Sunset at Chobe National Park in Botswana, Africa

Chobe National Park in Botswana is one of the most wildlife rich parks in the southern part of Africa.

We were lucky enough to ride right through Chobe on our 2008 Tour D’Afrique. After a hard day of riding we got in early enough to enjoy a river safari in the park.

We were treated to sightings of Elephants, Hippos, Alligators etc. But it was at sunset at Chobe National Park  that brought out the true beauty of this magnificent landscape.

So transport yourself to Africa this Sunday and imagine the smells, the warmth and the solitude of being the only one enjoying this beautiful sunset.

When people think of adventure travel they don’t really think of Wildlife photography. But being a big fan of any type of photography I like to push my limits. Photographing wildlife is a challenge as anyone can tell you. From birds in your back yard to the Big 5 in Africa they all require different skills.

Here are some of the wildlife photo’s I have taken during our travels. It is a mixed bag of animals but they all have their own personality which I think comes out in these photo’s.

The Hippo watches us carefully

The Penguins of Simonstown, South Africa

The Hornbill of Malaysia

If you like adventure, you are going to love a visit to Victoria Falls in Zambia.  We spent 3 days at the falls in Livingstone and we filled it with not stop thrills from start to finish.

Here are just a few of the adventure activities that you will find to do at Victoria Falls.

Gorge Swing

Abseilling at Victoria Falls Gorge

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Victoria Falls is definitely the number one place in Africa for adrenaline adventure.

Everyone knows about the bungee jump off of the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe, but there is an even more exciting leap in the area for true thrill seekers. As seen on the Amazing Race, the Gorge Swing will get your blood pumping. Your day starts with a 55-meter (160 ft) abseil down the cliff into Batoka Gorge. After a tough climb back up, prepare to soar over the gorge on a zip line. As you stare into the depths below you are pulled back to safety only to do it all over again. After two jumps, you are now more than ready for the final activity of the day.

The Gorge Swing is a bungee jump with a twist. You step off of the edge of a cliff and free fall to the bottom, but once the line tightens, it whips you across to the other side of the gorge at 120km (75 miles) per hour. The 55m free-fall is a thrill, but it is the abrupt snap at the end that takes your breath away.
At the bargain price of $90, you are allowed two jumps so you can fall back into the gorge for your first jump and then once you have built up the nerve you can jump face first on the second. It is a thrill like no other.

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Helicopter Tours

A Flight over Victoria Falls, Great Adventure

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Victoria Falls is impressive indeed, but it is difficult to take in the full scope of its immense size unless you see it from the sky. You must see the falls from the air while you are there. The helicopter flight, is definitely an adventure. They call this thrill, white water rafting in the sky. Your helicopter pilot takes you right down to the Zambezi River. The high cliffs rise above you as you twist and turn your way through the canyons following the river gorge. Just when you start to feel air sick, you lift off high into the sky for a bird’s eye view of the world’s largest waterfall.

It is a loud and exciting flight. Wearing your headphones, the pilot points out sites on the ground. You may just spot some wildlife as well as you fly over the preserve. Catching the full view of the Victoria Falls is breathtaking, the gorge cuts through the land zig zagging like the letter “z” showing you the true strength of Mother Nature. The flight is designed to circle above the falls to give you the chance to see it from all directions.

It is 15 minutes long and $100 but worth every penny. The flight through the gorge is a thrill and to see the falls from high in the sky is an experience that you will remember for a lifetime.

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Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park, Short Trip from Victoria Falls

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From Livingstone, you can book a trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. It has one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife found on the African Continent. Chobe is located 90 km from Victoria Falls just over the Zambian border and you have the added bonus of adding another African Country to your list. You can visit Chobe on a day excursion or you can book an overnight safari to several days. It is definitely worth the visit.

You will be visiting one of the largest game reserves on the African Continent. You can go for a day or a multi-day trip. A river cruise is not to be missed. You will witness a spectacular sunset and will float right next to grazing hippos and bathing elephants. Elephant sightings are guaranteed with a population of 12,000 and it is more than likely that you will see nearly all of the major species. Zebras, lions, hyenas, they are all there waiting for you to spot them.

This wildlife safari is a must for anyone to do when visiting Victoria Falls. Witnessing Africa’s unique wildlife in their natural setting is one of the greatest adventures that anyone can possible experience.

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Walk Next to Victoria Falls

A Wet Walk by Victoria Falls

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Walking next to the powerful Victoria Falls will make anyone’s heart pound. Entering the national park beside the falls, a network of trails takes you right up to its face. Covered in spray it is a thrilling experience being so close to the thunderous water. The path takes you to a narrow bridge that you can walk across. Be careful though, it can be slippery and difficult to see, as you are only a couple of hundred meters away from the falls. Staying dry is not an option and the water is so loud that you have to shout to talk to each other.

The bridge is so close to the falls that you are engulfed in a mist and fog. Once you make your way across, you are free to explore trails and paths that wind their way through a patch of land directly across from the falls. You will be able to see it from many angles.
Once you are finished looking at its cascade, make your way to the top and sit near Devils Pool. The water is so calm and you are dangerously close to the edge. It low water season people actually swim in this pool and stand right on the edge of the falls to look over. That would definitely be an adventure of a life time but not something we recommend trying while you are there.

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White Water Rafting

A great Adventure at Victoria Falls

White Water Rafting is the prime attraction of Victoria Falls that almost everyone does when they visit Zambia. Book a full or half day trip on one of the top ten white water rivers on the planet. Long violent class 5 rapids known as the Devil’s Toilet and Stairway to Heaven will get your blood pumping.  The mighty Zambezi river is legendary and you will have the adventure of your life tumbling through its rapids. Whit Water Rafting prices start at $100. Tours can be booked at your hotel in Livingstone. Transfers and pick up are included.

Rafting the Zambezi River is one of the world’s greatest white water experiences.

There are so many things to do in Victoria falls it would take more than just one blog post.  There are enough adventures to keep you busy for days on end, so book a trip to Zambia today? What are you waiting for? If not now…When?

An elephant walks along the banks of the chobe river in Botswana

If there is one place in the world where you are guaranteed to see elephants it would be Chobe National Park. Home to the largest concentration of elephants in Africa. I have read different sources claiming anywhere from 50,000 to 120,000 elephants inhabit Chobe National Park.  Whatever the actual population may be,  you will see them everywhere.

An elephant takes a bath at Chobe National Park

One of the best ways to view wildlife is to take a river cruise on the Chobe River.  It is a real bargain, we booked a cruise for less than $50 from our camp and we were off on a great sunset cruise catching site of hippos, crocodiles, elephants and birds.

Make sure to stop at the store and bring some wine and snacks and water with you if you go with the bare bones tour that we took.  We weren’t supplied anything, but we got to see the exact same wildlife as other tours for a fraction of the price.

A hippo half submerged in Chobe Botswana Africa

The lazy trip along the river is a perfect way to view wildlife on the banks and in the water and it is finished off with a spectacular sunset.

This Bird Spreads its wings during sunset in Botswana Africa

Many times Chobe is combined as a tour with the Okavanga Delta or as a day trip from Victoria Falls Zambia. We were cycling through the country, so we booked our own upon arrival.  But many camps and hotels take bookings. It wouldn’t surprise me if you could walk down to the river and book a boat right on the spot at the dock.

Crocodile basks in sun on river in Chobe National Park, Africa

Chobe wasn’t very busy at all and it was different from so many other safaris in the fact that we weren’t involved in a circus of tours chasing after wildlife.  During our tour, we actually only saw two other boats on the river!

Fish Eagle African Wildlife in Chobe Botswana

So if you happen to find yourself in Zambia checking out Victoria Falls, take a day trip to Chobe and see the extraordinary wildlife. We didn’t manage to see any lions, but we know that they are there and if you are lucky, you just may view some yourself life a person on our tour saw the year earlier. An entire family relaxing on the riverbank at sunset.

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Chobe National Park, Botswana

Yes, it was a very big week. 5 century’s (100 mile days) in a row with a 207 km day smack dab in the middle of it all. It was surprisingly not too bad. The winds were co-operating and the road was flat, so we just put on our I Pods and peddled the days away.

Dave raced with the pack all week and put in great times. He has become quite the cyclist on this trip and Jos, Bent, Chris and Berndt have been teaching him a lot of tactics and giving him lots of advice. I ended up riding on my own. I was a little worried because I was warned that the cross and head winds could be rough, but I couldn’ t find a pack that I was comfortable in. I wanted to go fast but I am not fast enough for the main race pack. But I did OK coming in with times less than an hour behind them each day. Except for the 207km day when Jos put the hammer down and road alone in a time of 5:45. The rest of the guys took it easy after lunch and Dave even road with me the rest of the day. So we all did in a respectable 7 hours 15min. Give or take a few minutes for each person.

Chobe River Cruise, Botswana

We are entering Namibia and checked Botswana’s Elephant Highway off the list. Lucky for us we went on the Chobe River Cruise to see lots of elephants and hippos because we didn’t see anything on the road. Other people saw giraffes, elephants, zebras, but I managed to see nothing except for the beautiful horses roaming free. At one time when I was all alone with not a car or rider in sight, I thought I saw a group of elephants. A baby on one side of the road with the rest on the other. I stopped afraid to go on because I didn’t want to get too close and tried to figure out what to do. I flagged down some drivers and after the 4th try a truck finally stopped. I asked them about the animals up ahead and their reply was “Yes the cows?” I laughed and told them that I thought they were elephants and I was afraid to ride through. They were very kind and followed me until I passed the cows anyway, just to be safe. I bet they will have a few laughs talking about the crazy tourist riding through a National Game Park on a bicycle that was afraid of some cows. So that was my elephant experience.

Hippo on Chobe River Cruise

When I think about what we did, I think it is a little nuts. One lady told Dave and Bent Lions eat people in the morning. Other people were told by locals that they never go on that road because it is too dangerous, and here we were riding till our hearts content hoping to spot some wildlife. I think it was OK though, animals are smart and transports drive that highway, I don’t think that they get too close. Now the bush camps were another story. We were all a little nervous when we saw elephant dung in the areas that we were camping in. Lets hope that a herd of them don’t decide to mosey on over to our camp one night. Nothing happened though and all we saw were some giant dung beetles.

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Elephant of Chobe National Park

We are relaxing in Windhoek, Namibia for two very needed rest days. It is little Germany here. We have been eating like crazy and taking it easy at the mall. Everyone is pretty excited about there being a KFC here, but I have beeen craving a big mac. Unfortunately there is no McDonalds, so I am stuck waiting. Don’t worry though, we are thoroughly gorging on everything in sight.

We had to buy a new digital camera. We brought 2 point and shoots as well as our SLR. Well, we lost one to the rough sands of Sudan. (Electronics are put through the ringer there) and we had one stolen in Lusaka, Malawi. It was pretty stupid of us to let it happen, we had our guard down. The good news is that it was also on its last legs. The sand, rain mud and sweat had already put in on its last legs, so we weren’t too upset. The only problem was that we had a hard time buying another one until now because most of our rest days land on a Sunday and everything is closed. So, we unfortunately don’t have many photos from Botswana because we can’t carry (or better to say, we choose not to) our SLR with us on the bikes. But look out, we are going to go photo crazy for these last 2 week.

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Chobe River Cruise, Botwana

Only 12 riding days and 1 rest day to go until Cape Town, and we are excited. 4 months is a long time to ride hard. We are going to travel around South Africa for a bit. We have to go to the wine region of course, that is a give in and we want to see the penguins. We also have yet to do a safari. Can you believe it. 4 months in Africa and no Lions, Zebras, Giraffes. There is no way we are leaving this place without seeing the big 5. But, I think we are going to stop off at the Serengeti on the way home. We still feel bad about missing it when we were in Arusha, but climbing Kilimanjaro was priority number one. Your really need more than 2 weeks in Tanzania to see everything in that amazing country. For now though, we are going to be checking out Namibia. Talk to you in a few days.