After our visit to Victoria Falls, we crossed the Zimbabwean border and entered Botswana near the township of Kasane. Our destination was Chobe National Park, renowned for its large population of elephants in Botswana.
One of the first things that I noticed was the relative improvement in economy when compared to Zimbabwe. There were crops and the standard of housing, although simple, was substantially better than the houses we saw in Zimbabwe.
Botswana is known to have the highest elephant population in Africa. The Chobe River supports up to 50,000 elephants in the dry season when the water in the hinterland has dried up. Approaching Kasane, we were greeted with views of numerous elephants.
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. It has held free and fair democratic elections since independence.
Botswana is flat, and up to 70% is covered by the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. Its border with Zambia to the north near Kazungula, Zambia, is poorly defined. However, at most, it is a few hundred meters long.
The most well known areas of Botswana would be the Kalahari and the Okavango Delta. Our destination was the Chobe National Park.
Chobe National Park is the third largest Park in Botswana covering approximately 11,700 sq kms, encompassing floodplains, swamps and woodland. The Chobe River forms its northern boundary.
