Savute Elephant Camp

This place is not to be believed. Here we are out in the middle of nowhere, actually in the midst of the Savute (Dry) Marsh which is part of Chobe National Park in Botswana, and we are staying in this luxurious safari camp run by the Orient-Express people. The camp has a maximum capacity of 24 people and the staff outnumber the guests.

There are twelve "rooms" that they call tents, but these are the plushest tents I've ever seen. They are very comfortable bungalows that happen to have heavy tent-like walls and roof.

The food is to die for (not to die from) - they have a great South African chef who plans the menus for all three O-E camps in Botswana and then instructs the local people on how to prepare and serve the meals. Every single food item has to be shipped in - the non-perishables by truck from South Africa and the perishables by truck and plane from Maun, Botswana. It's an amazing logistical problem, but you never realize the extent of it when you're eating ostrich steak, kudu stew, or amarula mousse. The food preparation and presentation is equal to any Michelin two-three star restaurant.

There is NO way not to gain weight on this trip. We have a light breakfast before heading out on a morning game drive at around sunrise. We come back to camp around 10:30, and at 11:00 sit down for a full brunch. Then it's "siesta" time until High Tea at 3:00. At 3:30 we head out for another 3-4 hour game drive before sitting down for a huge dinner (preceeded by drinks of course) at 8:00. To top off the meal service, we stop about 3/4 of the way into the morning game drive for coffee, tea, and snacks, and during the afternoon drive for "sundowners". We got to like living in this style. Going back to (only) three meals a day will be tough to deal with.

Getting here was a real experience. First, we drove in a van for an hour from Livingstone, Zambia to Kazangula (the border village where Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe all meet). It was actually a well paved road (one of the few in Zambia). The van broke down about half way there due to too much water in the diesel fuel - it's a common occurrence since the petrol stations water down the fuel to make more money selling it. Fortunately, our driver knew how to flush out the fuel line and we were off after a 10 minute delay.

At Kazangula, we got on a ferry boat to cross the Zambezi River and enter Botswana. They don't want to build a bridge, because everyone thinks riding a ferry is more fun. No one cares much for doing things quickly here - enjoying the experience is more important.



Exiting Zambia was quite quick (they stamp your passport). Entering Botswana was another story - you wait in an immigration line to get your passport stamped, then you have to walk across a damp rug to kill any germs on your shoes because they don't want hoof and mouth disease entering the country. (As if it's not already here.) It's a total joke. The office is plastered with posters warning people about money laundering, using condoms (they are free for the taking from a wall dispenser), and smuggling. All this in a country the size of France with a population of about 1.5 million people.



Then we drove to the airport in Kasane and boarded our 15 passenger Cessna. No flight attendant, no tickets, no meal or beverage service. The pilot walks thru the terminal and finds the people on his flight list. He ushers you thru their version of TSA security and you walk across the tarmac to the plane. 40 minutes later after flying at 4,500 feet and not hearing anything above the roar of the engine, we land at this dirt airstrip and we're picked up by the Orient-Express guides. Then it's another 15-20 minutes on a sand road to get to the camp.

I was right - no internet, no telephone, no television. But everyone on the staff introduces themselves on a first name basis and they make you feel totally at home. Why not? They want you to enjoy what they get to experience every day in this paradise - zillions of animals throughout a huge semi-arid dry marsh area, clean air, fantastic sunsets, and night skies loaded with stars (and a full moon during our stay).