The 2025 Botswana Journals, Ch. 4,: The Elephants

         Most evenings when we gather for supper in the camps, Marg Wood, a long-time friend and co-leader on this safari, asks:   “What was your favorite sighting or photo of the day?” 

I love these moments when, sans cameras, we reflect on the things we witnessed during the game drives.   No thoughts of the best camera settings, the proper angle, the backgrounds, the direction of the light.  Just immersed in the wonder of the wild animals and birds and scenery we came to see.

On one particular night early in the trip, my answer is immediate and without a doubt:  “The elephants paying their respects.”

That event occurred on a day when we took a game drive in Chobe National Park, rather than a boat ride on the river.   We alternate these game drives.

The gate at Chobe National Park, 4500 square miles of unfenced refuges and several ecosystems.   

One of the first things our guide pointed out was a lion guarding the carcass of a deceased elephant.   It was quite far away, but our powerful telescopic lenses were able to pick out the scene.

 

 

No way to determine the cause of the elephant’s demise, so it might well have been “natural causes.”   Lions, no matter how many of them, cannot take down a full-grown elephant, but they do prey on the babies.

Later in the day, on our way back out of the park, we see a dead tree with a lot of vultures and Marabou storks perched on its limbs, with more arriving as we watched.

Incoming Marabou stork

Finished photographing the vultures, our guide moves the vehicle a bit farther down the dirt trail,  and then we can see living elephants passing by the carcass of their dead kin, each pausing to pay respects to the dead animal.   The dead tree is almost immediately above that site.

I don’t take any photos, not only because the creatures were almost impossible to see through the dense vegetation, but I am so caught up in the emotions of witnessing something I'd only read about, that photographs are beyond my realm of thought, and soon, my eyes so clouded with tears and with my heart in my throat, I couldn’t see them anymore.

We drive a very short distance and watch as numerous elephants cross in front of and behind us, all heading to the Chobe River for water.   I wondered if they, too, would pause by the dead elephant.

Suddenly, I realize we are directly above a place on the river called Elephant Bay, a spot with a natural salt lick and with easy access to the river for all animals.   I even recognize the dead tree with its committee of vultures.  Fine collective noun, isn’t it?

 

From Bird Facts:  The term or name for a group of vultures varies depending on where they are, although the generic term is a flock. When they are flying in formation, they are referred to as a kettle. When they are resting in a tree or on the ground, vultures are called a committee, and whilst feeding, they are known as a wake.

 

 

It is so easy to anthropomorphize these animals, to look at them and think they have the same characteristics, behaviors, and emotions that we humans do, but what chutzpah it is for us to think we humans are the only living creatures to feel emotions, especially when anyone who has spent time observing animal behaviors can swear otherwise.   I am not suggesting that they have the vast range or depth of human feelings, but just that they do to some extent.

If you take issue with my thoughts on this subject, I urge you to read of Lawrence Anthony’s experiences in the book The Elephant Whisperer:  My Life with the Herd in the African Wild.   And be prepared to be awed.

Some more photos of elephants along the river:

 

        Who knows why this elephant is creating such a splash?   I can guess.   Elephants love to play in the water.   They bathe themselves—then get on shore and cover themselves with mud and dirt!   They submerge until only the tip of their truck is visible.

        When drinking, the babies—so susceptible to attacks from crocodiles—are safely in the middle of a forest of huge elephant legs.

        So, it could be any number of reasons, including scaring away any lurking crocs before it drinks so one doesn't grab its trunk.

 

The overall scene.

        

        Then, through the miracle of 500mm telescopic lenses:

Elephants crossing the Chobe River:

The river is too deep for the baby so it's snorkeling as it swims.

Safely protected by adult elephants' legs.

High water mark.

So much for a bath!

Elephants have delicate hides, believe it or not, so they coat themselves with mud and dirt.   They act as sunscreen and provide protection from insects.

That we should see so many elephants along the Chobe is not unusual.   Botswana boasts the largest population of free-roaming elephants in Africa.

And, I end with a short video of elephants drinking at Elephant Bay.   Note how the littles are well-protected.

The 2025 Botswana Journals, Ch. 3, A River by any other Name is Still the Chobe

 

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

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.

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.

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?”  

 

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.

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.”

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.

 

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.

 

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.

Reed cormorant

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.

A link for more info:

 

https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5556/

Plus, my favorite book about Dr. Livingstone is :

Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin DuGard.   I highly recommend it.

The 2025 Botswana Journals, Ch. 2: The Airlines Agony Continues

Savvy traveler that she is, Marg Wood planned for our group to spend two days in Johannesburg at City Lodge before going on to Botswana, our primary destination.  It’s a nice hotel attached to the airport, and that makes it wonderfully convenient.   As it turned out, we would be a day late, but still on track for our connections to Botswana from South Africa.

 

I neglected to mention a couple of things about the beginning of this trip.   I make it a practice to spend the night before a trip in Anchorage.   That’s because there is only one road to Anchorage (and its international airport) from where I live, and if there’s an accident, avalanche, or any other issue, the road might be closed, causing me to miss a flight.  Sure enough, it happened.   While I was blissfully unaware of a wreck that closed the highway near Anchorage the morning of my flight, I boarded my flight to Seattle.

And, while we were winging our way south to that port city, the Alaska Airlines computer systems went down. It didn’t affect my flight or my connection to Edmonton.

 

That was all before hell broke loose a few hours before the flight to Amsterdam, connecting to Johannesburg.  I told you about that morning as Marg made arrangements, including long phone calls, gathering everyone’s passport numbers, and utilizing her Platinum status with KLM.    I’m glad I was with Marg in her home when this happened, because my email from KLM said my flight was cancelled!

This is the hotel attached to the airport in Johannesburg, South Africa.

We got to Amsterdam and even made up some time in the air.   So much time, in fact, that as we deboarded, we saw our original flight to Joburg being boarded a couple of gates down!   We could have made it, but there were great odds that our checked baggage wouldn’t have.

We had about nine hours to wait until our new flight via Swiss Air left.  Once again, Marg and her Platinum status, and Marshel came to the rescue.   They paid for temporary passes for all to the KLM lounge, something KLM does not usually allow.   Free food, drinks, and a comfortable place to wait!  I took a nap.

I then spent the next ten hours miserable in seat 31A  as we flew to Zurich and then on before finally landing in Joburg and checking into a room at City Lodge, meeting as a group for dinner, and then getting a good night’s sleep before catching a morning flight to Kasane, Botswana, and our first safari outing.  

City Lodge reception desk

Outdoor eating, pool area

Part of the dining room

Name dropping here with no shame:   I once saw Jane Goodall walk past the dining room!!!

In the lobby

Let's get on with it!!!

 I had now been travelling for six days, but I had the next five days to enjoy the Chobe River while staying at one of my favorite places:   the Pangolin Chobe Hotel.   I think this was my third visit here, and I love it.

I was hoping to see Guts and Janine, the owner-operators, but they were away guiding a photo group.   I was pleased to see that their beloved business survived the 15-month COVID lockdown in Botswana!

It was built by photographers FOR photographers and is the only place I’ve stayed in Africa where an experienced photographer is with you on every outing to offer photo advice.

The lowly pangolin is the most trafficked animal in the world.   Its scales, made of keratin like human fingernails, are used in "traditional medicine" in parts of Africa and in Asia.   

As for blaming the pangolin for Covid, "While the pangolin is a likely intermediate host, the original source of SARS-CoV-2 is believed to be from a bat, as seen in other coronaviruses. "

I've never seen one, so I borrowed this image from the Internet.

This is the second-floor lounge.   The colored glass evokes the shape of the pangolin with its golden scales, which are much treasured.   Unfortunately, those scales have crested a crisis for the small mammal.

Creativeness is apparent throughout the lodge, as shown by these empty liquor bottles adapted to hold electric lights and the copper tubing formed as a base.

The room I shared with Sylvia.

Large bathroom with exposed copper plumbing.

 

Two large beds.   The windows offer a view of the Chobe River.

Plumbing in the bathroom.

This is where you can tell the lodge was designed by photographers--the long counter for setting up computers and photo gear and lots of outlets.

 

We had a couple of hours to unpack and unwind before our first outing on the specially designed river boats.   Here’s a teaser for the next chapter:

 

A beautiful flowering tree right where we load onto the boats.

 

 

First bird of the trip:   the elusive giant kingfisher and it has a fish in its mouth.   The giant, or Goliath,  kingfisher is 42–46 cm (16.5–18 in) long, with a large shaggy crest, a large black bill and fine white spots on black upperparts. The male has a chestnut breast band and otherwise white underparts with dark flank barring. The female has a white-spotted black breast band and a chestnut belly.

The pied (having two or more colors) kingfisher is prevalent across Africa.   From the Internet:  The pied kingfisher is apparently unique amongst kingfishers, having a bony plate that slides across their eyes when the bird hits the water. The kingfishers are fairly distinctive as a group. They have large heads, long, pointed bills, short legs, small feet, and short tails.

The freshwater Nile crocodile.   These highly aggressive ambush predators are responsible for about 1,000 human deaths every year.  Some of the largest specimens were 20 ft. long and weighed more than a ton.

Ah, crocs and birds and what else awaits us?

Photos from a previous trip to the Pangolin hotel:

Even the roof trusses evoke the curved shape of the pangolin.

The lounge.

The sunken fire pit.

The outdoor eternal pool and the fire pit.

Dining room.

Some photos of the wonderful river boats designed with photographers in mind.   Cameras are mounted on gimbals that allow the camera to move in many directions, and the chairs swivel completely around.

(Note:   Blogspot has decided that my commentary should be underlined, and I can't get away from it.   It's always something.)

Room for eight photographers.

The Chobe River can be seen from my hotel room.   Borrowed photo.

We are located along the river, quite near the border with Zimbabwe.   As you can see, the river forms Botswana's northern border with Namibia, and also a point where the borders of four countries meet--Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.