> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nohousekeys.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Chobe and Okavango, Botswana - URL: https://www.nohousekeys.com/chobe/ - Published: 2026-09-18T10:39:09.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-14T11:43:57.000Z - Description: -18.6657,24.7041|Botswana - Author: Maxwell Duke - Tags: #map-location, #route-2500, #Import 2026-09-18 10:29 From Zimbabwe we headed to Muchenje Lodge in Chobe National Park, Botswana. Then onto two additional camps in the Okavango Delta. The rhythm of early morning and sunset game drives continued. With fabulous meals between. Fair warning... this is a very long post. But stay with us because these animals are incredible! ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/image.jpeg) ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6017.jpeg) Another fabulous room. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/image-2.jpeg) ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6157-1.jpeg) on teh way to our lodge ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/image-4.jpeg) view of the Okavango Delta from the back of the lodge ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/image-5.jpeg) Black backed jackal ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_5984-1.jpeg) Male lion. We Our driver, Rocky, told us that the animals don't recognize us as distinct from the game drive vehicle, which is why we can get so close and not be threatened. 0:00 /0:22 1× Guinea Fowl. Jokingly called Chobe chickens. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/image-7.jpeg) Hippo in the Chobe River ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6005.jpeg) Gorgeous baobab tree. Elephants strip the bark for water in the dry season. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6022.jpeg) The "Big 5" are lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and water buffalo. Not sure why water buffalo is on the list. Seems giraffes and hippos are more iconic. But I didn't make the list. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6036.jpeg) Female elephant 0:00 /0:50 1× These two ready-for-action male elephants were fighting over a female in heat. 0:00 /0:17 1× From the Chobe River boat cruise ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6058.jpeg) Nursing baby ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6082.jpeg) so many hippos on land! 0:00 /0:15 1× Young male and female drinking. Rocky told us a story of a couple that was out on safari in their own vehicle and got stuck in the sand. The husband headed to their camp to go get help, and the wife was rescued by another group. The husband never showed in camp, and all the search party found was a pair of shoes and a head. 0:00 /0:22 1× Giraffes heading across the grasslands. Giraffes when standing is called a tower. When a group of giraffes is in motion it's called a journey. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6146.jpeg) goodbye Muchenje Next we headed to Mma Dinare lodge in the Okavango Delta on a bush plane. Mma Dinare means mother water buffalo in the Setswana language. Much more water and greener brush in the Delta vs at our previous stop in Chobe National Park. There was elephant dung on the runway when we landed. Luckily, no elephants. We learned the safari guides who picked us up would clear the runways of animals before clearing the pilot to land via a radio left alongside the airstrip. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6175.jpeg) ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/image-12.jpeg) our room ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6220.jpeg) our sitting room ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/image-13.jpeg) Our tracker TT and guide MD (driving) made a great team. Trackers aspire to be guides and train for years. 0:00 /0:13 1× The water was so deep a few times that we took on water. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0817.jpeg) Male Kudu. Turns out, they're not just beautiful, they're delicious. Found them on menus (they're farmed) often. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6158.jpeg) Lodge where we gathered for game drives. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6160.jpeg) Art everywhere ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6190.jpeg) Warthog, considered one of the uglies. I dunno, tho, this might be the Brad Pitt of warthogs. To their mother they're certainly beautiful. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6388.jpeg) Lilac breasted roller, PJ's favorite. Incredibly beautiful bird, especially when it takes flight. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6301.jpeg) Three famous cheetah brothers with full bellies. They're fast, and can catch prey that others cannot. But they're not built to fight off competitors so they eat as much as they can as fast as they can. Right now they look so full they might have a hard time running away. 0:00 /0:16 1× ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0879.jpeg) Wild dogs are cool. They can be laying around and all of sudden jump to attention and start moving in formation to track down whatever they see. 0:00 /0:22 1× Endangered wild dogs. Farmers often kill them because they eat livestock. We were lucky to see them. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6260.jpeg) ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6288.jpeg) Hyenas are shy and mostly seen at night. This one is one of a handful that came down to the waterhole for a drink. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/10/9B740B30-624C-4783-92EC-A32BC0EC2E3C_1_201_a.jpeg) Boat trip on the Delta. Crocs, hippos and loads of water birds. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/10/DCA617E6-108B-41D0-ADB3-9DF3874C6B92.jpeg) with our beautiful and super Instagrammable newlywed traveling companions, Sophie and Collin, coincidentally from La Jolla, San Diego 0:00 /0:23 1× Happy Birthday, David! The cake was made in Botswana national colors. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/10/36C1A771-835C-42A5-97BD-30A1FFD3EE4E_1_105_c.jpeg) 0:00 /0:17 1× Pride of nine females with young ones. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6335.jpeg) ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6337.jpeg) 0:00 /0:24 1× Here they are on the move. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6347.jpeg) A dazzle of zebras. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6662.jpeg) A sense of the optical illusion zebras create with their markings ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6357.jpeg) Young male leopard high in a tree ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0873.jpeg) He did decide to come down and look for lunch... 0:00 /0:11 1× ...which was a herd of impalas. 0:00 /0:13 1× Leopard watching impalas, ready for lunch. We never saw a kill, but was awesome to watch this hunter on the prowl. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6441.jpeg) Tracker TT and guide MD. Great guys. Many of the locals use initials because most English speakers can't properly pronounce (or remember) their names. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6263.jpeg) Cheers with Okavango gin. We were driven to sites where it was considered safe from predators, but honestly we were still a little uneasy outside of the vehicle. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6694.jpeg) This post NOT brought to you by Okavango gin. We discovered it and absolutely love it. Made from Okavango Delta water and flavored with local tree pods. Delicious. Next we headed to Tubu Tree lodge even further into the Okavango Delta toward the northwest. By this time we had seen every animal we had hoped. Could it possibly get any better?? Spoiler alert... yes, friends, it did. Herds were bigger and this area felt even more wild. We watched animals – elephants, giraffes, zebras, antelope – right off our balcony. Plus we were the only guests at the lodge during our stay so we were spoiled rotten. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6462.jpeg) These bush planes are really like the local busses. People get on and off at various stops. Very comfortable and routine travel. 0:00 /0:41 1× What a fabulous welcome! ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6517.jpeg) Tubu Tree was the most luxurious lodge of the trip. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6524.jpeg) We really should have taken more pictures of the food. Tubu Tree chef was incredible. Each dish was superb. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6653.jpeg) A mating pair of lions. They mate several times an hour for a week or more. 0:00 /0:21 1× Happened on them mating. David mentioned that if he performed like that he'd get fired. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6500.jpeg) Posing zebras and wildebeasts 0:00 /0:20 1× Herd of Red Lechwe antelope. 0:00 /0:43 1× close encounter with an elephant right off our balcony ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6559.jpeg) I think David only wears clothes because it's pretty much required in public ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6497.jpeg) Giraffes were among our favorites. They're a bit shy, and so graceful when they move. And when they run it looks like they're in slow motion. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6593.jpeg) ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6412-1.jpeg) An avian condominium on the Okavango Delta - a rookery ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6606.jpeg) male ostrich ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6436.jpeg) the moon and venus ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6465.jpeg) what's left of a kudu after being someone(s) lunch ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6667.jpeg) Goodbye to Kelly, another awesome, seasoned guide, born and raised in the Delta 0:00 /0:24 1× Bittersweet feeling waiting for our last plane to take us out of the bush. Hard to say goodbye after falling in love with Africa. ![](https://www.nohousekeys.com/content/images/2026/09/IMG_6429.jpeg)