Ngoma Lodge
When we crossed into Botswana they took our temperature. That was the first and only government check we ever experienced on our month long journey. We stayed two nights at the sumptuous Ngoma Lodge situated on a bluff overlooking the Chobe river and The Chobe National Park. There were 8 separate bungalows each with a private soaking pool, outdoor shower and viewing deck. Inside we had a full bath with a tub and rain shower, twin sinks, a stocked free bar and a mosquito netted kingsize bed. The view from our bed included a Baobab Tree and a waterhole, (lit at night) and populated with zebras, giraffes, impalas, and elephants...OMG. The first night there were just 4 guests and 4 more the second night, so we were never lacking for any thing. Did I mention that everything was all-inclusive?
A safari vacation usually includes two guided drives each day. Our safari also included a boat cruise on the Chobe River the first morning, followed by a picnic lunch and afternoon drive in the Chobe National Park. The Chobe river is also crocodile habitat. But it is the hippos that are the most dangerous. They kill more humans (fisherman primarily) than any other animal in Africa. Hippos spend a lot of their time submerged and when they eventually come up for air, they can easily upset a small boat. They are very territorial so they aren't happy when a person or animal invades their space.
ON our drives through the park we were told it would be unlikely that we would see a lion, especially when it started to rain on our afternoon drive. But when the sun came out we found two lions soaking up the rays. They were no further than 10 feet from our land rover and couldn't care less as we took tons of photos.
I had great plan to document every wildlife siting we had on this Africa adventure. This sketch was the the first (and only) page where I started my listing. We had a guide book (actually just some torn out pages because the whole guide book was too heavy to pack) and I just checked off each animal there.
I would go back in a heartbeat to the Ngoma Lodge. Our personal guide had a great sense of humor, and he always had a story to go with whatever wildlife we encountered. I should also mention that the food and service at the lodge was definitely over the top. There were so many gourmet choices for every multi-course meal that we enjoyed on cloth covered, candlelit private tables overlooking the waterhole. We overate the first few days, wanting to try everything and we both ended up carrying back a few extra pounds. We are now doing Intermittent Fasting to mitigate the damage. It's working BTW.
