Zambezi Queen Chobe River Cruise Review: Wildlife Safaris & Unique Experience Between Namibia and Botswana

Overview

During our most recent five-country luxury tour of Africa where we spent time with multiple adventures in Cape Town South Africa, the awesome Lion Sands Lodge near Kruger, the Wallow Lodge in Zimbabwe, the wonderful private tours of Victoria Falls, we wanted our final adventure prior to our trip home to be a bit on the not-quite-as-busy side. So, we decided on a riverboat cruise safari where we would relax on a riverboat and do some excursions via small crafts to view the animals coming to the mighty Chobe River. The very nice Zambezi Queen is a 14-suite houseboat that floats along the river with multiple small boats for safari adventures along the river.

The itineraries are either a two- or three-night stay. We did the two-night stay and found it perfect. The boarding and disembarking portion is a bit of a hassle (detailed below), but once aboard, it was very relaxing. We were traveling with a group of six, and there was another large party aboard along with some couples and two solo travelers. We even ran into someone from our same town!

River Safaris

Our boat operators and guides took us to both the banks of Namibia and Botswana looking for various animals. From crocodiles, hippos, baboons, buffalo, and lots of birds the wildlife was diverse and viewable up close as our guide piloted the crafts right to the banks.

While this part of the Chobe boasts one of the largest concentrations of elephants on the continent, the rain just prior to our embarkation apparently gave them the water they needed to stay inland so they didn’t have to travel to the river. Luckily, we saw plenty of elephants while at Lions Sands Lodge, but this remains one of the top reasons to go on this safari.

Other Activities

The activities are varied to meet different tastes of the guests. Some of our group went fishing on the river with a guide. Others did bird watching, and some just sat on the deck watching the scenic views from the vessel.

There was also a tour of a nearby Namibian village where guests were provided a narrative on the construction of their mud hut homes, traditional cooking, and burial beliefs along with the ability to purchase some homemade crafts — without the pressure of buying. They even presented a couple of songs for us to enjoy.

The Zambezi Queen

The Zambezi Queen has a nice upper deck complete with a bar, lounge area, seating facing the large open windows, outside deck space, and a restaurant seating. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served there, and guests were provided with a variety of tasty options of various local dishes. The staff and chef were interested in helping accommodate one of our group with numerous food sensitivities and allergies, although we did have trouble communicating for a couple of items which resulted in at least one meal in which she couldn’t eat. The bar was well stocked, all included, and flowed generously whenever you asked.

The suites all had king beds with two suites having an extra single bed able to accommodate three guests each along with a small deck. The four larger luxury suites at the bow had larger decks and a sun lounger.

One item we would have liked is that the Queen itself didn’t really move much. We stayed moored in the river and used the small boats to travel around. It would have been nice to have the ship move down the river a bit. Although, being parked where we were allowed us to see some of the most gorgeous sunsets ever. These pictures were taken within minutes of each other facing different directions — look at those colors!

Embarking and Disembarking a Bit Lengthy

Embarking the vessel was a bit more complicated than we originally thought. After making your way into Botswana and the border crossing, we were picked up by another private driver, who drove us to a small and shall we say a bit sparse, border crossing on the river. We exited Botswana and then got on a small boat where we were taken across the river to Namibia where we walked about 300 meters to the border crossing building there.

While we had no guide, it was a simple affair, although a bit of a long line. We got all of our passports stamped and then trekked back to our small boat at the river. There we made our way up the river (it happened to be pouring rain) and docked alongside the Zambezi Queen. After our cruise was over, we had to follow the same procedure in reverse… small boat to the shore of the Namibian border house, 300-meter walk on the dirt road (although they do have a couple of signs of encouragement as you walk), get our exit stamp, then back to the boat to go over to Botswana for entry. It was then a short drive to the Zimbabwe border where we had to go through Botswana exit and then a long line and even longer wait to get our Zimbabwe visa. You can only pay in cash using US Dollars and I had to swap out some US $10 bills to the immigration since they were “crinkled”.  The visa process is manual and even requires the use of carbon paper. Of course it was only done by a single person. Once we got our entrance stamp, we were back enroute to the Victoria Falls airport.

We got everyone into the lounge with our Priority Passes and had a spot of lunch prior to boarding.  Plane was about an hour delayed. We planned for this challenge by not departing for home from Cape Town today. Any delays would make it a challenge to make our flight so we thought we would overnight in Cape Town and have an extra day to sight see.

Summary

During our luxury tour of Africa, we opted for a relaxing riverboat safari on the Zambezi Queen after multiple adventures in Cape Town and other locations. The two-night stay included close-up wildlife encounters and various activities like fishing and touring a Namibian village. Despite a lengthy embarkation process, it was a unique and recommended experience. This truly was a great “off the beaten path” trip and we recommend to those that can fit it in their schedule for their next African adventure.