Night 8 – Ihaha Campsite

Ihaha Campsite, Chobe River Front

IHAHA 17° 50.484’S; 24° 52.748’E –  this is a relatively new camping ground with modern facilities, an attractive reception office and is more remote in nature than others we had stayed at so far. It is one of the two newest campsites in Botswana and is further up stream than the old Serondella camp site which is now closed. Ihaha is the only place you can camp on the Chobe river front in the Chobe National Park. You can also camp in Kasane at the Chobe Safari Lodge campsite, which is a very different experience – see later review.

I was greeted at Ihaha campsite by a very warm, friendly female warden who was called something like Collette or Chantelle. She told me I had come to one of the most beautiful places in Botswana. Her glowing pride in her Park and the campsite was lovely to see. She was genuinely really excited for me to be visiting here and shared the exciting news that a large pride of lions had come near the camp that morning to drink at the riverside. My face must have been a picture because she laughed and said: ‘Are you scared of the lions? Oh, it’s OK, they don’t come in the camp.’ The question of why and how the lions don’t come in a campsite where there are no fences, no other campers to make scary noises, and no signs warning ‘lions keep out’ or ‘shoo, lions’, which lions understand, was a question which increasingly preoccupied me for  the next few days. Of course the lions come in the campsite!!!!

This amazingly beautiful, idyllic campsite is very long and spread out along the front of the Chobe River. Every pitch fronts on to the river and is totally private with only whatever animals wander through to peer at you. The pitches are also very widely spaced apart, so you although there are 8 or so pitches, you may only be aware of one or two others. It is one of the most amazingly beautiful, unspoilt, natural campsites I have ever visited. Looking out from our pitch it felt like I had the Chobe River all to myself, and the animals I shared it with. The solitary nature of it reminded me of Ugab in Namibia. Also because of this it felt very hardcore, 30km from another two-legged friend, but completely surrounded by many varieties of four-legged friends. My head was swivelling like radar.

The ablutions on this campsite were great, albeit miles from any of the pitches, so this is definitely a campsite where you need to drive to the ablution block after dark. The ablution blocks are two tall whitewashed thatched buildings each with two showers, two toilets and several sinks for men and women.  As in all of Botswana the elephants have destroyed the fences and it is no longer as smart as it was and game will still finds access to the camp. This part of the park boasts one of the highest concentrations of elephant in Africa and wide variety of other wildlife which move onto the flood plains to quench their thirst. There is an ablutions block and secluded camping areas. Here you will be camping in a pre booked and paid for campsite.

I was told that after 4pm our site will be given away but no one else was there. At  4.30pm even the camp staff got in their car and went back to Kasane, leaving us out there, 30km from another soul, alone in the bush. I went for a fantastic game drive along the Serondella loops where I saw some lovely Ellies down by the water drinking and playing in the river. I was also rewarded with some lovely sightings of hippo in their pods. I went back to camp to a cracking G&T and watched one of the most stunning sun sets of the trip, joined at dusk by a family of warthogs. The male was very cheeky and came right up to me and had a good root around the cooking equipment.