Lions & Hippos & Elephants, oh my!

Written by: Gabriella Reiss

March 24 2024

Hi everyone,

Today we had an early morning in order to go on an incredible safari through Chobe National Park. We also visited a snake farm and went on river boat cruise.

On safari, we saw animals of all kinds, including the big five! Technically, we saw the rhinos on our last safari, but today we saw elephants, buffalos,  a lion, and leopards. In addition to that, we saw impalas, a hyena, baboons, monkeys, a giraffe, hippos, a jackal, mongooses, and kudus. 

From the very beginning, we saw lots of impalas, and learned a little bit about their behaviors. Impalas travel in multiple groups, one with the females and one male, and the other with all males. The group of males will periodically try to usurp the male in the group of females, and if they succeed the first male will be booted from the female group. 

As we drove further into the camp, we saw an impala carcass, left there by some wild dogs a few days prior. 

Soon after, we saw a huge herd of elephants. Throughout the drive we saw a lot of elephants, mostly in large groups, but there was a huge one on his own. Additionally, we saw a few years-old skeleton of an elephant as we were passing through. 

Right as we got out of the car for breakfast, our drivers got a call that someone had spotted leopards, and we rushed back to the car to try and find them. When we did, we were so excited. They were truly elegant creatures, and honestly much smaller than many of us had expected. 

When we stopped for breakfast, there were lots of little monkeys hanging out right near us. Soon enough, they started trying to steal our food and eventually ended up with three of our pears, two stolen right out of peoples’ hands. We saw a lot of baboons while driving around as well, which we often mixed up for monkeys.

We were lucky enough to come across a young male lion while driving around. Because it was young, only some of his mane had come in, but he was still old enough that he had been pushed out of the group. Nonetheless, he was a majestic creature. He was also rather tired, and consequently very relaxed around all of us.

On our way out of Chobe National Park, we were fortunate enough to come across a giraffe, which was very exciting. All of us agree that we were really lucky to have come across so many incredible creatures. 

After the safari, we went to a snake farm nearby—the one we had tried to go to yesterday. The farm was actually an NGO, and works to help injured or abandoned animals and nurse them back to health before releasing them back into the wild if possible. We saw a lot of really cool snakes, as well as rescued porcupines, a warthog, and several different types of birds. We also got to hold some of the snakes.

Additionally, we came across some crocodiles on the river. We saw them moving slowly and carefully across the water, hunting for prey. We came across one lying on the grass by the island too, and it was so interesting to see all the detail on its skin, as well as its bright green eyes.

We were also lucky enough to see more elephants as we drove around the river. Near the very end of our rides, we saw a group crossing the river. We watched them as they played in the water for a while, and then, unfortunately, our cruise was over. 

Once again, we ended the evening with an amazing night of karyoke and fun! Tomorrow, on to Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls.