Savuti Bush Camp, Linyanti Swamp, Botswana

20 October 2007

Back to Travel Blog

Onwards to the edge of the Chobe National Park, to the famous Savuti Channel and the Savuti Bush Camp, which offered possibly the best service of any of the camps I stayed in during the trip. They simply did everything they could to make our stay as memorable as possible – our guide Roger even managing for us stay one night in a hide in the bush, giving a taste as to how the original safaris were held (though Brian was a little bit concerned about the hyaenas that were circling the neighbouring water hole). The night was spent playing guitar and singing (badly) as various herds made their way in for a drink or two.

The main draw of Savuti are the huge herds of Elephants that congregate in the area during the dry season, the camp itself overlooking a water hole at which up to 40-50 of the giant beasts would stop and argue over a drink of water (a bit like some of the pubs I’ve been to when I think about it). For those who think that Elephants only trumpet, they should listen in as they go through their incredibly wide vocal range during discussions between the various herds on their way in and out. The absolute highlight was standing in the hide at the edge of the water only meters from the animals themselves, especially when an absolutely tiny two-day old baby made its way in with its mother and was dwarfed by the massive bulls.

We also had some great cat sighting whilst there – the first afternoon we found two cheetah brothers in the fading afternoon sun. I had actually seen the same two three years previously at the nearby Duma Tau, though at that time there were three siblings, the other having died from a snake bite last year. Starting the afternoon in the shade they answered our prayers and decided to go for a bit of a stroll just as the light was getting perfect before throwing themselves down on a bit of a mound, good for them to have a great view of proceedings and for us to get some eye level shots.

The next day we heard news of a big male Leopard in a tree some distance from the camp. We rushed there but found him sleeping amidst heavy foliage so left only to return early in the afternoon to wait and hope to see if he would come down and have a poke around. After a total of more than four hours waiting, we were finally rewarded as just after sunset he decided it was time to do some hunting and came straight down the tree. For those lucky enough, watching leopards go up and down a tree has to be one of the highlights of any safari – their strength is such that they can carry prey heavier than themselves straight up 12-foot tree. Simply staggering.

Whilst at Duba we had been extremely lucky to see an African Wild Cat, a beautiful little creature that is fairly similar to the standard house cat. As they are very nocturnal they are rarely seen and we had had only a fleeting glimpse of one as it headed out on its nightly hunt in the long grass. And to cap it off, my flash decided to malfunction and I managed no shots. But our luck improved massively at Savuti. The second evening we saw the elusive cat on the run and followed him for a while until amazingly he just lay down and had no qualms as we were able to get more than a bagful of shots. Simply brilliant.

(show this location in Google Maps)