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The herd crosses the road in front of us, trumpeting their anger, before swimming across the river to a reedy bank to feed on the lush grass.While most travellers to Africa tend to concentrate on the cities and game parks in South Africa together with excursions into Kenya and Tanzania for visits to tribes people like the Masai Mara or to see the amazing wildebeest and zebra migration around the Serengeti there are other parts of southern Africa that are equally rewarding and these include Botswana . The Chobe National Park in the north east of the country covers over 11,000 sq km and offers enormous wildlife diversity. The most easily accessible area is close to the town of Kasane.The park contains an amazing number of elephants (estimates range from 50 to 65 thousand) and there is considerable discussion as to whether the park can sustain this number. At most times of the day you come across large family groups that can be viewed either from the special ‘open’ vehicles on land or from cruise boats on the Chobe River. Along the river large rafts of hippos wallow on the muddy banks, water buffalo graze the thick reeds, and crocodiles cruise languidly past waiting for tasty morsels. Families of baboons play at the water’s edge while in the scrubby vegetation on land I see impala, kudu, puku, warthogs and the occasional jackal. In the shade of a tree I spot a pride of ten lions; some of the lionesses have collars that are used to track their movements. The birdlife of Chobe is equally diverse and I spot many varieties including geese, hornbill, stilt, spoonbill, plovers, marabou stork, vultures and the beautiful fish eagle, the bird that appears on the Botswana flag. White-fronted bee-eaters dart in and out of their nests in the muddy riverbank.Situated on the edge of the Chobe River is the lovely Chobe Game Lodge and this is an ideal base from which to embark on game drives and boat cruises.
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