Attractions in Botswana
Kasane – a small village on the border of four countries at the Victoria Falls – lies directly on the Chobe River. In recent years, Kasane has been developing rapidly, with new hotels and lodges springing up, the international airport busy, but monkeys are still jumping along the branches in the streets, and hotels need to close windows to protect things from these thieves. On the bank near the river you can see dormant crocodiles, in the morning and in the evening you can hear the quacking of hippos… Kasane is the gateway to the Chobe National Park. Near the village at Kazungula Road are the hot springs of Kasane Hot Springs (Kasane Hot Springs), and 20 km along this road to the east – Lesoma Memorial – a monument to soldiers who died in the civil war in Rhodesia in 1970.
How to get there . Flight from Gaborone, Windhoek, Maun, ground transfer from Livingston or Victoria Falls.
Chobe National Park is located northeast of the Okavango Delta, where the borders of four countries meet at Victoria Falls. This is the second largest national park in Botswana (10,600 sq km). Here is the largest population of elephants in the African savannah, about 60 thousand individuals live in the park. The park brings together three different ecosystems: Serondela, Savuti and Linyanti.
Serondela – the area closest to Kasane. The sandy road from Sedudu Gate leads down to the Chobe river valley. During the dry winter months, the river is the main water source for all the inhabitants of the park. There are over 700 buffaloes, and large families of elephants are a common sight here. The floodplain, where water buffalo, impala, kudu and foko (a small antelope unique to the area) meet, is a favorite hunting ground for the pride of lions. The Linyanti Marshes resemble the Okavango Delta, but on a smaller scale. The Linyanti, a river known as the Subiya, in northern Chobe overflows into a floodplain in an area (9,000 sq km) known as the Linyanti Marshes. Occupying a narrow strip of marshy land near a river on the western side of Chobe Park, these places are famous for their rich wildlife and beautiful landscapes. Lagoons overgrown with papyrus, reed beds, thick treetops make this area one of the most beautiful camping areas in the region. This place is located about 40 km from Savuti.
Savuti March lies in the hinterland of Chobe National Park. With the river Liniati flowing from the lagoon Zibadianja (Zibadianja), it is connected by the usually dry “waterway” Savuti, it is also called the channel (Savuti Channel). The last time it was filled with water in 1970, after which it dried up for 20 years. Today, the Savuti Canal Zone is a land covered in greenery grown on muddy soil and is home to a wide variety of animals. Dried trees amaze the imagination, resembling the skeletons of outlandish animals, frozen in the open landscape of the savannah. In this part of the park, the main species of the animal world of South Africa are represented: giraffes, elephants, zebras, impala, tsebe (a type of antelope), wild horses, wildebeest, kudu, eland, water buffaloes, lions, hyenas, jackals, sometimes even cheetahs and wild dogs. Savuti is known for its predators, especially lions and spotted hyenas, whose nightly struggle for supremacy is described in the documentary “Eternal Enemies”. During the dry winter season, large herds of elephants, buffaloes and zebras congregate near the river, along with giraffes and various antelope species that live in the nearby forests. It is interesting to observe the life of land and water birds, including pelicans.
How to get there. On the way from Kasane.
Okavango Delta is the largest inland river delta in the world. For many millennia, the Okavango River has carried its waters from the Benguela plateau in the mountains of Angola to the southeast to Botswana, the Kalahari, forming there a unique natural formation of swamps, reed beds, islands, streams and channels with cool and crystal clear water. Depending on the season and annual floods, its area varies from 15,000 to 28,000 sq. km. The continuous interplay of wet and dry lands contributes to the river’s amazing diversity of wildlife. The Okavango is home to 122 mammal species, 71 fish species, 444 bird species, 64 reptile species, and 1,300 species of flowering plants. The Okavango Delta is on the UNESCO Natural Heritage List. A water trip in a traditional canoe made of hollowed wood mokoro (mokoro) will be remembered. They have been sailing here for about three hundred years. A guide with a pole stands at the stern, guiding the canoe through the reed-lined canals. Together with him in a canoe usually no more than two or three passengers. The draft of the canoe is very low, you can hear the gentle murmur of water, the cries of birds, the rustling of reeds, these sounds are interwoven with the clatter of the soft hooves of antelopes moving at a light gallop through the swamps. The delta has a lot of food for herbivores, and therefore for many predators all year round.
