Chobe National Park

Alhamdulillah I survived !! 

We got up early, packed some eats and (everyone still in Pjs) went to Chobe. Marwaan thinks we got there too early – there wasn't much happening. The first animal we saw was “a buck”. It took Marwaan a day in Chobe to learn all the names ! The lilac-breasted roller was exquisite. We saw baboons cuddling in a bush. As we made our way towards the river we saw a very hairy buck with a white circle on it's bottom – a Water-buck. At the river we saw hippo in the distance as well as buffalo (thank goodenss we have the binoculars). A few hornbills perched in a tree and we took a photo of everything! Plenty of the same one, near and far ! Good thing we had that extra memory card ! Every bird species was photographed so that we could identify later on. And we saw PLENTY here at Chobe – too many for me to list. At some point along the river route the track went closer to the riverbank and we came really close to hippos. We parked for a while watching them, admiring them and being safe in our car away from them. Soon the river became alive with more and more animals being sighted – warthog, impala (and they are ABUNDANT), geese, birds, crocodiles.

We saw the banded mongoose again. Every now and then we'd spy a herd of elephant, some in large groups, others a few. Kudu, eland, roan antelope and something which had stipes like a kudu and dots like a deer! The path took us to the riverfront and then back inland so we constantly had a variety. It seemed as if some areas were more favoured by certain animals than others. We'd seen hippos in one region and buffalo in another, impala on one plain and giraffe on another. Further down the river was mainly baboons. Aasiyah had wanted to see giraffe. They are beautiful in a “lomp” kind of way, but not very exciting to watch and soon the novelty wore off. 

Marwaan was eager to find lions and stopped a ranger to ask if he knew where we could find them. He directed us but we didn't have a map and eventually found ourselves in the area he told us about. We didn't see anything and Marwaan being Marwaan, saw a path and wanted to take it (I didn't) and we landed smack bang behind a pride of lions feasting on buffalo rump! Marwaan parked the car as close as he could, but unfortunately that was my side that was closest and I had to take the pics. I say unfortunately as I was beyond scared and freaked when he lowered the window for me to take pics! 

It was cute watching the cubs play though. I was a bit disappointed when I saw the male lion, as his mane wasn't very big and I had mistaken him for a lioness! 

We tried in vane to find a rhino and eventually we returned to camp to freshen up. Once again grabbed some goodies for lunch and we returned for an afternoon drive. Watching elephants is amazing. How they protect their young Masha'Allah. The highlight of the afternoon drive was when we crossed the river and found ourselves in an open plain. For miles and miles we could see herds of animals ! Elephants in their hundreds, buffalo, impala, giraffe – with their long necks on the horizon. I don't think our photos do justice to the awesome sight. Allahu'Akbar.

Chobe is a HUGE reserve and we didn't get very far with exploring it. Our return pretty much covered the same areas we had been to the morning. The lions now fast asleep after filling their bellies. As we returned, so too did the elephants, making their way back over the plains, through the river and into the forest areas of the reserve. I was less scared tonight, I think I got some comfort from putting a face to the noise I heard. I heard elephant and jackal.

Please click on these photos to get some sort of idea of what we saw.