Tchinga, Chobe NP - Botswana

We had exactly one week before we were due to fly back to the UK from Livingstone, Zambia. We would need at least two days in Livingstone to repack Rupert ready for storage and to get our stuff for the UK together, however we didn't want to reach Livingstone too early so the trick was timing it just right.

We stayed in Maun for one last day before heading North to Kasane and the border with Zambia. The plan was to camp one night in Kasane at the Chobe Safari Lodge then go onto Ihaha in the Chobe National Park before finally leaving Botswana for Zambia.

We wanted to camp for two or three nights at Ihaha but were dismayed to find the place was almost fully booked by South African's up for their school holidays and we could only get one night.  To make matters worse when we arrived at the Safari Lodge we found that their campsite was also fully booked, they still had a couple of Safari rooms vacant which we knew from staying here in May with Ruth & J were very nice but if we could avoid it we didn't want to pay for a room for just a few hours so we decided to check out the campsites at the other Lodges but incredibly found they were all full as well - bloody South African holidays!

By now it was after 7pm so there was no choice but to call the Safari Lodge and book a room quickly before they went too. It would cost us £55 but at least we would have a bed for the night plus the upside was I could watch the World Cup whilst lounging in a hot bath with G&T in hand! When we got back to the lodge the reception was full of South African's who like us had planned to camp but were now needing a room for the night, only by now the lodge was full so that was a close one, needless to say Sue was gutted we would not be camping!

Next morning we left the lodge for the short drive to the Chobe National Park, we would be camping for one last night on the river at Ihaha. We had stayed here in May with Ruth and J but I was not too well and we didn't get to see some of the places we wanted to so this would be our last chance to do this for quite awhile.

Chobe is probably best known for it's Elephants, in the 80s we saw some large herds but now they seemed a lot fewer in number. Of course you cannot make direct comparisons as in the 80s Botswana was in the midst of a drought so the Ele's naturally congregated to the Chobe River whereas now with all the rain they are more spread out throughout the park, having said that we drove quite a distance inland away from the river and saw very few so we are dubious about claims there are in excess of 30,000 Ele's still in the park.

Our main reason for returning to Ihaha before leaving for Zambia was to re-visit a place called Tchinga. Just ourselves and another couple camped here for four nights in the 1980's and  had some of our most incredible experiences of wildlife up close and personal.

In those more relaxed days you could camp at Tchinga although  as it didn't appear on any tourists maps few people knew of its existence. We found out about it through Lionel Palmer an old white hunter immortalised in Mark & Delia Owens book "The Cry of the Kalahari". We first met Lionel in the Okavango Delta and whilst we absolutely abhor hunting of any kind he was one of those rare people who were so much larger than life that you couldn't help but like him, a real John Wayne character. Sadly we found out on this trip that he passed away a couple of years ago but his widow, Phyllis, who we never met, still lives in their old house in Maun.

On our home page there are photo's of Tchinga in the 1980s when it was bare of vegetation, however game still thronged to it because the authorities were pumping water to the waterhole, making it the only water for miles around. Over four days we had hundreds of Elephants, a pride of nine Lions and assorted other game constantly around us.

It holds such strong memories and to this day remains the closest we have ever come to being killed by an Elephant, when we were charged on foot while sheltering behind a termite mound overlooking the waterhole! The only thing which saved us was the termite mound itself and I've always been thankful termites make their homes so strong as the Ele hit it head on, but that's another story.

Nowadays Tchinga is off limits for camping but we wanted to see it anyway. The hardest part would be finding the right track, we knew we had to get to a place called Nogatsaa from where we hoped we would remember the way to Tchinga but Chobe has changed and the undergrowth is so much denser that nothing looked familiar.

Eventually we found what we thought must be the track but it was so faint and overgrown that certainly no one had been down it for quite sometime. Being a single vehicle it's always a judgement call whether to follow these tracks but we decided we must give it a go. After a few miles the track turned into what could only be described as a ploughed field, over the years the sheer volume of Ele's walking to and from Tchinga in the wet season had completely churned up the black cotton soil so now it was a bone jarring mess. Still there was nothing for it but to persevere and thankfully after a while it improved but now we could see why the authorities no longer think it wise to allow people to visit here.

When we eventually reached Tchinga it was pretty much how we remembered it. We hadn't seen a soul all morning and it was clear no one had been here for ages as there was no evidence of car tracks or camp fires. The pump wasn't running but there was still a little water in the waterhole however disappointingly no game at all, clearly there is easier water to be had these days. The old pump house and pump had been upgraded and where now surrounded by a formidable looking fence, presumably to keep the Ele's out.

The termite mound the Elephant hit as we cowered behind for sanctuary is still there but bits had been broken off so it seemed a lot shorter than we remembered. The mound used to form the rear of a flimsy hide built by some unknown visitor. To enter you squeezed between it and a tree and the front which looked on the waterhole was just a small fence made out of few flimsy branches.

When we camped here we had Ele's 24/7 around the hole so to reach the hide we used to park the vehicles about 25 yards from it and wait for a break in the traffic, then walk quickly into the hide. Once inside if you remained totally quiet and where downwind then you could almost touch the Elephants walking past but when we think back now it was incredibly foolhardy to go in there with all the Ele's and the Lions close by but we were young and didn't know any better.

We had seen no game at all whilst wandering around which remembering how vibrant it was when we were last here made it seem a bit sad and lonely. Still it was great to see the place again after so many years and to see the bush flourishing. It is re-assuring to know if man leaves the land alone with time and sufficient water it will replenish itself however it was time we headed to Ihaha, having a site booked meant we headed straight to Tchinga when we entered the park but it was now time to get back to the river and set up camp.

Shortly after leaving Tchinga we encountered a couple of lone bull Elephants much like the one who had charged us so many years before. They looked like they were heading for the waterhole but sadly they were the only ones we saw on the whole journey.

It was after 5pm by the time we reached Ihaha so we had little time to get setup before it got dark. We had hoped to get the same campsite which we had with Ruth and J but that was booked so we ended up at the other end of the camp on site 9 but luckily no one turned up to claim site 8 which was close by so we were able to enjoy a lovely sunset and evening.

Next morning we would be leaving Botswana and Southern Africa for the last time. We had no idea when we would be back as once we returned from the UK we would be exploring Zambia and then onto East Africa, but seeing Tchinga and Chobe again had been a perfect way to say goodbye.