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 dragon
Elephants 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 elephant
If you’ve been following my on twitter @brendanvanson, you’ll know how I feel about hippos: #WarOnHippos
Little meets big
Oh you fancy, huh? Hippos kill more people than any other any animal in Africa… and for what? They are vegetarians! #WarOnHippos
A 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 #WarOnHippos
Spot the baby elephant
Run Dumbo, run!
Cuteness along the Chobe River in Botswana
A male sable, perhaps the coolest of the many antelopes in Chobe.
This is a lilac-breasted roller, one of the most beautiful birds in Africa
The 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 do
Another lilac-breasted Roller
A young lioness waiting to hunt
What’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 Giraffes
Baboons 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!
June 10, 2013
Classic set photos. In fact the best I have seen so far. The first photo of the elephants are very close indeed.
June 12, 2013
Thanks Shalu, loved Chobe, would love to go back and photograph it again.
June 11, 2013
Tremendous pics! What an adventure!
June 12, 2013
Thanks Pat, although Chobe does deserve most the credit!
June 11, 2013
Seriously awesome photos! You’re making me want to get on the next plane to Botswana.
June 12, 2013
Take it Jim, Chobe was brilliant and has been the whole region!
June 11, 2013
Chapeau Brendan! Magnificent photos.
June 12, 2013
Thanks for the hat Colleen, I lost mine the other day!
June 12, 2013
Looks like an incredible part of the world complimented more so by cute looking animals. I find that not knowing what’s going on is such a gift. Just to be there and totally present. Thanks for sharing I’d love to go there sometime!
I’m planning on visiting the Africa at the end of the year. Now I know what to expect!
June 12, 2013
Thanks Jacob, and good luck with Africa it’s such a great and diverse place.
June 15, 2013
Looks amazing – I think any photographer who loves wildlife even a little bit would have Africa fairly high on their list of places to go, although I have to admit I’d never considered Botswana before. I will now…
June 16, 2013
Yeah JP. Actually, Botswana might have the best wildlife photography options in Africa. Not only do you have Chobe National Park but the Okavango Delta as well!
June 15, 2013
beautiful photographs! love the baby elephant poking up out of the water. very intrigued by botswana now.
June 16, 2013
Thanks Eva, if you do go you’ll have to give Chobe a shot. Lots of baby elephants like this around there 😀
June 19, 2013
Incredible shots. I like how you feature some of the big 5 as well as some of the beautiful birds and other animals. I am going to check out the war on hippos hashtag.
June 20, 2013
Thanks Ted, and just so you know… the war on hippos is a serious movement, only for serious people.
June 22, 2013
How awesome are elephants?! Great photos, Brendan. Makes me want to get back to Africa.
June 22, 2013
Go back brother! It’s amazing down here. There are so many elephants in Chobe. Literally, you’re constantly surrounded by them.