For wildlife enthusiasts around the world, Botswana is the ultimate destination. Large prides of lions, thousands of elephants and numerous close encounters exceed most people’s expectations ... by Jeremy Jowell

The large male lion sitting in the grass is clearly annoyed. His tail twitches incessantly and attentive ears are pricked in our direction. We’re in his territory and unlike his brother sleeping peacefully nearby, this lion is alert and angry.
The most important rule when watching lions from an open vehicle is to be silent and still. But in her excitement, the British tourist on our 4x4 is jumping around with her Nikon to get a better vantage. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I whisper to her loudly. “That lion is already on edge and now he’s watching you.”
His eyes follow her every move and then he lets out a warning roar. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. With just ten metres of air between the livid lion and us it’s not a good situation. “We need to get out of here now,” says Jaco our guide, starting up the engine. “
We reverse away from the danger and circle round to watch big brother who is still sleeping on his back. A few minutes later, he slowly wakes and stretches. Then, in a moment I’ll remember forever, a big brown eye stares straight into my lens.

It’s a clear autumn day as my Air Botswana flight lifts off from Johannesburg International Airport. We head north over the wilderness of Africa. Down below, the Limpopo River snakes through the dry land. After landing in the Tuli Block to have our passports stamped, we fly on to Kasane at the northern tip of Botswana.
Kasane is a small frontier town bordering one of Africa’s great game reserves, Chobe National Park. Chobe is home to 45 000 elephants and is also renowned for its predators such as lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog.
The vegetation around the Chobe River has been decimated by the huge number of elephants who can each consume up to 300 kilograms of food and drink 200 litres of water a day. The Chobe riverfront promises good game sightings throughout the year. Elephants and hippos are plentiful and some of the crocodiles measure up to 6m in length. The area also has an abundance of bird life with over 450 species identified.
Chobe Game Lodge is the only permanent accommodation inside the park. The lodge was made famous when Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor chose it as the venue for one of their weddings.
After unpacking, it’s time for a sundowner cruise. The birds are abundant and in one hour we tick off martial and fish eagles, Egyptian geese, herons, a shoebill stork, colourful carmine bee-eaters and Botswana’s national bird, the lilac-breasted roller. The sun sinks low and silhouetted amongst distant trees, a lone elephant wades through a floodplain.
Dinners at the lodge are gastronomic affairs. For starters, there’s a choice of Camembert cheese in phyllo pastry, seafood creole or vegetable soup. For the main course, there are seven dishes to choose from. Venison casserole, grilled crocodile brochettes, Mozambican prawns, Chobe bream, roasted duck, kudu fillet and my eventual choice, roast guinea fowl with wild berries in a ginger sauce.
The next morning I wake early and set out with guide Leonard Kasale for a game drive. The black sky slowly lightens and the Chobe River turns blood red as the sun rises.
A call comes over the radio that a pack of wild dogs have been sighted at Puku Flats.
We arrive to find the dogs pacing alongside the river and an injured impala frantically treading water offshore. After 20 minutes, the dogs disappear and the exhausted impala limps ashore. Wide-eyed with fear, he shivers, cries out and stumbles away into the bush. In his injured state, the impala is not much more than fast food.
That afternoon, the full beauty of Chobe reveals itself. The setting sun paints the landscape a light shade of gold as we pass acacia trees and herds of elephants.
We park near the river to take some photographs and within a few minutes, 300 buffalo surround our vehicle. The beasts fix us with a menacing stare, then saunter down to quench their thirst.
All is peaceful at the river. The sun sinks behind purple storm clouds. Several hippos lie motionless in the water. A flock of Egyptian geese fly off from the bank. Suddenly the stillness is shattered. A large hippo rises, opens his huge pink jaws and bellows out. In a flash, the buffalo scatter and stampede past us in clouds of swirling dust. The thunder of their hooves breaks the silence of the African night.

From Kasane, it’s a 40-minute Cessna south to Savute. Munihango Limbo, a guide from Savute Safari Lodge, is waiting for me next to the sand runway. Situated on the edge of the dry Savute channel, the lodge accommodates just 24 guests in beautifully furnished thatch, wood and glass safari suites. Each has its own lounge, en-suite bathroom and private viewing deck to a well-visited waterhole.
Savute is a mysterious place. Contorted camel-thorn trees protrude from the sandy channel that dried up in 1982 when waters from the Linyanti River stopped flowing. Only movement of the earth’s tectonic plates will determine when the river will flow again to fill the channel and flood the marsh.
Savute is famous for its mild-mannered elephants that often congregate in large numbers at the pump waterholes. The area is also known for large prides of lions and sightings of the predators are plentiful.
But it’s not only on game drives that one has close encounters with these cats. “The lions often come into our grounds early in the morning to drink from the swimming pool,” says lodge manager Tanya Bruwer. “Last week, 19 of them were sitting here on the grass. One even attacked the kreepy krauly. So you can understand why a guide will always escort you to your room.”
It’s late afternoon and we drive out to Quarry Hill, a favourite haunt for leopards. “Always have your camera ready because you never know what’s around the next corner,” says Limbo. “You have to expect the unexpected.”
There is no leopard in sight but we do find two lions sleeping under a bush. “We call them the honeymooners because they are currently a mating couple,” explains Limbo. “They will mate four times an hour for a whole week.”
The lions are taking some much-needed rest and show no sign of moving so we head on to Pump Pan for sundowners. Several jackals sneak around, trying to catch the turtledoves that scatter in the still Savute air.
The next morning I’m awakened by an ear-splitting roar. Four lions are prowling along the channel in front of my suite. “They were at the pool a few minutes ago,” says Limbo with a smile when he arrives to escort me to breakfast. “One of them walked up to the boma and pulled the cover off the garden light.”
It’s freezing, so I’ve dressed in several layers of clothing before venturing outside. After a quick breakfast, we set out to explore Savute. The sun appears and the eerie camel-thorn trees are bathed in a pink glow when we stop to watch two elephants having a dawn drink.
Limbo steers us through thick sand and as the day warms up, off come the clothing. Soon I’m sweating in the morning heat. Limbo is a wealth of information and often stops the vehicle to inspect animal tracks.
He also shows me Presidents Camp, a secluded area where past president of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, used to pitch his tent. “He loved being in nature and now his son Ian Khama, who is vice president of the country, comes to visit our lodge every year.”
We journey on through Wild Dog Vlei, past Peter’s Pan and Leopard Rock, to Marabou Pan where 14 bull elephants are drinking from a waterhole. There’s no one else around, and the Savute elephants are known to be good-natured, so I descend from the vehicle to photograph them.
I crawl to a few metres from the animals who are unconcerned by my presence. A warthog arrives and even he doesn’t mind me being around. Lying amidst their dung, the stench is overpowering, but I click away at the elephants, thrilled by my close encounter.
It’s silent in Savute and I hear every sound as they slurp and swish and spray themselves with mud. Eventually I tear myself away from the spectacle and we drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Meals are first class affairs and we feast on pasta salad, followed by Spanish tortilla and bobotie, accompanied by freshly baked corn bread. Dinners vary every night but one of the traditional favourites is seswa, a tasty dish of pounded beef served with samp and beans, wild spinach and butternut.

Another day dawns in the animal kingdom of Africa. My body is by now finely tuned to the wilderness schedule and I’m up before my alarm clock beeps.Flights between camps in Botswana usually take place around lunchtime, so as not to clash with prime game viewing hours. From Savute, it’s just a short hop over to the Okavango Delta. Marshy floodplains glint in the sun as we start our descent..
Stretching over 16 000 square kilometres, the Okavango Delta is the one of the world’s largest inland waterways. The delta supports a wide variety of bird life, plants, fish and animals, including the rare sitatunga antelope.
Camp Okavango is situated on Nxaragha Island and accommodation is in East African style safari tents.The shady grounds have a pool, reading benches, an observation platform and hammocks for that essential midday siesta.
Unlike other areas of Botswana where the daily schedule revolves around game drives, activities here include guided nature walks or mokoro trips through the shallow wetlands.
On my last morning, we set off before dawn for a walking trail around Buffalo Island. My guide is John Kana who has worked here for the past 20 years. John was born on nearby Mojei Island and helped build the camp back in 1981.
“There is a chance that we may see lion or elephant, so if we do, just stay dead still,” instructs John. “But if we come across a buffalo, run up a tree or hide in a bush, because they can be the most dangerous of animals.”
A few drops of rain begin to fall and at a sandy track, John indicates the paw prints of a large lion that passed in the night. The day warms up and we rest on a termite mound from where we watch four giraffes galloping across a field. A hippopotamus calls out loudly as it waddles out of the reeds. In the distance, an elephant stands motionless under a tree.
After lunch and a siesta, we launch the mokoro in muggy conditions. There’s not a breath of wind and John poles us smoothly through the clear shallows. The water is like a mirror and we drift silently, watching red lechwe cautiously grazing.
Then a rattling noise breaks my reverie. A palm tree is being violently shaken on a nearby island. “It’s an elephant pushing the tree trunk with his head to dislodge the small coconuts,” laughs John.
Shafts of sunlight streak down from the scattered clouds and cast a silvery spell on the Okavango waters. Lightning flashes in the distance and a rainstorm threatens. Luckily the squall stays away and we’re treated to a sunset that turns the delta into shimmering pools of crimson and pink.
Back at the lodge, dinner is a sumptuous candlelit affair. Starters is stuffed mushrooms before a main course of beef fillet and sweet potatoes sprinkled with cinnamon. I make sure to keep room for dessert of banana pudding and fresh fruit salad.
Later in my tent, I switch off the light and everything is dark and quiet. Suddenly a hippo grunts near the lagoon. Then there’s the high-pitched cackle of a hyena followed by the mighty roar of a lion. I fall asleep, listening to the sounds of Africa.