Chobe River cruise

From swimming elephants to basking crocodiles and soaring eagles, a boat ride along the Chobe River is an unforgettable experience.

The Chobe River marks the border between Botswana and Namibia, and it’s teeming with wildlife.

Exploring the area by boat means you can get especially close to the mammals, birds and reptiles that flock to the water’s edge.

We boarded our small speedboat near the town of Kasane, which serves as the gateway to the Chobe Riverfront, for a three-hour cruise, accompanied by our knowledgable guide Mojo.

Almost immediately upon setting off, we spotted a huge crocodile lazing on the riverbank (below).

I was sat at the front of the boat and was somewhat alarmed when Mojo took us right up to the edge of the bank, meaning I was practically within touching distance of the enormous reptile.

I didn’t know it at the time, but Mojo later explained the crocodiles lie on the riverbank after eating, where they bask in the sun as they digest their meal.

This meant the croc was already full and unlikely to be looking to chow down on human seconds.

As we travelled along the river, we saw a couple of delightful monitor lizards (above), as well as lots of birds, including pied kingfishers (below), fish eagles and a blacksmith’s plover.

Mojo was full of interesting facts about the wildlife we saw, telling us among other things, how monitor lizards feast upon bird and crocodile eggs, while fish eagles (below) breed in pairs.

Further along the river, we came upon a herd of elephants drinking at the water’s edge, and we spent quite a bit of time watching and photographing them.

From there, we headed towards the island that lies in the middle of the river between Botswana and Namibia.

There we found a pod of hippos sleeping in the mud, although one hippo kindly got up and started moving around as we looked on (above).

As we continued along the river, we came upon an elephant swimming to the island (above).

We stopped to watch as the pachyderm got out of the river (above) and were agog as the entire herd then followed suit (below).

It was an incredible and unforgettable sight, and not something I was expecting to see.

We spent ages watching the herd, not wanting to take our eyes off them.

The water was quite deep in parts and I was amazed to see every member of the herd, including the tiny babies, calmly cross one by one.

We continued cruising along the river, making our way around the island and back towards our starting point.

Along the way, we spied our first buffalo (above), along with some ducks, a malachite kingfisher and yet more elephants and crocodiles, including an adorable mother and baby elephant (below).

We also stopped to watch two elephants fighting on the riverbank (below).

Towards the end of the boat ride, we even spotted some fellow humans as we passed two men in a canoe (below).

Despite spending three hours on the Chobe River, the time flew by and it was hard to believe we’d spent so long on the water.

By the time we arrived back at our starting point, the sun was starting to go down and it made for an idyllic scene (above).

As we headed back to our truck, the wildlife spotting continued as we spied a couple of warthogs running around the car park, scavenging for food.

The three-hour boat ride was one of my favourite and most memorable experiences in Botswana.

We saw so many incredible sights in such a short space of time, it’s definitely a must-do for anyone visiting Chobe National Park.