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CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
spread out in search of nutritious food. Perhaps the most appealing feature of this season is the number of cute young animals to see, that have been born at the beginning of the rains and are now a couple of months old. One of my favourite things about this season is that elephants have the energy to play again. The Chobe River is a permanent flowing water source and on hot summer days the young bulls like nothing more than to frolic in the water whilst playfighting, grazing, and swimming. It is also the time of the year that you would find the most birdlife on the Chobe River including many species of kingfishers.
In March and April the rains start subsiding. However, the water levels on the Chobe River keep on rising – sometimes up to 5 metres! This is water that flows down from the Angolan highlands following the rainy season there, and spreads out over the floodplain. Warm temperatures allow for huge fields of waterlilies to grow, which in turn encourages breeding of many water birds like African jacanas. Watching the little chicks grow up is fascinating, and of course brings intriguing photographic opportunities. These floodplains can now be reached by boat, allowing us to explore the river right up alongside the edge of the park. This often leads to interesting cat sightings from the river, providing a completely different viewing angle from a typical game drive on land.
Top and middle: Playtime for two young Elephant bulls in the late afternoon is one of the most special of Elephant behaviors to observe from both land and by boat.
Right: A colorful Allen’s Gallinule makes its way across lily pads to feed on the abundant aquatic vegetation of the river. An enormous variety
of birds, in many shapes and forms, are to be found along the river front.
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