Beautiful Botswana
We spent two magical nights at the Savuti Elephant camp in Chobe National Park. Chobe is home to the world's largest population of elephants, currently there are over 50,000. It's not all elephants however, we were incredibly fortunate to see leopard, hyena, warthog, ostrich, buffalo, giraffe, impala, zebra and many others, plus a staggering array of birdlife. Savuti Elephant Camp is an Orient-Express property where the welcome is warm and the service second to none. Our expert ranger Rogers found the wildlife time and again and gave us all ample opportunity to take the perfect photo. Whilst you might come across two or three other vehicles during your Game Drive, generally you feel as if you have the entire park to yourself.
At Savuti Camp it's an early start for your thrilling morning game drive into Chobe Park. I've never seen the sky so big anywhere in the world and being here gives you a true sense of perspective and your place in nature. After a few hours it is back to the camp where you can take a siesta or a dip in the elephant-proof swimming pool - there's not many hotels that boast one of those! A lunch of tapas or something else light is prepared whilst you enjoy a book or soak up some of the sun's rays.
The Savuti Channel runs alongside the lodge bringing the life-giving water. Dry for 30 years up until January 2010, it now attracts a whole host of wildlife. We saw about 30 elephants crossing one afternoon and were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Cecilia, the brown-spotted hyena, early one morning taking a drink. The Channel started flowing again following an earthquake that redirected some of the flow from the Chobe River. Botswana is in fact on one of the most seismically active areas in the world, but because it sits on up to 1km of sand of the Kalahari Desert, most of the earthquakes are not felt by man as the sand absorbs the tremors. The locals reckon it will be just another couple of years before the water stops flowing along Savuti Channel again - so I suggest you start planning your trip soon before it does!
After Savuti we moved westwards to spend two nights at the Eagle Island Camp on the Okavango Delta, one of nature's wonders where the waters of the Angola River flow down into Botswana each year, flooding the plains and creating the most beautiful scene. It is teeming with birdlife and home to a great variety of wildlife, including hippos, crocodile and rhino. Eagle Island is also part of the Orient-Express group; so the service, food and accommodation are exemplary. One of the best ways to spot the wildlife of the Okavango is a helicopter tour and you can also take a trip to a local village to purchase some handicrafts as a memento of your time in beautiful Botswana.
The Okavango is a bird lover’s paradise and is another blissfully peaceful place to find yourself. Please give me a call for more information and advice on putting together an itinerary for you.
