Rooms are neat and comfortable with en suite bathrooms and the campsite is under decent trees next to the river with communal ablutions.

The bar and restaurant attract a convivial mix of locals, overlander groups and individual travellers so you'll never be short of entertainment. The menu won't win awards for originality and this ain't no Relais & Chateaux establishment on the service front but bacon foam and percale sheets are not what you are here for. You are here for the wildlife and on that front Chobe delivers with silver-service aplomb.

Thebe River Lodge offers optional extra activities that bring the magic of Chobe to life: a four-hour game drive into the park with your knowledgeable guide will bring you up close and sometimes too personal with elephants - that's a given - and lions as well as giraffe, zebra, leopard, hyena, wild dog, several large antelope and many other creatures great and small. The boat cruise up the river - take your own drinks and food - will fill in the gaps as the animals are even less perturbed by boats and the birdlife adds a whole extra dimension.

A mobile safari combining a night or even two in a rustic no-frills camp inside the Chobe National Park with the boat cruise and game drive is an absolute must. Especially if staying inside the park at one of the more up-market safari lodges is out of budget.