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From the air the mighty Chobe river looks like a ribbon of black treacle running over the golden veld of northern Botswana where it nudges the borders of Zambia and Zimbabwe shouldered off by “no-man’s land”, the Caprivi Strip. Rains have been good of late and the bush is thick and green adding another dimension to the colourful landscape.
Sun International invited me to have a look at its new “baby” in Botswana, Chobe Game Lodge, The chain recently went into partnership with Ian Green and Jonathan Gibson on a co-ownership basis lending to the Chobe Game Lodge a strong international marketing arm and Sun International management muscle. From the Kasane airstrip, soon to be lengthened to take larger aircraft, our transfer to the hotel was on a double decker river boat. On board, manager and manageress Helge and Jill Haniger served champagne and delicious snacks and we sailed downriver (upriver? It changes its flow in certain seasons) past hippo families and herds of elephant.
The lodge’s Moorish architecture blends with the vegetation and its wide breezeways lend a coolness to its tranquility. The accommodation is superb with the rooms decorated in shades of gold all with luxury bathroom, stocked with all the goodies of a five star hotel. The meals were gourmet. When you consider that all supplies must be trucked in from Francisco 500kms away, this is no mean feat indeed. Lunchtime menus included a huge array of cold meats and salads with hot-dish specialties of curry and rice, lasagna and roast fillet. Specialties on the dinner menu were venison and ostrich and an evening barbecue near the pool was a reminder that you really were in wide open spaces. Early morning and evening game drives yielded much excitement, such as a leopard loping across the road, the sleek lioness resting under a tree, troops of hundreds of baboons with their almost human behavior and many species of the antelope family. But most exciting of all are the huge herds of elephant which comes close to the lodge to drink and swim in the river.
A big attraction is an evening cruise on the river boat when the African sunset lends a soft light and the banks of The Chobe River are alive with game coming down to drink, the silence only broken by the call of the fish eagle and the odd baboon cry.
For the ornithologist, it’s paradise with rare species of birdlife in abundance. Until the runway at Kasane has been lengthened, guests to the lodge either arrive by charter flights, or can fly to Victoria Falls 80kms away (SA passport holders must have Zimbabwe visas) and from there it is an 80km drive to Chobe.
There are no immediate plans to increase the number of rooms but a convention centre to take up to 150 will be constructed in the near future.
All reservations for Chobe Game Lodge must be channeled through Janet at the Sun International central reservations office. She has full information and details of tariffs. | 
