Chobe Mopane Forest Lodge, Botswana
17-19 August 2023
A quick drive to the Ngomo border post between Namibia and Botswana, and a painless exit and entry, cursory check of our fridges for meat and dairy by custom officials and having to “walk” all our shoes through the dip of anti-parasite liquid, we encountered our first ellies driving through Chobe National Park. Very happy Shelley, our travelling Elephant Whisperer! We stopped in Kasane to stock up on groceries and get SIM cards, then headed 40 minutes in a westerly direction to our next campsite.
Chobe Mopane Forest Lodge is located on the Zimbabwe side of the Chobe area, around an hour and a half from the Pandamatenga Border post into Zimbabwe. The lodge is built around a waterhole which has permanent water, pumped from a borehole, and the campsite is located just behind the lodge. The sites are fabulous…under Mopane trees and each big site has a raised deck and ablution facility, which helps escape the heat.
We quickly had some lunch, donned our cozzies and headed for the pool, which was no more 20 m from the edge of the water hole! The closest swim I will ever have to these giants. Elephant were coming and going, slurping hundreds of litres of water, and taking advantage of the gloopy mud for a mud bath…either by spraying themselves or having a wonderful wallow. Tummy rumblings, splashes, swishes, plops…baby ellies learning to kick at the sand and mud as their trunk muscles are still not strong enough to fling the dusty/muddy sunblock over their bodies.
Next morning, we were bused back to Kasane for a boat cruise on the Chobe River. Our guides, Large and Joe, eased the small comfy boat onto the Chobe for a wonderful experience. We have been on the Chobe a few times, but this trip we really enjoyed as we were just the 4 of us with our guides on a smaller craft and could stop to view all sorts of fascinating fauna.
We came across a small herd of elephant getting ready to cross a section of the river from one island to the Namibian shore. Two or three of the elephants were really young, so the older teens and adults helped keep them afloat…the one small one was almost holding on to it’s mom’s back. The important bit is being able to keep the trunk above water to breathe. Across safely, and the young one was clearly hungry after that little adventure – straight under Mom’s tummy for some milky nourishment.
Birds were aplenty – 2 lifers for me being the Banded Martin perched on a reed, showing off a beautiful brown sheen on its feathers, and two Luapula Cisticolas, calling and flitting through the reeds on the edge of the riverbank. A special bird for all of us – the Collared Pratincole – feeding on a muddy grassy bank, as well as a few Long-toed Lapwings.
The above photo is of the Luapula Cisticola.
Crocs were present in large numbers. One interesting sighting was a dead croc, which had been basically bitten clean in half – probably by a hippo? It was being investigated by a water monitor lizard as it’s lunch. Another water monitor we saw enjoying nibbling at the skull of a Bubble Fish that had washed up onto the shore. Apparently, the crocs enjoy eating Bubble Fish, but do not eat the heads.
Back to the Lodge/campsite for lunch and pool time in the company of giants. Downloaded photos, wrote a blog, and enjoyed a lekka braai.
The next morning, time to pack up. Rich and I enjoyed breakfast at the lodge, but just before we ate, I was watching the birds coming in to drink. A Meyer’s Parrot was standing in the mud having its morning drink but was slowly sinking into the gloop. It didn’t panic at first, trying hard to stretch its legs, one by one out of the clingy mud. It did manage to move a bit, sadly it was sucked deeper into the mud. Flapping its wings just made it sink deeper and shower itself with more sticky mud. Two other parrots came to see what was happening, but quickly moved away to drink elsewhere. Enter Scott – he volunteered to head over the gloop to rescue the poor parrot. Not only did Scott have to walk the planks he laid over the mud, but also keep a beady eye on two elephants on the other side of the waterhole – luckily, they were completely unphased. Parrot hauled out of the mud, but still gave Scott a nip for his troubles. Next phase of the operation required me to take Parrot to the ladies room, to have a wash under the tap. A lot of grey sticky mud to gently wash off the feathers, thereby mucking up the bathroom vanity nicely. I then placed Parrot in the early morning sun under the watchful eye of one of the reception ladies. We had to leave – off to Zimbabwe, so we sincerely hope that Parrot is happily back with his clan and avoiding the gloopier mud!
Chobe Mopane Forest Lodge was a great experience – we did not know what to expect, especially as we were camping, and not along the river. Definitely worth a visit.
Approximate number of bird species sighted : 154
Number of fish caught : 5
