Top African destinations for African elephant safaris

Top African destinations for African elephant safaris : Do you have aspirations of seeing magnificent elephants grazing over Africa’s untamed plains? On safaris around the continent, one can witness these incredibly intelligent and gentle giants, ranging from Zimbabwe’s tuskers to Namibia’s unique desert-adapted elephants and Botswana’s enormous Kalahari elephant population. These are the top African destinations for elephant safaris.

Botswana: Chobe National Park.

With an estimated 120,000 elephants based in Chobe National Park, Botswana is home to about one-third of all elephants in Africa. Known as the world’s elephant capital, this watery wonderland offers solar-powered boat cruises on the Chobe River and 4×4 drives throughout the floodplains, allowing you to see herds of massive Kalahari elephants. Stay at the only camp within the park, Chobe Game Lodge, or Savute Elephant Lodge on the serene banks of the Savute Channel for amazing sightings.

Kenya: Amboseli, Samburu and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

The vast, open savannahs of Amboseli National Park are home to thousands of tusked elephant herds that roam around. Nowhere else in Kenya can you be sure to witness such vast herds of wild elephants prancing against the snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain. Elephants are drawn to wetland areas for excellent viewing because of the dry landscape (Amboseli, which means Salty Dust in Maasai).

Elephant Bedroom Camp is an appropriately named accommodation option located in the parched Samburu region of northern Kenya. Elephants are lured to the river and can freely roam in and out of this tented camp, which is located within the Samburu National Game Reserve. The elephants feel so safe here that they sleep, which is how the camp got its name. Seven bull elephants come here regularly. When you open your tent in the morning, elephant sightings are a common occurrence.

Visit the well-known Sheldrick Wildlife Trust on the outskirts of Nairobi National Park to get a close-up look at adorable newborn elephants that a lot of poachers have left orphaned. The charity, which was founded more than 40 years ago by environmentalist Daphne Sheldrick, oversees the world’s most effective elephant rescue and rehabilitation programme. Visit the newborn elephants enjoying their daily milk and mud bath and take a tour to learn more about their activities.

Namibia: Damaraland.

Loved for its craggy peaks, petroglyphs, and dry riverbeds where endangered desert elephants frolic, Namibia’s wild Damaraland is a must-see. There are only about 150 of these endangered elephants remaining in the wild, and the majority of them are found along ephemeral rivers like the Huab, Hoarusib, and Uniab. Experience an elephant safari from Mowani Mountain Camp, where Rosie, a pioneering female guide in Namibia, can reliably locate the elephants. She will highlight specific adaptations, such as enlarged feet that help them stay above the sand that allow these creatures to live in the desert.

Zimbabwe: Hwange and Mana Pools National Parks.

Roughly forty thousand tusker elephants reside in Hwange, the most well-known National Park in Zimbabwe. Experience herds on game drives and walking safaris from camps like Somalisa, or take a ride on the Elephant Express, an open-sided railcar that meanders along a British-built railway line dating back to 1904. You can even assist in elephant conservation from Bomani Tented Camp by bringing supplies to artificial waterholes that aid elephant survival during the dry season, which runs from May to November.

Go to Mana Pools, a verdant national park divided by the powerful Zambezi River and dotted with flood plains, in the extreme north of Zimbabwe. Elephants and other species are attracted to these essential water sources. At Nyamatusi Camp, the safari guides are familiar with the whereabouts of many of the park’s elephants, so they can lead you on walking and 4×4 safaris to the animals’ preferred spots. Elephants are known to forage on their hind legs when eating from trees; it is believed that Boswell, one of the park’s permanent males, picked up this habit and shared it with other bulls.

Tanzania: Tarangire National Park.

More than 4,000 elephants can be found in Tanzania’s northeastern Tarangire National Park. In herds of up to 600, they traverse the plains and forests dotted with baobabs. Along with grazing game, many more travel here during the dry season, July to October, attracted by the Tarangire River’s life-giving waters. The finest spot to park your safari vehicle so you can observe elephants drinking and bathing is here. Alternatively, you may watch elephants from your private deck-side Jacuzzi at Mpingo River Lodge, which is perched on an escarpment with a view of the river, or from a luxurious treehouse at Tarangire Treetops.