Victoria Falls & Chobe: Nature’s Grand Spectacles

Daphnée and I visited Victoria Falls and Chobe recently, to refresh our knowledge about these destinations and explore a mix of new and established lodges and hotels. Our adventure took us through four countries, where we visited 31 lodges. It’s safe to say our days were packed to the brim! Despite the furious schedule, we had an incredible time and relished the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the untamed beauty of Africa once more.

Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls, located on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, is one of the world’s largest and most awe-inspiring waterfalls. During the peak flow season, the spray and mist from the falls can rise to over 400 metres (1,300 feet) and be seen from up to 50 kilometres (31 miles) away earning it the local name, Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means “The Smoke That Thunders”. The falls stretch over 1,700 metres wide and drop up to 108 metres. What I find most enjoyable about visiting the falls, besides the dramatic beauty of the waterfall, is the beautiful rainforest that thrives due to a distinctive microclimate in the surrounding area that supports a wide variety of plants and animals.

There are three different lodge experiences you can have in Victoria Falls. If you’d like a good quality, comfortable guesthouse with personal service, stay in the town. This will also give easy access to all the town’s adventurous activities, like white water rafting and helicopter flips.

If you’d like a safari lodge on the water, with beautiful views, peaceful surroundings, and easy access to river boating activities, choose one of the excellent luxury safari lodges on the Zambezi River. If you’d like more privacy and exclusivity, choose a lodge on the Zambian side, such as Toka Leya or Tongabezi. One of the places I’d love to return to with my family is Tsowa Island because it’s exactly the type of wilderness experience we love. It’s remote, on the water, simple and offers excellent guiding and bird watching. I felt the same about the more rustic Ichingo Lodge on the Namibian side of the Chobe River. What my family and I love is not necessarily what my clients will love and  I always try to match a lodge with the type of experience my clients would like to have in Africa.

If you’d like a safari experience surrounded by African wildlife, choose a lodge south of the town, in the Victoria Falls National Park.

Chobe
Chobe National Park, located in northern Botswana, is renowned for its spectacular elephant population, boasting one of the largest concentrations in Africa. We saw so many of these gentle giants on our trip that we lost count! Excellent game drive safaris are possible in Chobe National Park, but what I like the most are the boat safaris one can do on the Chobe River. These allow you to witness unique animal behaviours not always visible from land. We spent 30 minutes watching two young male elephants crossing from an island back to the mainland. They wrestled, swam, sprayed water with their trucks and enjoyed life! We also encountered hippos, crocodiles, and many fascinating bird species on the islands and river banks.

Since there is only one lodge inside Chobe National Park, Daphnée and I would recommend staying outside the park at the Ngoma Gate side if you want a less crowded, more exclusive experience. The views out over the floodplain here are absolutely sensational. 

We also visited some gorgeous lodges on the Kasane side, which is a great option because all boat safaris start from Kasane, making them easy to access. If you stay in Kasane, you will enter the National Park via the Sedudu Gate. This can be crowded with most day visitors using this gate to enter the park, so it is best to go early.

We also visited a houseboat (Zambezi Queen) and two lovely lodges on the Namibian side, doing four border crossings in one day. African border crossings can be time-consuming and border officials can be annoying – like border officials everywhere. Ideally, it’s best to stay a few days in either location and not cross the border too frequently. Another tip for border crossings, if using a transfer to get from one lodge to the next, is to be aware that your driver will change at the Kazangula, or Vic Falls, border. Your driver on the originating side will hand you over to another driver at your destination to avoid the paperwork and extra cost of moving cars and people across the border. This process will be completely seamless with a reliable transfer operator.

If you are considering visiting Victoria Falls or Chobe, or including these destinations on a wider Africa itinerary, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for help and advice in planning a trip of a lifetime.

Happy travelling,
Diana and the Leopard Team