From Victoria Falls is possible to visit the nearby Botswana. Specifically Chobe National Park. The Chobe River is legendary for its concentrations of wildlife, especially elephants... and in particular during the dry season, with animals gathering in their thousands along the river in search of water. What many visitors to Chobe miss when they are surrounded by a multitude of wildlife is the raw intimacy of the season that has caused so many animals to gather. The heat is a constant presence during the day but the trappings of the modern safari ensure protection and comfort from the elements – and an important aspect of the wilderness is missed. Watching a herd of elephants heading to the water through the dry season landscape of Botswana’s northern wilderness is one of my most abiding images of Chobe. During the dry season the Chobe River provides a lifeline for Botswana’s great elephant herds and they travel vast distances each day across the desiccated wilderness to and from the permanent waters of the river. It is not unusual to see hundreds of elephants at any one time on the Chobe floodplains, kicking up dust or splashing in the water. Historically the elephants moved across a wide range, with the Chobe River a mere watering place en route. The range incorporated northern Botswana, the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, south-eastern Angola, south-western Zambia and the eastern reaches of Zimbabwe. Civil War in Angola and a war of independence in Namibia put the herds in danger with the various armies using them as target practice and to sell the ivory for weapons. The elephant sought refuge in northern Botswana and the legend of Chobe was born. With the ending of hostilities the elephants have begun to cross the river to Namibia again, although the Chobe is still the central point for the gathering of the elephant herds in the dry season – and this is the attraction of Chobe.