Chobe National Park Game Drive, Botswana

Entering the Chobe National Park on our 0600-0900 hrs" morning safari our first sighting was a lone hyena that darted across our forest road , first time saw a hyena in the wild..Spotted elephants as usual but this time on dry ground in the forest.For birdwatcher's this would have been paradise with various species of birds flying around early in the morning. The most common bird was the Guinea fowl seen akin to chickens across the forest floor.Spotted Hippo's , Kudu but no sign of the " Big 2" carnivores of Africa, the lion or the leopard. Wild life safari is pure luck akin to a lottery irrespective of the competence of your guide or the size of your wealth or status. Sighting of rare species is pure chance.As the van moves across the forest which is on higher ground one gets a panoramic view of Sedudu Island and the wildlife existing on this island.As we were weaving along the forest track spotting elephant's , Impala's at about 0750 hrs we suddenly came across a tourist van traffic jam on the forest track. Ahoy ! A leopard had been sighted on a branch on top of a tree.and was hoping that when our turn for viewing arrived the leopard would still be at the same spot on this tree.When our turn came it was a sight straight out of a documentary wildlife scene seen on all those wildlife channels and wildlife nature books, a leopard sleeping on a branch of a big tree.African leopards are larger than Indian leopards and have brighter coloured spots.Finally bid goodbye to our " Big Cat Model" and headed towards the rest station of the park where all tourist van's stopped for tea and usage of the toilets.After our tea we headed back towards the starting point and passed by the leopard at 0845 hrs that was still asleep on his tree top branch bed.On our return journey came across a herd of Hippo's grazing on land near a small pond next to the Chobe river and playing with each other. First time I saw Hippo's out of water on land in the natural wild.Came across a elephant chewing on a tree stump and stopped near it just a few meters away.Spotted a pair of jackals come out in the open scaring away the Guinea fowls in the vicinity.While driving suddenly without warning a herd of elephants crossed our path about 50 meters ahead.Finally at approximately 0930 hrs our safari came to a end and all tourists were dropped at their respective lodges/ Guesthouses

An amazing experience. We went to Pilanesburg and Chobe National Parks during our trip and both offered once in a lifetime experiences. At Chobe we saw large herds of elephants and Cape buffalo and more hippo than elsewhere. We had game drives with African Odyssey out of Chobe Marina Lodge.

I went for a game drive at Chobe National Park on the 17th October 2020. It was a beautiful exerience. I went being driven by a love tour guide by the name MK from Lungu Safaris in Kazungula. I really enjoyed the service she offered, she was soo lovely and tried to explain each and everything to us. We saw different species of birds, kudus, elephants, zebras to name a few and a leopard . We couldn't see lions though.