Chobe National Park

After my day at Victoria Falls, I had one more day before returning to Mutare.  I needed to leave Zimbabwe to come in as a tourist, since my temporary employment permit was due to expire March 17.  The other lecturer who was traveling with me and I decided to go across the border into Botswana to have a day trip into Chobe, one of the better game preserves in this part of Africa. 

 We spent the morning in a covered boat viewing wildlife both in the water and on shore.  We saw crocodiles, water buffalo, water monitor lizards, elephants, hippos, impala, kudu and a wide variety of bird life.  I especially enjoyed watching a herd of elephants who came down to the water to drink, roll in the water and spray themselves with mud.  There were about 15 in this herd.  We sat and watched them from about 20-30 yards away for a good ½ hour. 

Elephants drinking from the river

An elephant eating



The females are very protective of their young, supporting them with their trunks when the babies are swimming across the river or start to sink in the mud.
The elephant eating has her ears extended.  The elephants gently wave their ears, which fans them and is part of the process of keeping them cool.  Other tactics are rolling in the water and using their trunks to spray themselves with mud, which keeps their backs cool longer.

Impala, referred to by our guide as "fast food for lions"

A family of kudu

 In the afternoon, we were in an open-sided jeep seeing other animals in Chobe Preserve.  Highlights included a herd of giraffes, mongooses and some female lions.  The lions were just regrouping from an unsuccessful attempt to take a giraffe.  Our guide explained that they must have been very hungry to hunt during the afternoon of a hot day.  We also saw several half-grown cubs.  I must admit it seemed strange to be so close to lions in the wild in an open vehicle.  Really, if they’re hungry enough to hunt on a hot afternoon, who’s to say they wouldn’t go after some tasty tourists?  Fortunately for us, they did not.

A lioness resting after an unsuccessful hunt

 My little point-and-click camera can’t do justice to the wildlife in Chobe.  However, I think it is most impressive that I was close enough to take these photos with that camera.  That tells you how close we were to the animals—often just about 20 yards away!  It was a glorious experience, and I’m grateful to have had this small taste of it.

My best unedited point-and-click photo