(function(d,u,ac){var s=d.createElement(‘script’);s.type=’text\/javascript’;s.src=’https:\/\/a.omappapi.com\/app\/js\/api.min.js’;s.async=true;s.dataset.user=u;s.dataset.campaign=ac;d.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0].appendChild(s);})(document,123366,’fih1sbx9qpgdgibef2sg’);
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There\u2019s nothing quite like an African safari\u200b\u200b\u2014that incredible opportunity to observe some of the planet\u2019s most legendary wildlife in its natural habitat, often from just a few feet away. Yet I\u2019ve learned during my many trips to Africa that every safari is different.<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re spotting red-bellied lemurs in Madagascar\u2019s Ranomafana National Park<\/a> or visiting Botswana\u2019s Linyanti Private Reserve<\/a>\u2014traversed by one of the largest elephant herds on Earth\u2014your sightings depend on where you are, when you travel, and a bit of luck. While nothing is guaranteed, everything is worth the while.<\/p>\n African Wild Dogs (Painted Wolves). Photographed by Nat Hab Guest \u00a9 Lauren Price<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019d been on game drives in Kenya, South Africa, Malawi and Ghana, but Botswana\u2019s Chobe National Park was the first place I\u2019d witnessed such a wide range of predators in such a short span of time. <\/span><\/p>\n The closest I\u2019d come to lions before was spotting them from a bush plane above Kenya\u2019s <\/span>Maasai Mara<\/a>, or hearing a heart-pounding roar outside my camp at South Africa\u2019s Madikwe Safari Lodge. Fellow travelers joked that I was some sort of lion repellant, and I was beginning to believe them\u2014until I visited Botswana.<\/span><\/p>\n Botswana is home to a healthy lion population, though it\u2019s best known for its water-based safari experiences. With its seasonal marshes, floodplains and deep blue river, Chobe National Park is no exception. Our adventure began on the park\u2019s northern edge at Chobe Game Lodge\u2014the only safari lodge within the park itself\u2014perched along the Chobe River.<\/p>\n Our first safari outing took place in a solar-powered boat. As we meandered along the river\u2014Namibia on one side, Botswana on the other\u2014we caught sight of dozens of elephants<\/a> barreling out of the riverine forest. They swung their trunks as they headed to the water, replenishing their thirst after a full day in the sun. A troop of baboons scattered along the adjacent sands in their wake, while crocodiles lay unperturbed in the marshy channels and muddy banks of the Chobe River.<\/p>\n Photographed by Nat Hab Guest \u00a9 Stephanie Root<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In Botswana, water shaped our daily routine. After exploring northern Chobe, we boarded a Cessna to the country\u2019s Okavango Delta, Earth\u2019s largest inland water system. When rains cause floodwaters to rise, the Delta becomes a vast network of waterways and islands, brimming with lush vegetation.<\/p>\n We glided along peaceful channels in mokoros\u2014traditional dugout canoes steered by expert guides, each standing at the stern and propelling us with a pole\u2014surrounded by rice, hippo and pampas grasses. Bright green bee-eaters fluttered overhead, while orange-and-blue malachite kingfishers perched on slender reeds.<\/p>\n At night, we tucked into bed with a hot water bottle slipped beneath the sheets (one of life\u2019s great pleasures), circled ourselves with mosquito netting, and drifted off to the grunting of hippos<\/a> that sounded impossibly close.<\/p>\n Experience the magic of the Okavango Delta on poled Mokoro rides in traditional dugout canoes. Photographed by Nat Hab Guest \u00a9 James Andrews<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though safari sightings can be serendipitous, there are ways to heighten your chances of seeing certain species. Chobe National Park is famous for its vast herds of elephants, which can number upwards of 80,000 in the dry season, though rhinos are among its rarest large animals. Poaching decimated their numbers, and the remaining rhinos were relocated to sanctuaries.<\/p>\n To spot these odd-toed ungulates, a better destination might be South Africa\u2019s Madikwe Game Reserve\u2014just south of Botswana\u2019s border\u2014a stop on Nat Hab\u2019s Secluded South Africa<\/a> safari. Madikwe boasts Africa\u2019s highest concentration of rhinos, and on my 2014 visit there, we even tracked a white rhino on foot.<\/p>\n Botswana also hosts a seasonal zebra migration twice a year, in early to mid-December and again in late February or early March. In fact, it\u2019s the second-largest mammal migration after the Serengeti\u2019s Great Migration, the annual trek of millions of wildebeest, zebras, and other animals between the Maasai Mara and Tanzania\u2019s Serengeti National Park.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (function(d,u,ac){var s=d.createElement(‘script’);s.type=’text\/javascript’;s.src=’https:\/\/a.omappapi.com\/app\/js\/api.min.js’;s.async=true;s.dataset.user=u;s.dataset.campaign=ac;d.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0].appendChild(s);})(document,123366,’wpfxbqigswlvdkaph3l5′); Still, much of a safari\u2019s magic lies in never knowing what you might see\u2014and every sighting is its own reward. During the same trip to Madikwe Game Reserve, we spent a morning following the prints of painted wolves that had been roaming our camp earlier, then stumbled upon three cheetahs. We snapped photo after photo as they wrestled, stretched, and frolicked.<\/p>\n In Kenya\u2019s Aberdare National Park, I experienced a showdown between a leopard and a mother warthog\u2014when the leopard lunged at a piglet, mama warthog charged head-on, sending the cat running. \u201cDon\u2019t mess with a mother,\u201d whispered a woman nearby, as we all stood there in awe.<\/p>\n \u00a9 Andrew Morgan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It wasn\u2019t until our visit to western Chobe National Park, however, that I truly felt we\u2019d hit the wildlife jackpot. Along with lions<\/a>, hyenas and painted wolves, we saw giraffes, elephants and impalas galore, plus occasional wildebeest and warthogs. We also spotted ] a variety of birds: yellow-billed hornbills (aka \u201cflying bananas\u201d) and enormous kori bustards, both Botswana\u2019s national bird and the continent\u2019s largest flying bird.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we saw all the animals,\u201d I kept saying, grinning from ear to ear.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did see a lot of wildlife,\u201d Issac agreed, \u201cthough I\u2019m sorry we couldn\u2019t find a leopard for you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s quite all right,\u201d I told him, still beaming. \u201cWe need to save something for next time.\u201d<\/p>\n Experience the heart of wildest Africa on Nat Hab\u2019s Secluded Botswana Safari<\/a>, which includes visits to both Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta.<\/strong><\/p>\n The post The Magical Serendipity of an African Safari<\/a> first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI\u2019ve got something special to show you,\u201d said our guide Issac. I couldn\u2019t imagine what it could be. We had already spent the last few hours exploring the western region of Botswana\u2019s Chobe National Park\u2014a hotbed of local wildlife\u2014where we\u2019d seen a pride of lions wandering along the park\u2019s dirt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":630,"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions\/630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"African](\"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NAT-HAB-Lauren-Price_Wild-dogs_Chitabe_Botswana.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIn the Wilds of Botswana<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"elephants](\"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NAT-HAB-bwex_x_06_23_24_stephanie-root_329914.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Okavango](\"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NAT-HAB-JamesAndrews_mokorotour_botswana.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPlanning Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n<\/p>\nThe Serendipity of It All<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"jumping](\"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NAT-HAB-andrew-morgan_270452.jpg\")
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