The theme for the South America & Africa Points Heist Trip Report is that I did not plan anything ahead of time. I’m too lazy to do so, and up to this point it didn’t negatively impact my trip (see Machu Picchu and Devil’s Pool). Another excursion that I reserved when on site was the day trip to Chobe. Half the day would be spent on the Chobe River and the other half would be a game drive. Those activities, coupled with the opportunity to add another country to my country count list, made this $150/pax activity worth it.
The Transport
The pickup from Protea was at 7:15AM. The drive to the river that links Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana is about 45 minutes away. At the river, we took a boat across to the Botswana border. At the border, there’s an endless queue of trucks going to and from Botswana. Each truck has to wait an average of five days just to get across the border. The trucks are ferried across the river one at a time. The drivers sleep in their trucks and wait an eternity to get to the border. From there, many had issues with their paperwork. The situation was a mess.
On the Botswana side we were taken to the Chobe Safari Lodge, a great resort right on the Chobe River.
The Boat Ride
The group of a dozen people boarded the boat, and our guide began to explain what we would see that day. In addition to elephants and impalas, there would be hippos and crocodiles. The next few hours were spent animal spotting. The boats would pull up right beside the animals giving us an opportunity to take photos. One of the other boats had some passengers who were more interested in selfies than wild game.
Lunch
Like Devil’s Pool, food was served. Lunch consisted of the hotel’s buffet which included impala sausage. Yum.
Game Drive
The next part of the adventure was the game drive. Now, we would drive along the same river and see more wildlife. We came across lionesses asleep, elephants grazing, and hippos on land. My favorite animal was the Chobe chicken because of its fun name.
Overall
This was a slow, peaceful tour that I would recommend because of the informative guides and the abundance of elephants. There are actually 80,000 elephants in the park which is a tribute to Botswana’s conservation efforts.
Where did you book the day trip?
Through the hotel. Same price as I found on the street but go with whatever option is cheapest because it’s all the same.