In the furthest corner of Chobe National Park lies the forgotten paradise of Linyanti. During the dry winter months, gameviewing at the permanent waters of the Linyanti can be excellent.
Exploring Linyanti
The area can be explored via one of the multi-day The area can be explored via one of the multi-day Botswana Safaris.
Fly-in safaris are undertaken to the following wilderness camps in Linyanti:
- DumaTau Camp
- Savuti Camp
Accommodation
Options for accommodation in Linyanti for self-drive visitors comprise luxury safari lodges.
Access is rough and very sandy and most safari camps in Linyanti can only be reached by light aircraft.
Linyanti Area
The Linyanti River forms a natural border between Namibia and Botswana. The river's course makes a 90-degree change from south-east to north-east and inside the corner a swamp has formed (on the Namibian side) similar in appearance to the Okavango Delta.
On the southern banks of the Linyanti River (in Botswana) is the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve. Here the marsh subsides into lagoons and steadily flowing rivers with riverine forests of jackal berry and sausage trees leading to open grasslands, and dry inland wooded areas.
The wildlife is plentiful, especially in the dry winter months (April October) when great concentrations of elephant, buffalo and zebra congregate along the river, with giraffe, impala and roan antelope being seen in the forests.
Thousands of zebra spend the winter in the Linyanti before heading south to the Savuti in November in expectation of summer rains and good grazing.
The particularly beautiful sable and roan antelopes are found here and red lechwe and the aquatic sitatunga antelope inhabit the wetlands.
The main predators are lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog and hyena. A smaller carnivore and efficient predator sometimes seen, is the serval.
The birdlife is diverse, if not overwhelming in its numbers. Water birds, including pelican, are common.
Health
Mosquitoes are prevalent throughout the park and visitors are strongly advised to take anti-malarial prophylactics.
