Chobe River Game Cruise – Wildlife & Birdwatching Experience

Amazing experience Loved our experience with Kalahari undercanvas, really had a time , very happy with the excusion Enjoyed a 3hrs boat safari on the chobe river,had a buffet lunch then went on a game drive safari .it was really nice if you are thinking of going to Bostwana chobe national park don't hesitate book with them.

The animals and the river were amazing! The boat was not. Every time the captain tried to reverse the transmission grinded very loudly. It was very annoying and scared the animals. Also the crew was not the friendliest people either.

Awesome experience. 3 hour very informative trip with knowledgeable guide. Up close to countless animsls and birds. Unforgetable Elephant encounter. Highly recommended.

We make a Game River safari at Chobe as part of our 17 days tour of Namibia and Botswana. I consider it to be no 1 experience in the tour! We started at ~ 1500 and finised at ~ 1830. I strongly recommend taking the afternoon tour. So you are exposed to the animals going down to drink, and sail during the amazing sunset. The views of the abundant elephant hordes, big and small animals, are incredible. Take time (and a binocular) to watch the interaction between the mothers and the little young animals, Not only elephants. Watch the hippos, the Buffalows, and antelopes. Also, watch many kinds of birds, ducks, hornbills, with different colors. Singles or flocks! We even spotted a fish eagle! The sunset was amazing. Order a drink from the ship bar and simply enjoy an unforgettable African afternoon!

Get very close to elephants and hippos on a boat safari in the four-country corner “If the elephants have their ears wide open, spread out and trumpet, that means: Attention, don’t get any closer., Once your ears are laid out and you look calm and relaxed, you can also look at them up close,” boatmaster Peter Visagie explains to the participants of his evening boat safari on the Chobe River. In the quadrilateral of Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, he travels on the river with the guests of his lodge almost every evening. He knows the places and times when elephants swim through the river to the other bank, where they eat their “supplementary foods” on limestone cliffs and where hippos find good watergrass pastures. Peter and his wife Esther have been running the Zovu Elephant Lodge on the Kasane Reserve at the lower reaches of the Chobe for four years. The lodge is located in the national territory of Namibia and can only be reached from Botswana in ten minutes by small boats at times when the Chobe carries a lot of water. In the dry season, you can also reach the property by land from Namibia. Sometimes the lodge is on an island, then again on a peninsula – always surrounded by a lot of water from the Chobe and its subsidiary arms. The Chobe, which originates as Cuando in Angola, has already completed 1400 kilometres and two name changes to Peter and Ester's lodge. It flows into the Zambezi River about 100 kilometres further. In the Chobe National Park and Kasane Reserve area, the river provides a secure food base for many wildlife. Which has led to a high game concentration in the area. In addition to several elephant herds, there are large herds of Kaffernbuffalo, waterbucks, hippos, crocodiles, and also lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, antelopes, kudus and others. The hippos are quite true to location and therefore easy to find by Peter on his safari boat trips. He comes within a few meters of them. Always careful and careful. After all, they are the reason why more and more tourists visit the Caprivi Strip region every year, alongside elephants and buffaloes. Then Peter discovered a crocodile. It uses the last rays of the evening sun to warm up and lies motionless on the edge of the shore. Peter has seen it for a long time, his lodge guests in the boat only become aware when Peter slowly glides the boat towards shore. “Look, it lies relaxed with spread and spread feet on the shore. We can approach cautiously. But beware: When the crocodile puts its feet on, it is alert and aggressive,” he explains as the cameras click or whirr. Peter’s concern is to bring people closer to wildlife in order to create awareness of animals and nature. Over the years he has made new observations and now knows how to correctly interpret the behaviour of the animals. He recognizes from the behavior when which animals the tourists accept and when they prefer to be left alone. This sometimes allows close contact, e.g. with elephants. “There’s an elephant standing right on the shore breakaway edge,” he adds tension. “I’m going slowly towards him now. Be calm, he won’t dare to come down the almost one metre high embankment into the water,” he knows from experience and is right. The elephant considers the boat together with its occupants as a unit, has laid on its ears and seems relaxed. Yeah, he obviously even poses for the photos... As guests reminisce about what they’ve experienced over dinner at the lodge, Peter, the “Animal Whisperer of the Chobe”, gives some tips for the next day, when a jeep safari through the Chobe Game Reserve is due. “When you get out and suddenly encounter animals: Never run away. This awakens the hunting urge of the animals. Stand still and keep calm. The animals will move on,” he explains. “Special care should be taken with elephant cows with children. You should go into reverse in the jeep and take due distance.” Although Peter has only been running the lodge for four years, he has gained decades of experience alongside his mother, who previously ran the lodge. Expertise and experience used by other lodge operators and residents in the region: In case of animal and boat accidents, they turn to him for advice, help and medical care. And this is now becoming more and more common among more tourists in the world's only four-country corner.