Day 71 Sunday May 17th (49 days to go) — We were picked up from the hotel and transferred to the JNB Airport for our flight to Kasane, Botswana. Our second day handlers were great as we were like rock stars, just had to wake up on time, get some breakfast and walk into the shuttle. At the airport, pretty much the same thing as they handled our luggage and zipped us through a hidden security checkpoint, so we did not have to wait in line for security or passport control in Johannesburg.
Waiting to board our flight to Kasane
Seat cover for your head
The box that contains the meal served on the flight
A pasta and wrap with dessert
Kasane International Airport (IATA: BBK, ICAO: FBKE) is an airport serving Kasane, a town in the Chobe District of Botswana. The airport is located along the A33 road, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the town and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the border with Namibia.
Air Botswana provides scheduled service between Kasane and Gaborone on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Numerous charter flight operators offer flights to other destinations in the vicinity.
Because it is near Chobe National Park, the airport is mainly used for tourism. Most lodges in the Kasane area provide shuttles from and to the airport. A bus shuttle is available for travel to Victoria Falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The present 7,800-square-metre (84,000 sq ft) terminal was opened on 22 February 2018. It replaced the original 1,300-square-metre (14,000 sq ft) terminal building which opened in 1991.
Logo on the jeep that carried us from the airport to Chobe Game Lodge
The 12 passengers leaving the airport for the Chobe Game Lodge
Looking at this road sign, I know we are not in Cut Off any longer 🙂
Strategically placed overlooking the Chobe River five decades ago, Chobe Game Lodge is a one of its kind within the Chobe National Park. This secluded location amidst the wildlife continues to offer an unrivalled perspective for guests on the beauty and wonders of the area. Later, as the first five-star safari lodge in Botswana, it marked the dawn of the luxury ecotourism era in the country.
Part of Chobe Game Lodge’s legacy is the story of Hollywood legends Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who found not only solace but also love amidst the serene beauty of the lodge. Their love story culminated in a historic wedding ceremony at the lodge in 1975.
In 1992, Chobe Game Lodge merged with Desert & Delta Safaris to form the subsidiary Chobe Holdings Limited (Chobe). By 1999, Chobe were the first and now remain the only ecotourism company to be listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange, thus ensuring broad based citizen ownership and all revenues received in Botswana.
Over the years Chobe Game Lodge has undergone regular rebuilds, additions and refurbishments, including an extensive raised walkway with viewing platforms, aptly named the “Chobe Deck of Fame” for its commanding views of the Chobe River and its game rich floodplains.
Chobe National Park, Botswana: Elephant majesty & ultimate wildlife safari
Desert & Delta Safaris | Botswana’s Best Safari Portfolio
Being the only permanent lodge located within the Chobe National Park in Botswana, Chobe Game Lodge has a distinct edge over the many other lodges situated outside of the park. All the other lodges are located together in the town of Kasane, but this lodge is on it’s own, surrounded by national park with stunning views over the Chobe River and it’s flood plains which are traditionally teaming with animals and birdlife.
It is a luxury lodge as is reflected in the prices. Here you will be totally pampered, enjoy fantastic cuisine, sleep in absolute luxury and have the safari experience of a lifetime. It’s reputation speaks for itself, probably gaining initial notoriety when Liz Taylor and Richard Burton got remarried here in the 1970’s. The Moorish architecture and lush tranquil gardens at Chobe Game Lodge, I must say do give it a rather splendid feel.
It’s a large lodge accommodating up to 94 guests in 47 bedrooms so although the staff are extremely hospitable friendly and accommodating it is not the same intimate experience that one would have in an exclusive 20 bed safari camp, but for some that is not what they want and prefer the luxury of a larger established hotel.
As Chobe Game Lodge is right on the river they can offer both land and water based activities. A choice of morning and afternoon drives and river cruise are all included in the price. Being inside the park gives you more game viewing time than those lodges based outside the park.
Chobe National Park is famous for having the largest elephant concentrations in Africa. In the dry season (July to October) not only do these enormous herds of elephant gather but also large herds of buffalo congregate along the Chobe River’s fertile flood plains which has the only water and grazing in the area. Sightings of giraffe, sable, roan antelope, painted dog, lion, red lechwe and puku are also common to mention just a few.
During the green season (Dec to April) much of this game disperses inland, natures way of allowing the floodplains to restore themselves. However resident game is always present, just not in the intense volume of the dry season. The green season has the advantage of seeing hundreds of newly born plains game and an absolute profusion of plant life.
Front doors to the lodge
Photos of the lodge and also our bedroom
There were a number of sitting areas to relax right outside the lobby
In the afternoon we were given tea or coffee with snacks and then we headed out for our first opportunity to see animals on a sunset cruise on the Chobe River. We then returned to the lodge around 6pm and had dinner served. It was fun to get back on The Chobe River but I realized something was different from my last visit here. When I visited here in November 2015, it was the dry season and animals were coming to the river for water. Now that we just finished the wet season on this trip there was water available inland and not as many animals (mainly elephants) were coming to the river. It was disappointing as I was excited for Jackie to see the large number of animals.
I will post photos and videos below of the first river cruise.
Our guide’s seat on the boat 🙂
The number of impalas were as high as in 2015
This deck is part of The Chobe Game Lodge. If the water level were not so high you could see hundreds of elephants from this viewing area drinking water from the water.
Below is the URL for the webcam that is loaded on this deck
The Location – Chobe Game Lodge
The Location – Chobe Game Lodge
After elephants and rhinoceroses, the hippopotamus is the next largest land mammal. It is also the largest extant land artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, short legs, and large size: adults average 1.5 t (1.7 short tons) for bulls (males) and 1.3 t (1.4 short tons) for cows (females).
Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps. Territorial bulls each preside over a stretch of water and a group of five to thirty cows and calves. Mating and birth both occur in the water. During the day, hippos remain cool by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grasses. While hippos rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos typically do not display territorial behaviour on land. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory (canine teeth).
How hippopotamus shape African waterways with their immense size and force | One Earth
We saw three elephants come down to the river on the sunset cruise. Sadly, because of the end of the rainy season there was not much need for the elephants to visit the river.
We saw many baboons as they come down to the river in the late afternoon and sleep in the trees above the river.
Impala on the land near the river.
Guinea Fowl were all over the place. These birds are like overstuffed chickens. We easily saw 100,000 in our three days at Chobe.
Guinea fowl meat is moist, firmer and leaner than chicken meat and has a slight gamey flavour. It has marginally more protein than chicken or turkey, roughly half the fat of chicken and slightly less food energy per gram. Their eggs are substantially richer than those of chickens.
While guinea fowl are excellent for natural pest control (like eating ticks) and guarding, they are notorious for being loud, hard to contain, and minimally domesticated.
Major downsides include:
- Deafening Noise: They are incredibly loud. Their relentless shrieking to alert to predators (or just about anything) makes them a poor choice if you have close neighbors.
- Disregard for Boundaries: Unlike chickens, they will freely wander far from your property. They have no concept of “home,” often crossing roads where they face traffic hazards or trespassing into neighbors’ yards.
- Low Intelligence & Vulnerability: Often considered less intelligent than chickens, they stubbornly roost high in trees rather than going into a coop, making them easy targets for owls. They also like to hide nests on the ground, making the hens highly vulnerable to predators.
- Aggression & Mess: They can be belligerent toward other poultry (like roosters) and will indiscriminately leave droppings on vehicles, decks, and outdoor furniture.
- Poor Parents: Guinea hens can fiercely protect their young, but they often lose them by wandering through cold, dew-covered grass.
Warthogs are excellent lawn mowers
Egyptian Geese
This was the opposite side of the river. He was fishing by checking nets that he had placed. The land is a different country called Namibia. When I was here the last time, this land was covered with African water buffalo, but because of the rainy season and recent flooding, there were no buffalo to be seen.
Parked awaiting the sunset
Enjoying a cigar after dinner. We spoke about it being so amazing that we were in Africa at a game lodge and smoking cigars after a great first day
3 thoughts on “Day 71 May 17 – Chobe, Botswana”
Great pictures. That lodge look amazing!
I might have missed this but did you go with a travel agency for this trip? Or was a ships excursion? We will be cruising Africa next year and we’re looking for recommendations. Thank you.
This was an Oceania overland excursion. I wanted Jackie to visit Victoria Falls and Chobe so we picked this overland excursion. There were about 6-7 other overland excursions being offered by Oceania and in speaking to the passengers who went on those, nobody was disappointed. My only disappointment is that the water levels were high so there was not as much animal movement as my previous visit.