Featured Lodge: Chobe Chilwero

Occasionally we like to feature our favorite camps and lodges throughout Africa. Botswana is one of Africa Easy's favorite places to really get out into the bush and explore Africa in a variety of ways - mokoro, walking, boating, game drives and more. One of the best spots for boating in Botswana is the Chobe River and there's arguably no more luxurious place to stay than at the Chobe Chilwero Lodge.


Chobe Chilwero borders the Chobe National Park, which is home to the world's largest population of elephant and one of the most beautiful rivers in Southern Africa. The luxurious lodge has 15 suites housed in individual cottages and boasts the best spa on the Botswana safari circuit.


Africa Easy's Best of Botswana Tour features two nights at Chobe Chilwero where we enjoy traditional game drives and boat rides along the Chobe River at sunset. Game viewing is exceptional along the river in the late afternoon as buffalo, elephant and other animals come to the river's edge to play and drink. 

Each of the guest cottages features warm colors, beautiful African tiles, wide private verandahs and, our favorite thing, amazing bathrooms with huge soaking tubs and outdoor showers!


The spa is one of the most beautiful and well-outfitted (with Africology!) centers that we've seen in Africa and beyond. The lodge offers early morning snacks and buffet and hot breakfast in the dining room, afternoon tea on the lawn before game activities, and incredible dinners on the candle-lit verandah...the service at Chilwero is superb!


Chobe Chilwero is certainly one of Africa Easy's favorite spots in Botswana! Contact us to learn more about Chobe Chilwero and how to include it in your custom Africa Safari. 

Just back from Africa: Highlights from Savute Safari Lodge!

Nadia recently explored Southern Africa while on safari leading 4 ladies from the US. Their Grand Southern Africa Tour included Victoria Falls, Botswana's Okavango Delta, Savute Channel and more! A highlight of their trip was their stay at Savute Safari Lodge - currently one of Nadia's favorite properties in the Delta. 


Savute Safari Lodge is currently my very Hot Favorite Botswana property. Our managers, MC & Michele, were 1st class and treated us royally, as did our guide, Baba. He kept is entertained and shared so much with us. We drove ALL the way around the Savute Marsh..there is so much water about currently.....and the wildlife is plentiful...Of course sundowners overlooking a beautiful waterhole in the bush were a wonderful memory, as well. Why is it that the sunsets in Africa are always so stunning and the colors so vibrant? That golden glow!

We had excellent elephant sightings overlooking the marsh, but the true highlight for many of us was the leopard that 1 of the 4 ladies spotted! Up in a tree at first, and then our guides tracked the leopard beautifully and we were perfectly positioned as the leopard strolled on by on the right side of our vehicle. She plonked down next to our open 4x4 and those stunning eyes just gazed at us for a few minutes before she got up and strolled off into the bush! What a beautiful Africa Easy moment on safari! 

Located on the banks of the Savute channel, Savute Safari Lodge is intimate, accommodating only 24 guests in 12 cool, thatched timber and glass suites. The area is renowned for its population of bull elephant and for the unique interaction of the resident predator species. The close proximity of wildlife translates itself into the recently refurbished, modern African décor. All suites have private decks, combined bedroom and sitting areas and en-suite facilities. The sitting area, library and cocktail bar are situated in an exquisite thatch and timber main building.  Savute boasts a viewing deck, an al fresco dining area and swimming pool – which is ideal for watching game at the waterhole!


Photos by Nadia Eckhardt and bedroom image courtesy of Savute Safari Lodge. 

East or Southern Africa?

Many people ask Africa Easy what the main differences are between a safari in East Africa and one in Southern Africa. We usually highlight three points that easily summarize what we feel are the primary differences for a first-time safari-goer. Perhaps this will get you thinking about which sort of experiences you prefer and where you should visit on your first safari. Contact us today to start planning your East or Southern Africa safari!

1) The Migration. Kenya's Masai Mara and Tanzania's Serengeti eco-system is home to the largest land-based migration in the world. The herbivores - wildebeest, zebra and Thompson gazelle - migrate in a clock-wise movement through the Serengeti and the Masai Mara following the green grasses.  Generally speaking, the peak months for the migration in Tanzania are January-early June (with the long rains in May) and late June/early July-October in Kenya. There is not a comparable migration in Southern Africa (although there are several smaller migrations that happen in the Kalahari and areas of Linyanti/Savute and Chobe in Botswana. If it's herds of hundreds and sometimes thousands of animals you are keen to spot, Kenya or Tanzania is your best bet! Remember that not all species migrate and that we cannot time the migration of those who do! We'll give it our best shot to put you in the right camps for the right time of the year. Plan well in advance (at least one year in some cases) to ensure availability at our favorite camps and lodges.

2) Landscape. East Africa offers large, expansive plains - the image that travelers often think of as typical African scene. Most safaris are done by 4x4 vehicle with a mixture of driving and flying. Water activities are not as prevalent as in Botswana, Zambia or Zimbabwe. Walking is also not as common, but available in private reserves. In Southern Africa landscapes vary significantly, especially in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe where a mixture or dry land, waterways, lakes and deserts make up the topography. A variety of landscapes also means a variety of activities - boating, canoe trips (mokoro), 4x4 game drives and walking. Many wilderness areas in Southern Africa are private reserves, while many wilderness areas in East Africa are national parks and game reserves. Rules and regulations for game activities and numbers of visitors vary within each.


3) Culture. East Africa tends to offer a more intact traditional/tribal cultural experience than most places in Southern Africa (there are, of course, exceptions such as the San people or Himba). Many Maasai, Samburu, Datoga and other tribes live traditional lifestyles in East Africa, wearing handcrafted beads, clothing in the style that their ancestors wore years ago and living in traditional homes. Many ethnic groups in Southern Africa (such as South Africa's Zulu) live a more contemporary lifestyle on a regular basis. Another primary difference is that in many places in East Africa the local populations, such as the Maasai, are allowed to be within the game areas and are not always far removed from wilderness areas as they are in Southern Africa.


Photos by Africa Easy. 

Excellent Sighting at Savute Safari Camp

We've received reports from our partners in Botswana at Savute Safari Lodge (view of lodge at sunset, photo left) that earlier this month camp guests were lucky enough to see two wild dog mixed in with a herd of buffalo, a determined leopard stalking the same herd from behind a termite mound, and, finally a separate leopard sighting with a fresh impala kill pulled up in a tree! An amazing day of game viewing, no doubt, but if anyone were to experience a day like this it would be in Botswana! You can visit Savute Safari Lodge on Africa Easy's Best of Botswana Safari or on a custom Botswana safari. We are eagerly awaiting Nadia's return to the office from her extensive trip to East and Southern Africa - we'll have her highlights up on the blog next week!


View pictures and read more about this exciting day of game viewing at Savute Safari Lodge here. Contact Africa Easy for more great safari suggestions or to plan your safari to Africa. 

How does the Okavango Delta Flood?

The Okavango Delta in Botswana is the world's largest inland delta...but, how does it flood? Where does all of that water come from? Each year the Okavango River empties into the Kalahari Desert and rather than the water continuing on to a sea or outlet, it is lost through either evaporation or transpiration. The Delta is produced by a seasonal flood cycle that begins thousands of miles away as rain falls in the Angolan highlands. The rainfall then travels in a surge 1,200 kilometers southeast to Botswana. The waters begin to spread into the Delta as early as March-May and the flood peaks during Botswana's dry winter months (and the peak travel season) of June - August. During the peak flood months, the Delta can grow to three times its permanent size and helps sustain a diverse and large wildlife population. 


Thanks to the Delta, Africa Easy is able to take travelers to one of the most unique topographic and natural regions in the world. The Okavango Delta offers a variety of both land and water camps that each feature activities including walking safaris, 4x4 vehicle game drives, catch and release fishing, mokoro (canoe) rides, boat rides and more. Our Best of Botswana safari highlights the wide variety of experiences and camps available in the Okavango Delta and beyond. Africa Easy also designs customized safari itineraries to suit you budget, travel goals and timeline - contact us today! 


Photo courtesy Desert & Delta. 

Fun Wildlife Trivia

Check your African wildlife knowledge with this fun trivia from our May newsletter:

1) A group of giraffe is called a tower or a journey.

2) A group of baboons is called a troop or a congress.


3) A group of lions is called a pride. 


4) A group of cheetah is called a coalition (but cheetah are normally solitary animals so this is a bit of a tricky question!).

5) A group of crocodiles is called a bask or a float. 


Watch this space for more fun wildlife facts from Africa Easy!

Ilse on safari in Botswana!

Ilse, Africa Easy's safari consultant and operations manager, headed to Botswana last month for a wonderful and educational safari in the Okavango Delta and Northern Botswana. Ilse, a native South African, was happy to be back on African soil! Read on for her first-person account of her travels and some of the highlights of her trip!

I loved being back in Africa, and the first thing that hit me was that smell - the bush, the soil, the air. And then the sounds. Everything is alive and well!

 

I have never been in the Delta, so lifting off from Maun was quite the experience for me (see photo left), I was stunned at how beautiful the water was, and the expanse of it. Paul Maloseng, our K&D host for the week, was sharing insights and pointing out game from the word go. It takes a while to get your eye keen again.

 

Our first big sighting was a leopard, perfect setting, all evasive and beautiful. The guys with the big guns took some great pictures of the leopard peeking through the leaves. Lovely Elephant sightings too, right next to the road!

 

We stayed at African Bush Camp - Linyanti, and got to see the sights where they are setting up Ebony and the mobile camp. Next up was Kanana, where we shared the waterways with the big game - an elephant wading across a few feet in front of our boat, seven hippo watching us from an adjacent waterway - and the smaller guys - painted reed frog, African Jacana and other waterbirds. Nothing beats sundowners on the Delta, with the fish eagle calling in the back ground!

 

We stayed at Shinde - probably my favorite camp of the 4 "regular" camps we visited. Saw lion, hyena, lechwe, zebra, giraffe,hippo, blue wildebeest. We were entertained with bush stories till late at night.

 

Footsteps Camp was my favorite overnight of all, for how unassuming it is - the prefect spot to spend with a family, and the camp staff do it all without running water or electricity. Paul is clearly very proud of his camp and I could tell that kids would have the time of their lives there!

 

Okuti in Moremi was our last stop, and we danced the night away :) Great cheetah sightings and we heard lion roaring in broad daylight, but they eluded us.

Indaba, the African travel industry's massive trade show in Durban, South Africa was an experience that far exceeded my expectations.  I was very impressed by the value of the interactions with others in the same industry, and by all the new things there were to learn. Many moments of "aha".

 

Photos by Ilse de Villiers