What can I say about a river that changes names several times along its course, that contributes to a mighty water system that forms the largest single sheet of falling water in the world?
A river that at times flows upstream, as well as parts of which go dry?
A river that hosts the largest population of free-ranging elephants in Africa? And, a river whose shores are protected and reserved for the iconic animals of Africa for much of its journey?
Well, as my research reveals, there’s quite a lot I could say about this river. First, because I’m in Botswana, I will call it by its local name—the Chobe River (CHO'-bee). And because the river is part of the Chobe National Park, I’ll refer to it all as the Chobe and not by all the other names that might be meaningless and confusing to you
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| The many channels and waterways of the river. |
(.IF YOU MUST KNOW: Its headwaters rise in Angola, where it’s called the Cuando, then along Namibia-Botswana through the Linyanti Swamp. Below the swamp, the river is called the Linyanti River and, farther east, the Chobe River, before it flows into the Zambezi River. Now, aren’t you happy that I’m referring to it as the Chobe?)
The song of the African ring-necked dove in the early dawn at Pangolin Chobe hotel. Some say that early in the day, it sounds like "Work harder," while some insist that later in the day, it's saying, "Drink Lager." I think it sounds like "Bots-wana."
There’s quite a lot of history associated with this vast river system, but I’m not going to go into it here. I will, however, provide some links to Internet sites that you might find informative. One thing that reminds us of part of that history is the Namibian flag that we often see while cruising on the river.
The northern border of Botswana, which is also the southern border of Namibia, was hotly disputed for a century because of some ambiguous language in a 1890 treaty between the colonizing countries of the U.K. and Germany. Finally, the International Court of Justice settled the matter in 1999 by declaring that the northern channel of the river will be the border.
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| The exquisite purple heron. Standing almost three feet tall, this shy bird prefers water and reeds where it find its dinner. We had many sighting of this ellusive bird. |
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| The purple heron. |
One thing: The Chobe joins the great Zambezi River just a short distance from where I’m staying and the Zambezi is the river that forms Victoria Falls in neighboring Zimbabwe. And Victoria Falls, a UNESCO site, was named by Dr. David Livingston, the famed British explorer/missionary who disappeared in Africa for four years until Stanley “found” him, as in “Dr. Livingston, I presume?”
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| The squacco (SKWAH-Koh) heron is a smaller bird, less than 20 inches tall, and lacks the long neck of the larger herons. The first time I saw one, right here on the Chobe, it was dawn, and the brilliant yellow rays of the sun burnished this bird to gold. It was quite a sight. and that's how I always "see" them, no matter what light they're in. Its color is described as Buffy tan. |
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| Down the hatch at last. |
One source claims that “today many names of towns in Africa have been changed to indigenous names of the local heroes, the exception to this rule is those names directly connected with David Livingstone. These include Livingstone(Town), Blantyre (Malawi), and of course, the famous Victoria Falls with its name unchanged because of the love that the local people had for this man who named it.”
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| Here's a lifer bird for me, lifer being the first time you see a specimen of a particular bird. This is a swamp hen. Not a very good photo because it's small and wanders about in tall grass. |
The native name for the falls is translated as “the smoke that rises” for the vast plume of mist that can be seen for miles.
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| I accidentally underexposed this African black stork, another lifer. But, it's the best shot I have that depicts the long head feathers on this bird. Below is a link to a short video that shows the comical foraging behavior of this heron, sometimes called the umbrella heron . You'll have to paste it into your browser to see it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s2PdZfYj2w This photo is of a juvenile African jacana. Note the long toes that enable it to walk on lily pads. |
Why am I mentioning Dr. Livingstone? Because I’m a Livingstone junkie as well as a Shackleton junkie. Also, it’s said that wherever we go, we leave a piece of ourselves there, so I’m simply reconnecting with pieces of myself.
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| Pied wagtail and juvenile. |
Can’t see that mist from Pangolin Chobe Hotel, though it’s only about an hour’s drive from here, which included going through passport control and customs along the way. Nonetheless, Dr. Livingstone explored much of this area, including what is now Chobe National Park.
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| Reed cormorant |
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| No, it isn't this dark, but it is close to sunset on our first river cruise. Pointing the camera toward, NOT AT, the sun can bring some surprises. Those are waterbucks grazing. |
Long Pause Gullible. What a lot of information you have presented in this Third Post. The enormous and overwhelming Chobe River (cho-BEE’) system. Photo 6 gulp "down the hatch at last". We always, in all ways, admire your photography and comments along with your photos. Keep up the great work. Cap and Patti
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