UNDER CANVAS SAFARIS - Chobe Under Canvas

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WHAT SETS US APART

• Region of the Chobe National Park
• The rustic charm of camping combined with the comfort of full service, a flush toilet and a steaming hot bucket shower
• Massive baobabs that loom majestically over the reserve
• Leopard sightings, as well as rare and fascinating wild dogs
• Known for the enigmatic Savute Channel, which flows and dries up intermittently, independently of rainfall, vastly changing the nature of the region; the Savute Channel is currently flowing for the first time in almost thirty years
• Healthy population of lion, which have become known for hunting elephant
• Open plains with vast herds of plains game
• Lion, zebra and wildebeest

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Savute, a remote and wild corner of Chobe National Park, stretches from the park’s northern boundaries to the Linyanti River. The area’s main feature is the mysterious Savute Channel, which flows and dries up seemingly unrelated to the rainfall. Dry and arid for almost 30 years, animals in the area were sustained by artificial waterholes. With the Savute Channel flowing again in recent years, the region has undergone a startling transformation, reverting to its natural lush and marshy state. Large numbers of wildlife have been attracted to this rejuvenated wilderness haven.

Sizable numbers of elephant bulls are invariably present. During the dry years, when prey was hard to find, many of Savute’s lion became notorious for hunting elephant. ​ With the recent transformation of the region, prey has become more abundant and the large lion prides have split up into smaller family groups, allowing a greater variety of predators to flourish in the area. Savute is also a famous battleground for lion and spotted hyena. With grazing now plentiful, the area is also popular with zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, giraffe, tsessebe and kudu. 

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• The rustic charm of camping combined with the comfort of full service, a flush toilet and steaming hot bucket shower
• Access to the scenic Chobe River
• Game drives include beautiful views over the river, with very high densities of elephant, buffalo and hippo, as well as enormous crocodiles, lions, fish eagles, water monitors and black-backed jackal
• Known for thrilling, action- packed interactions between species
• Only place in Botswana to see the puku and Chobe bushbuck
• Famed for its high concentration of elephants

Expert tips:

Among the great game reserves of the world, Chobe National Park is home to one of the largest concentrations of elephant on the African continent. Surrounded by wildlife management areas and reserves that allow game to roam freely, the 11 700km2 (4 500 square mile) reserve is located in the far north of Botswana, bordering on the Chobe River.

Chobe is particularly well known for its large herds of elephant and buffalo, as well as the two antelope that cannot be encountered anywhere else in Botswana, the puku and Chobe bushbuck. In addition to the vast floodplains that occur along the river, Chobe offers tracks of dry savannah. Dense teak woodland provides thick cover in the north-eastern parts of the reserve. ​Watching the elephant families drink and bathe in the river is an unforgettable sight, all the more impressive when herds of buffalo, rafts of hippo and gigantic Nile crocodiles are part of the scene. ​Lion and spotted hyena are frequently seen on the floodplains, where red lechwe, puku, zebra, sable and roan come out to graze.