Botswana
Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park: Elephants and Floodplains on the Chobe River
Chobe National Park, in the far north of Botswana, was the country's first national park, and the region around it is home to an estimated 50,000 elephants. The herds are easiest to see in the dry season, from May to October, when the animals come down to the river to drink.
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Good to know
Arriving at Chobe
Your cruise or safari program arranges how you reach the park, either by boat on the Chobe River or by vehicle through Sedudu Gate, south of Kasane, which is the most common way in. The riverfront, in the park's northeast corner near Kasane, is probably its busiest section.
- The Chobe River forms the park's northern boundary, with Namibia on the far bank.
- Chobe is Botswana's third largest national park and part of the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.
- There are no places to buy food or drink inside the park, only basic picnic areas.
- The park is in a malaria zone, so see a doctor about prevention before you travel.
Game Drives and River Boats
Inside the park you travel by 4x4 safari vehicle or by boat, because the tracks are deep sand in the dry months and mud in the wet. Driving off the tracks is not allowed, and near Kasane the park roads run one way.
- Day tours often spend half the time on land and half on the river.
- From a boat you can see crocodiles and elephants at close range, while boats keep more distance from hippos.
- On land you will usually see a greater variety of animals.
- Park entry fees apply, and they are often included in the price of a guided tour.
- Never bathe in rivers or lakes, where wild animals and waterborne diseases are a risk.
- Do not touch dead animals, because outbreaks of anthrax occasionally occur among wildlife.
A Brief History
The first people of the Chobe area were San hunter-gatherers, who moved with the seasons in search of food and water, and their rock paintings survive in hills inside the park. The park itself grew out of a ban on hunting in the 1930s.
- 1931: A national park for the area was first proposed, to protect its wildlife and encourage tourism.
- 1932 to 1934: About 24,000 square km around the Chobe district were declared a non-hunting area, enlarged to 31,600 square km two years later.
- 1943: Heavy tsetse fly infestations across the region delayed the plans.
- 1960: The Chobe Game Reserve was created, smaller than first hoped.
- 1968: The reserve became a national park.
- 1975: Timber settlements such as Serondela had been moved out, and the whole park was free of human activity. Traces of the timber industry can still be seen at Serondela.
- 1980 and 1987: The park was enlarged a little further.
- 2010: In January, water flowing down the Savuti Channel reached the Savuti Marsh for the first time since 1982, a channel that runs dry for long periods and then flows again because of tectonic movements.
Chobe with Children
A day in Chobe means a few hours sitting in a boat or an open vehicle, so it suits children who can stay seated and quiet when animals are close.
- Younger children: On the river, watch elephant herds drinking and playing at the water's edge, and look for fish eagles in the trees along the bank.
- School age: Chobe's Kalahari elephants form the largest herds of any known elephant population, and their tusks are short and brittle, possibly because the soil lacks calcium. The floodplains are the only place in Botswana where the puku antelope lives.
- Teenagers: Ask your guide about the elephants' migration of about 200 km to the southeast of the park in the rainy season, and about the Savuti Channel, which can stay dry for long periods.
- Never try to interact with wild animals.
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