I found myself somewhere the other day that I hadn’t been planning: Botswana. I guess I never realized the ease of crossing borders in this part of Africa. Before, borders meant three days waiting in a capital. This border was crossed on a whim. My destination in Boswana was Chobe National Park.were I hitched on with Kalahari Tours for a 2 day safari. It was essentially a wildlife photographer’s dream location. When we first entered Chobe National Park, I asked our guide to stop for an elephant I spotted while up on the hill. He responded with “sure, but we’ll see lots more.” Still, I didn’t want to risk it and took about 10 snaps of the elephant about a kilometer away. Over the next two days in Chobe National Park, I would estimate I saw some 500 elephants. Moreover, we saw dozens of giraffe, loads of hippos, a couple lions, and a wild variety other animals. What I’m showing you here is a mere collection of photos I took while on safari in Chobe National Park. One could easily spend months shooting the park and not take a single bad image. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos half as much as I enjoyed taking them.
How close do you get to elephants in Chobe National Park? I shot this image with an 18mm wide angle lens. I could have reached out and touched it.This is meant to be a monitor lizard… I’m fairly sure it’s actually a dinosaur. Or a dragonElephants take baths the exact same way I do… with mud.There is so much wildlife in Chobe National Park that after a while you aren’t satisfied with photos of just one animal. These are a couple impala hanging out with an elephantIf you’ve been following my on twitter @brendanvanson, you’ll know how I feel about hippos: #WarOnHipposLittle meets bigOh you fancy, huh? Hippos kill more people than any other any animal in Africa… and for what? They are vegetarians! #WarOnHipposA couple young bulls having a bit of a battle on the beach.Look at the hippos just laying around in the water… get a job already #WarOnHipposSpot the baby elephantRun Dumbo, run!Cuteness along the Chobe River in BotswanaA male sable, perhaps the coolest of the many antelopes in Chobe.This is a lilac-breasted roller, one of the most beautiful birds in AfricaThe camp in Chobe National Park. No fences here, just you and nature.An impala in the morning light.A herd of water buffalo crossing the river.So many giraffe in Chobe.I wanted them to make a heart shape with their necks like in cartoons, but this will doAnother lilac-breasted RollerA young lioness waiting to huntWhat’s cooler than a zebra? A baby zebra!I can’t remember the name of this stork, but it was rad. Here it’s stomping through the waters trying to bring fish up from the mud.Jed and Jeff the GiraffesBaboons are bastards, but at least they don’t try to act like they’re not. You gotta respect them for staying true to who they are!
