When it comes to Botswana, Savute breaks all the rules: both for animal behaviour and for habitats. Here, lions hunt elephants, leopards take to fishing, the grasslands are vast and open and rocky hills punctuate the flat terrain.

Savute has proved itself somewhat of an enigma over the decades. During years of abundance its marsh fills with water, fed by the Savute Channel. The water weaves its way here from Angola via a chain of rivers and lagoons, spilling out into the marsh and drawing huge herds of elephants, wildebeest, zebras and buffalos.

In drier years, the channel shrinks into small pools and can evaporate completely, leaving the marsh dry and sending wildlife to the waterholes for water, where the tension between plains game and predators heats up over a parched and dusty landscape.

Wherever the plains game goes in Savute, the predators follow close-by, learning tricks of survival to adapt to the marsh’s ever changing nature. Whether the water flows here or not is anyone’s guess. The channel and marsh have a life of their own, independent both of the seasons and the annual rainfall.

Savute doesn’t just offer a safari; it’s also a feast for the eyes. Whitewashed skeletal trees set against green grass and huge blue skies, blinding red sunsets that spill purple and orange across the bush, and endless horizons that fade into a hazy mirage with the heat.

As Savute is part of Chobe National Park, a safari here is limited to game drives only. With the diversity of habitats, wildlife and landscapes that the marsh has to offer however, you’ll still find yourself wishing you had more time to see it all.