The San have remained so stubbornly attached to their traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle, even into the recent past. The promise of stability, together with government efforts has pressured most of them to convert to a modern sedentary lifestyle. But not all of the Basarwa are happy with change, and particularly at efforts to move them from their traditional habitats.

Together with their international supporters they have recently waged a noisy media campaign and petitioned the UN Human Rights Committee. In 2006 they obtained a reprieve when they won a court case against the government in contesting their forcible move from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

Today in Botswana, out of a population of 50,000, only about 3,000 follow the ancient way of life. The San people - and their culture and click consonant language- came to the attention of most of the world outside of Southern Africa through the unforgettable 1980 movie "The Gods Must be Crazy".

As recently as the late 19th century, before Chobe came under protection, the region was a popular hunting district for Europeans. Within a short time, the wildlife population fell drastically, for hunting was not carried out just for subsistence, but also for sport and commerce. Next came the trees; they were felled with little thought or care. Indigenous forests were badly exploited, and extensive damage was sustained along the Chobe River.

Chobe was definitely headed for the pits. The turning point came in the 1930's, as the case for wildlife tourism gained the ascendancy over hunting. In 1932, an area of 24,000 sq km was set aside and a non-hunting declaration passed over it. However, the timber business continued.

Just eleven years later -as Chobe was beginning to recover, a heavy tsetse fly infestation struck. The authorities were thoroughly discouraged, but Chobe relentlessly fought on. In 1953, 21,000 sq km of land was declared a game reserve, and in 1967, this became Botswana's first national park. By 1975, human settlement and the lumber industry had gradually been rid from the area. Chobe National Park flourished and has blossomed to its current state, where today it is host to the world's largest concentration of elephants.

Chobe nestles the north of Botswana, bordering Namibia's Caprivi Strip and extending southwards to touch tips with Moremi Game Reserve, another of Botswana's great wildernesses. Its open grasslands stretch from Linyanti in the northwest, sweeping eastwards to Kasane in the northeast. The diversity at Chobe National Park is astounding: an abundance of game and birdlife, riverine woodlands, flood plains, sporadic rock projections, and episodic marshes.

The entire park is divided into three distinct ecosystems: the Chobe Riverfront in the east; Savuti to the southwest; and to the far northwest, Linyanti and the central pans of Nogatsaa and Tchinga.

Chobe is renowned as Botswana's undisputed elephant territory, being home to about 45,000 tuskers. These elephants are massive in size, and are the world's largest in body size. Their tusks are however relatively small, and brittle. They are migratory in nature, and crisscross the park frequently in search of water. They hang around the Chobe waterfront in early winter and move westwards to the Linyanti waterfront as the winter becomes drier. In the rainy season, they spread all over the park, but are still cautious not to stray too far from the riverfront.

The Chobe Riverfront, also known as Serondela Reserve, is the most visited part of the park. The animal concentration here is quite high, and the area is relatively accessible. Serondela mainly comprises of riparian forests with lush vegetation and marginal floodplains. The stretch along the riverbank acts as the boundary between Botswana and Namibia. The river rises from the Angolan highlands, and flows across the Caprivi Strip into Botswana through the plains to become Kwando, Linyanti, Itenge and finally Chobe River on its way to Kasane town.

Kasane is an important settlement near the park and also a border post where Botswana meets three of its neighbours: Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The town hosts an international airport and offers access to cross border tourism between the four countries. Kasane has air connections to Johannesburg and Gaborone- the country's capital. It is 850 km by road from Gaborone. Its strategic position and availability of facilities makes it an ideal start or refill point for a safari to any of the four countries, and especially to Chobe National Park.

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