The Chobe River Cruise is one of the highlights of a number of our tours and never disappoints.  Grace gives us a great account of her wonderful cruise with her clients.

Wow! No amount of nature programmes can prepare you for the wonder and the beauty that is the Chobe Safari Cruise.

We set off from the launch site in a light craft with a local guide, Otis. As we rounded the corner we were greeted by the sight of hundreds of elephants feeding on the islands; as we got closer we saw huge herds of Cape buffalo and red lechwe also grazing on the islands. These species all swim across the river from the mainland to feed upon the green and nutritious grasses and plants that are found growing there.

Don't forget about the great bird life! Cormorants, darters and African jacana to name but a few. The endangered marabou stork stood sentry-like on the banks too many to count!!

As we cruised further along the river we were enthralled with sightings of hippo, crocodiles and water monitors. We stopped to watch a herd of elephants coming down to drink, they left and were quickly replaced by a journey of giraffe, we watched as they splayed their front legs in order to lower their heads and drink. They too soon moved off; swaying elegantly as they walked to the tree line to begin browsing. However, something caught their attention and instead of browsing they all stared in one direction. We all craned our necks to see what was disturbing them and soon the excited whispers of “leopard” reverberated through the boat as we all became mesmerized by the sight of a female leopard and her cub; the cub playfully attacking its mother. We stayed captivated as they disappeared and reappeared from view as they walked amongst the shrubs and bushes.

Then we turned our attention to the beauty of the African sunset as the sun turned the Botswana sky on fire as our perfect day came to an end.

Grace Kemp

As the cruise is such a highlight it is included in:

• CV21 - Cape Town to Victoria Falls,
• BT14 - Botswana Wildside,
• BT13 - Botswana Wildside (Maun start),
• BK19 - Botswana Kalahari & Wilderness,
• NB21 - Namibia Botswana Desert & Delta,
• ZB16 - Zimbabwe and Botswana Game Trail,
• CVa21 - Cape to Vic Falls Grand Explorer,
• BTa14 - Botswana Wild Parks,
• BTa13 - Botswana Wild Parks (Maun start),
• ZBa16 - Zimbabwe Botswana Game Tracker
• NBa21 - Namibia Botswana Southern Circle.