And adventure was what I was after. Something totally different to the luxurious safaris I usually enjoy. A back-to-basics safari, if you will. I figured that the best place to get my feet dirty, without going too far off the grid, was Botswana. So, off I went to conquer the Chobe on a self-drive safari.
I was met in Kasane by the car rental people, and shown all the ins and outs of the fancy 4×4 vehicle, with its rooftop tent and kitchen equipment. Thankfully, my husband had leaped at the chance of joining me, so I could leave all the technical stuff to him. I will admit that we never did figure out how to use the GPS system!
The Chobe National Park is teeming with animals. Within a few minutes of entering the reserve, and much to our mutual fright, we were surrounded by a huge herd of elephant. Having no idea what to do, we froze and thought to wait it out. Then a particularly large and scary ele decided to unfriend us, causing a few moments of frozen fear, before we managed to get the car in gear and back out. We did some nifty elephant dodging for the rest of our safari!
We absolutely loved driving ourselves around the Chobe National Park. The sense of freedom to stop when we wanted, stay at a sighting for as long as we wanted, was glorious. One day we packed a picnic and parked at the river, just waiting to see what would come to us. It was such a fun way to safari.
Evenings were spent cooking over an open fire and sipping Gin&Tonic to the call of the fish eagles, as the sun set over the Chobe River, before climbing the steep ladder into our rooftop tent. Rooftop tents are not for sissies. If getting in is hard, getting out is like being birthed. You don’t want to need the loo in the night! But lying there listening to the animals right there, sniffing at your car, is thrilling.
2 nights was enough for me. I got my taste of a different life, but was very happy to arrive at my next 5 star lodge and take a proper shower. Would I do it again? Definitely!
