Contiki Cape to Delta: Chobe National Park

We left our hotel in Victoria Falls at about 1:00 PM and headed for the Botswana border, which we arrived at at around 2:15 PM. This was another time when we had to hop in and out of our vehicle a few times to get through both borders. On the way into Botswana, we had to do something similar to what I had to do in Antarctica when getting on and off the boat - step in a special solution so our shoes wouldn't bring any contaminants into the country. We had to dip the shoes we didn't have on as well and our bags were also meticulously searched by Botswanan officials.

After we made it through both border crossings, we drove another 15 minutes until we arrived at Kwalape Lodge, our accommodation for the following night, to drop off our bags and bid our van adieu. After a 15 minute stop at the lodge, we boarded safari vehicles and hit the road for Chobe National Park, where we would spend one night camping!

Our drive to Chobe National Park was uneventful and, after about a half hour, we made it to the gate into the park. Some of the first animals we saw were an impala and a baby elephant.

We then saw something that was quite rare, a leopard relaxing on the ground without camouflage. We got so close to it and it didn't have a care in the world.

Chobe was definitely less developed than Kruger, so it felt like there was more authenticity to it as we drove around. We had to make it our camp and it was getting dark, so we didn't really stop too much. We did have some elephants come close to our vehicles as we drove and also had an amazing sunset.

We made it to our camp just after the sunset. Unfortunately, there is a limit in the number of people that are allowed at one campsite so our group was split in two. We made the most of it, though, by having a great dinner and enjoying time with the group sitting around the fire under the stars.

The following morning was another early one, we woke up before sunrise as we wanted to hit the road as the day broke to see what animals may be wandering around Chobe National Park. Our first major sighting of the day was a lion - it was behind a bunch of branches, so I didn't get a great picture of it unfortunately.

We continued to drive and came across a black-backed jackal which was eating a goose. It looked like a vicious animal, especially when it had its mouth open.

With that, our morning game drive was over and it was time to head to our non-camping accommodation that we dropped our bags off at the previous day to clean ourselves up and have a bit of free time. I dropped off some clothes at the front desk to have them washed for the final leg of my journey.

While we still had a few stops left on the evening itinerary, the "final day" energy had already set in for some of the group. We spent the afternoon huddled in the bar, but the mood quickly shifted from bittersweet goodbyes to "see you later" as we began plotting our next move.

Yuj, who had been shadowing our manager Jesse, mentioned he’s leading a trip to India for Holi in late February. I’ll be honest: I arrived in South Africa thinking the Cape to Delta Safari would be my Contiki swansong since I’ve hit the age limit of 35. But the chance to experience India with this specific crew was just too good to pass up. When the chemistry is this right, you find a way to get one last trip under the wire.

With the wheels in motion for our next trip, we drove to the dock for our private sunset cruise on the Chobe River. It was so relaxing to just sit on a boat as it meandered down the river, stopping to see hippos, elephants & other animals along the way.

Our boat started heading towards the dock as the sunset, signaling that the trip for so many of our fellow travelers was close to wrapping up.

We were dropped back off at our hotel after the boat ride, where we went essentially all went straight to a dinner. It was served outside on our hotel's grounds and the food was absolutely fantastic. After dinner, we hung around the bar for a few hours before we slowly peeled off to go to bed. In my case, though, I transferred some points so I could book my airfare to India!

We woke up the following morning to eat breakfast and parted ways with the rest of the group. It's a shame because a few of them would have continued on with us, but didn't know about the extra itinerary because they booked it through a travel agency that didn't tell them it was an option.

Once we all said our goodbyes, we met someone that was joining our tour for the second half. Within a few minutes, we both realized we were Penn Staters which was an amazing coincidence.

We all piled into a smaller van and hit the road for one of the highlights of Africa, the Okavango Delta. It was a long drive, so we had an overnight stop. I'll share more about that in my next post!