The Area - Savute Region of the Chobe National Park

In the heart of Botswana's Chobe National Park lies a dynamic wilderness, a sweeping expanse of savannah brooded over by several rocky outcrops which guard a relic marsh and the dry channel that was once its lifeline.

Mysterious wet and dry cycles mould this landscape and dictate the nature of its wild inhabitants. This is Savute and for the moment the channel is dry. The world acclaimed game viewing of Savute is an experience not to be missed. Here wild dogs hunt in the channel where crocodiles swam only twenty years ago. The Gubatsa Hills shelter leopard and Klipspringer and rock paintings of early man's wildlife sightings.

Dry season game viewing concentrates on Savute's resident bull elephants, antelope and lion prides around half-empty pans and permanent water-holes. Black-backed jackal, bat-eared foxes, tsessebe, kudu, impala and ostrich abound.

The summer rains bring a feast for lion, hyena and cheetah as thousands of migrating zebra and wildebeest assemble in a chaotic pattern on the Savute marsh. Cape buffalo herds arrive and migrant birds swell Savute's 300 resident species, thrilling bird-watchers with their spectacular antics.

Carmine bee-eaters perch on the back of kori bustards and red-crested korhaans plummet from the sky in daring aerobatic mating displays.