Stare wide-eyed as the largest concentration of elephants in all of Africa freely swim and splash about. Feel yourself becoming humbled as you spot the graceful giraffe bow his elongated neck to quench his thirst at a watering hole. Listen to the nearby grunt of the rhino or the song of the lilac-breasted roller - along with scores of buffalo, lions, crocodiles, lechwe antelopes and hundreds of other species of animals and birds. But while taking in the incredible wildlife, don’t forget to breathe in the fragrant scent of African grass and shrubbery.

Fifty miles from the breathtakingly vast Victoria Falls, the game rich Chobe River runs through the northern part of Botswana’s Chobe National Park. Lending its name to the park itself, the Chobe River is in actuality part of the larger Cuando River which flows through south-central Africa – from Angolia and Namibia’s Caprivi Strip and into Botswana’s Linyati Swamp. From there, the river breaks into the Linyati River and further east, the Chobe River. The Chobe eventually flows into the Zambezi River.

As always, the reed-lined river is a haven for wildlife (and wildlife viewing) throughout the year. But this is particularly true during the dry season from April through October, when water inland is scarce and migratory animals head towards the river. Throughout the Chobe Park -- find giraffe, sable, buffalo, lions, jackals, leopards, hyenas, giraffes, crocodiles, monkeys, baboons, kudu and impalas. It is the one of the only places the puku antelope can be seen.