Savute :: overview

The Savute is recognised as a prime game viewing area which covers almost 5,000 square km in the south west of the Chobe National Park.

 

The western edge of Savute is encircled by the Magwikhwe sand ridge, 100km long and 20 metres high, which is the ancient shoreline of a super-lake that covered much of northern Botswana. It is difficult to imagine that this harsh dry landscape was once submerged beneath an enormous inland sea.

A channel from the Linyanti River once fed the now dry Savutei Marsh, which is the deepest part of the Mababe Depression and is the only part to have filled with water in recent history.The Savute is known for its mysterious channel that runs for almost 100km from the Linyanti Swamp before entering the Mababe Depression at the Savute Marsh. The Savute Marsh has been dry for more than twenty years but it is still a wildlife haven, in particular during the rainy season when thousands of animals move in to feed on the lush new grass.

This marsh has something of a mystical renown as it can dry up or flood regardless of local rains. Camelthorn acacia trees established themselves in the channel and along the banks and grew to full size. During unexpected floods these trees were drowned but as the channel and marsh dried out again, the dead trees became one of the most prominent features of the landscape.