Luxury Safari Adventure To Savuti

Stretching from the Linyanti River all the way to Savute Marsh, the winding waterways of the Savute Channel have pumped life into the western section of Chobe National Park for many thousands of generations. However, this fickle and unpredictable channel, which has a fascinating history of flooding and drying up, independently of good rainy seasons and flood levels elsewhere, has mystified local inhabitants, geologists and others for many years.

THE UNEXPLAINED

When David Livingstone, the first European to visit the area, saw the Savute Channel in 1851 it was flowing. Thirty years later it had disappeared and the Savute Marsh had dried out, remaining this way for almost 80 years. It flowed again from the late 1950s to the early 1980s, when it again receded, hence its reputation as ‘the river that flows in both directions’.

In 2009, after another extended hiatus, the channel began flowing again and by January 2010 had spilled into the Savute Marsh for the first time in three decades, but for how long – no one knows …

Where To Stay?

ACCOMMODATION & THE LODGE

To ensure a private and relaxing environment, Savute Safari Lodge accommodates just twenty four guests in eleven thatched chalets built of local timber and one family room which consists of two double bedrooms. The chalets, which have been elegantly furnished in calm neutral tones to blend with the natural environment, feature expansive private decks, a combined bedroom and lounge area and en suite facilities.

Sink into one of the numerous comfortable leather, wood or wicker sofas in the lounge – and library – or sip a cocktail in the stylish bar. All these facilities are situated in a beautiful two-storey thatch-and-timber main building. Savute Safari Lodge offers a shaded viewing deck, an al fresco dining area and swimming pool with spectacular pool loungers – ideal for watching the varied wildlife – including the resident Elephants – as they make their way to the Channel to drink, bathe and play.

What To Do?

ACTIVITIES

Activities are organised around game drives throughout the Savute area in open 4×4 safari vehicles. Many trips will incorporate a visit to the Savute Marsh to give you a chance to see the historic presence of the Savute Channel at the marsh against a backdrop of teeming wildlife. Guests can also enjoy a visit to the ancient San rock paintings at Gubatsa Hills – a small hilly outcrop which forms a prominent landmark in the otherwise flat landscape.

Savute boasts the second-largest summer Zebra migration in Africa; its timing is determined by the rains, but usually occurs between November and December and again between February and April, when the Zebras move from the rivers in the north in search of the rain-ripe grasslands and full waterholes in the southwest of the park. The migration is always followed by large numbers of predators – the Zebra migration is a must for visitors.

Safari HighLights

• Lays claim to a large summer zebra migration, which is determined by the rains, but usually between November and December and again between February and April when the zebras move from the rivers in the north to the lush grasslands in the south.
• Home to the Gubatsa Hills, formed 980 million years ago during volcanic movement, rise 90 meters high, out of a completely flat landscape. These outcrops bear the reminder of the nomadic San people through clear evidence of their rock art.
• Savute is one of the few areas in Botswana where the elusive Klipspringer antelope can still be found.
• What makes Savute most interesting is the fables Savute Channel, which has a history of drying up and flowing again. Savute means “Unpredictable – Something that cannot be explained” – and refers to the history of the Savute channel, flowing like a river into the Savute Marsh, and then, without warning or reason, drying up again. (this sequence of water flowing has much to do with the movement of tectonic rock plates below the surface of the Kalahari Desert.