So 'off the cuff' we decided to go to Chobe, Botswana which is RIGHT next door to Victoria Falls where they have 60,000+ elephants! Wahoo!
Welcome to Botswana....thank you....
Here we are on our little boat heading out to...islands...and estuary type places to see the wildlife....
A boat-full of tourist looking at a crocodile....so funny...
'Hello Mr. Monitor Lizard'....
'Hi Aaron...'
HIPPOES!!
Buffalo with those birds that pick the parasites off of them....funny relationship, no?
I get lost with all the names of 'Gazelle' like creatures in Africa....but I think these are impalas....not the Chevrolet kind ;)
Up, close and maybe too personal....
First elephants! So crazy, these elephants apparently fled here from Angola because of their civil war....I had never thought of the possibility of animals being 'refugees' as well...but I guess they can be....
Having fun in the mud bath ;)
Who dat?! Not sure...if they were musk oxen I'd say they were 'ringing' it up to protect themselves from something...but what? I knoweth not says I....
Hippo out of the water! We didn't see that very often...
He's getting a mud bath too....it's intersting how so many of these animals that live in Africa actualy have 'sensitive' skin...you'd think they'd go elsewhere....
Cool shot!
Out and about again...
So we came back and had a nice lunch. Now we're ready to go off on our game 'drive'....
This is the dry season, but also it is amazing to see in Chobe how destructive elephants can be....they are amazingly destructive!
Impala....
Elephant 'family' hiding from the sun ;)
WE SAW GIRAFFE!! HOW COOL!
:)
Isn't it funny how they don't bend their front legs when they drink? They just kind of do a 'splits' and then gulp....funny stuff....
And they decided to leave...we'd 'disturbed' the Force in the area apparently....
This a Sable...I always thought that was a car made by Mercury and not an animal....well now I know....
"Hello, Sir..."
We'd just be driving around, make a turn and then there would be this elephant group just sitting under a tree...so crazy how close we were at times....
Baby hiding under momma....I honestly thought about if our being there was adding stress to these elephants' lives...I think so :(
Looking out at more of the herds during out drink break....
And then right when we were going to head back to the border a guy told our guide about some lions that he'd seen...
LIONS!!
I wish though we'd seen the big, maned male kind...but whatever...cool nevertheless...
THANKS CHOBE for the great time! I didn't even think to go visit you, but it would've been SO sad if we hadn't!
