On a hill overlooking Botswana’s Chobe River, the Chilwero Sanctuary Lodge is privileged perch from which to observe Botswana’s extraordinary wildlife. We had arrived in mid December and had worried that the game might all be gone because of the rainy season but the rains were late this year which for us meant good luck. We saw thousands of elephant, giraffes, lions, kudu,alligrator, water buffalo, springbok, mongoose, and countless other animals, including the fascinating dung beetle. Chilwero Lodge is an extremely comfortable resort from which to observe this weatlth of wildlife. It consists of several large villas – each with its own exceptionally large dressing area and indoor and outdoor showers. Several of the villas have distant views of the Chobe River itself, but the best view of the river is from the dining terrace. (And of course from the cruise that is arranged by the lodge.) A friendly staff takes pride in serving copious meals all day long. Great cold beer in iced cold glasses and a good list of South African wines – all included in the price. But the clear high point for us was our wonderful guide, Moshe, an unusually intelligent and knowledgeable guide, who brought the area alive to us with his insights and perfect English. Moshe not only has a keen eye but an extraordinary sensibility for and to the environment and the animals. Beyond showing us lions, giraffes, kudu, hippos, alligators, ostrich and...On a hill overlooking Botswana’s Chobe River, the Chilwero Sanctuary Lodge is privileged perch from which to observe Botswana’s extraordinary wildlife. We had arrived in mid December and had worried that the game might all be gone because of the rainy season but the rains were late this year which for us meant good luck. We saw thousands of elephant, giraffes, lions, kudu,alligrator, water buffalo, springbok, mongoose, and countless other animals, including the fascinating dung beetle. Chilwero Lodge is an extremely comfortable resort from which to observe this weatlth of wildlife. It consists of several large villas – each with its own exceptionally large dressing area and indoor and outdoor showers. Several of the villas have distant views of the Chobe River itself, but the best view of the river is from the dining terrace. (And of course from the cruise that is arranged by the lodge.) A friendly staff takes pride in serving copious meals all day long. Great cold beer in iced cold glasses and a good list of South African wines – all included in the price. But the clear high point for us was our wonderful guide, Moshe, an unusually intelligent and knowledgeable guide, who brought the area alive to us with his insights and perfect English. Moshe not only has a keen eye but an extraordinary sensibility for and to the environment and the animals. Beyond showing us lions, giraffes, kudu, hippos, alligators, ostrich and many of Botswana’s other treasures, Moshe taught us the far more subtle lesson of how to look at what we were seeing. Indeed our days with Moshe on the Chobe River where we surrounded by iterally thousands of elephants and their calves lolling about, rolling in the mud, drinking through their trunks and protecting their elephant babies will go down as some of our best ever in Africa.More
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