We know a number of people who have been on Safari but had never experienced one ourselves and were not really sure what to expect.
We spent a lot of time researching our options and eventually decided we wanted to go to Chobe in Botswana. We decided upon this because we didn't want to travel by light aircraft and we wanted as authentic an experience as possible. We had heard of safaris where the roads are Tarmac and you were guaranteed to see the big 5. This is not the case in Chobe where they don't even have Rhinos (one of the big 5) and does not have a huge number of cats. In consequence it has significant numbers of elephants, giraffe, Impala, kudu, Cape buffalo and other typical prey of the cats.
Choosing the lodge was even more complicated as there are so many different types to choose from and they all offer a wonderful safari experience according to their literature. We didn't want tented accommodation as we felt safer with concrete between us and the animals. In the end we settled on Ngoma Safari Lodge which had eight concrete hats with thatched roofs and glass windows on one side looking out onto the Chobe river. It was one of two lodges set on the ridge above the plain.
We arrived at Kasane airport with a group of dignitaries from across the World attending an anti-poaching conference. They were fast tracked through passport control whilst we had to go at the speed of their computers - this was not very fast. After collecting our luggage which had been stacked in the arrivals lounge (if you could call it that!) we were met by Richard who was to be our guide for the next four days. It was an hours drive to Ngoma, much of it through the National Park. The park is unfenced allowing the animals to roam freely between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The freely roaming animals also meant that we had to be escorted by security guards at night as we went between our room and the main lodge.
We thoroughly enjoyed our safari experience. The lodge has a policy of grouping those people who arrive on the same day with one guide. As we were the only arrivals we had Richard to ourselves for all the activities - something we hadn't expected. Over the four days we did two afternoon game drives with sundowners, a full day safari which included a river safari and a land safari, a village tour to see a local school, clinic and woman's club and one early morning game drive.
In total we saw only 9 lionesses and no other cats. However we saw an abundance of other animals and birds. We saw herds of elephants, giraffe, Cape buffalo and Impala. We also saw a number of zebra, kudu, varieties of antelope, mongoose, hippos, crocodile, hyena, jackals and wild dogs. The exciting birds included hornbills, stork, cranes, eagles, Falcons, vultures, bee eaters, egrets and many more.
There were a couple of scary moments but luckily we had an excellent guide in whom we had the utmost confidence. The first was an encounter with an aggressive adolescent male elephant. This was within 5 minutes of starting our first safari. The elephant had a stand off with the jeep, before charging. Luckily it was only a mock charge and it decided to let us by. During the water safari a lone male hippo decided to attack our boat. Our guide hit the throttle just in time and we zoomed to safety.
The visit to the local primary school was brilliant. We spent time with the headmaster and one of the teachers who explained the school system and how the classes were operated. We were really impressed with the standard of education the children were receiving. There were about 20 children in each class and after reception class all the lessons (except for the national language) were conducted in English. We spent a lot of time with the children who were delightful.
What made the experience really good was the staff at the lodge. From our very warm welcome to our send off four days later the staff couldn't have been more friendly, helpful and accommodating. There was a lot of food but it wasn't particularly exciting. All the drinks (including alcohol) were complementary and always being offered to us. We genuinely felt that they wanted us to be there and had a mission to make it the best experience for us. One example was when they pulled everyone away from supper to see a python that had been spotted outside the kitchen.
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