Chobe National Park is Botswana’s fourth largest park. We were entering the park from the town of Kasane, not far from the border of Zambia. The border crossing was a chaotic affair as over 100 trucks carrying copper plating and ingots were lined up to cross the Zambezi River - all waiting for a small ferry carrying one truck at a time to take them over to Botswana and then on to a port for shipment to China. Trucks were waiting sometimes three to four days to cross. Fortunately tourist vehicles were allowed to go to the front of the line.

We stayed in the Kasane area for two days exploring the park and the Chobe Delta. This is where we experienced our first encounter with Africa’s magnificent animals.

As you enter the park in your Toyota Land Cruiser you quickly see the difference between the very dry scrub savanna hillsides and the lush green wet lands of the Chobe Delta. Soon in late November the rains will come and plentiful sources of water will emerge far into the savanna. Then many of the animals will leave the Chobe Delta - only to return when the dry season begins again.

Our trip to the park was our first of many game drives to follow. A game drive is a kind of African road trip to experience wildlife up close in their natural setting. What an amazing start for us as we quickly had to stop to let a large herd of elephants cross the road to enjoy the water and vegetation of the delta.