The Ngoma Bridge, which spans the Chobe and connects Namibia with Botswana and the Chobe National Park, was seventy kilometers from our camp on the Zambezi. So close that we didn’t want to miss out on the detour, even though we knew we wouldn’t be going to Botswana this time (Covid 19). But the animals in the national park, which is known for its large elephant herds, can also be observed with binoculars from the Namibian side.

We set off on December 27th, 2020. The tarred B8 led us to just before the bridge at the border. Then we turned left into the bush for three kilometers. The track was littered with deep, water-covered mud holes, which made me drive very carefully. (We know what it means to free a vehicle which is stuck in the mud!) We reached the lodge, which is beautifully located on the Chobe, a quarter of an hour later and were warmly welcomed by Anthony as guests’ number 5 and 6. (The staff were happy that two more guests arrived and they had work.)

We moved into the campsite and walked later on to the lodge for dinner. We ordered a Campari Soda and sat on the terrace above the river to watch half a dozen Pied kingfisher. On the other side of the river, in Botswana, we could make out giraffes, antelopes, zebras and a huge herd of elephants even without binoculars …

PS. We counted approx. seventy elephants slowly moving along the Chobe. Lots of the cows with their young who were maybe two months old – what an experience!