The key to its attraction is the mysterious Savuti Channel, which is often dry (as it is now) but sometimes, inexplicably, flows. Its journey starts in the Zibadianja Lagoon, at the southern tip of the Linyanti Swamps. In past years when it flowed, it meandered a little south and then eastwards until it entered the national park about 35km away.

Continuing east, it flowed through a wide gap in the Magwikhwe Sand Ridge, around which are a number of low, rounded hills – the Gubatsaa Hills. (In former times, its flow probably formed this gap.) This is about 54km due east of the lagoon, and this is the place usually referred to as 'Savuti.' It's also the place where the modern National Park's campsite stands.

From here the channel turned abruptly south, and spilled out into the Mababe Depression, a huge flat area which was once the bed of an ancient lake and formed the flat expanse of the Savuti Marsh covering about 110km2.

At its peak, with the channel and marsh full, it must have been like a huge drinking trough over 100km long, penetrating the heart of the dust-dry northern Kalahari. It's no surprise that it attracted huge quantities of game and, in turn, whatever people were around at the time.

San/Bushmen
The early hunter-gatherers certainly had settlements here, evidenced by at least five sites in the hills around Savuti containing rock art. Archaeologists link these paintings with those in the Tsodilo Hills, and with the traditions of people of the Okavango.

A few of these sites are known to some of the guides at the lodges here, and if you are staying at one then request for your guide to take you to see them. Don't try to find them on your own. Not only is exploring on foot against the park's rules, but the density of lion and elephant here is sufficiently large that it's dangerous for the inexperienced.

The Rock Art Research Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand provides information about Bushman paintings in general on its website www.wits.ac.za/raru; email: enquiries@rockart.wits.ac.za

Early explorers
There are many reports of this area from the early European explorers – fascinating if only to look back and see what they recorded of Savuti. In June 1851 when Livingstone passed through here the marsh was a 'dismal swamp' some 16km long, fed by both the Mababe (now called Khwai) River, which spilled over from the Okavango system, and also by the 'strongly flowing' Savuti Channel.

Chapman also crossed the channel around 1853, when he recorded it as dry. Then when the great white hunter, Frederick Courtney Selous came, in 1874, the channel was full and flowing into the marsh. However, when Selous came back in 1879 he noted that the channel had partially dried out, and no longer fed the marsh. Mike Main, in his excellent book on the Kalahari (see Further Reading) concludes that sometime in the 1880s the channel dried up.

Modern history
It seems to have remained dry until a heavy rainy season, 1957–58, when the channel began to flow strongly once again. This continued until 1966, when it dried up again. It then flowed from 1967–81, when it seemed permanent and enhanced the area's reputation as a top game destination.

In the 1970s Lloyd Wilmot started a camp here, Lloyd's Camp, which was to put both Lloyd and Savuti on the map. Lloyd is, in fact, the son of one of the Okavango's famous crocodile hunters, Bobby Wilmot – and has many sisters, most with strong connections in the area.

A safari here was always off-beat. Lloyd built up a reputation for empathy with the game, and a total lack of fear for his own safety when dealing with it. Everyone who visited here came away with stories of remarkable animal encounters, and Savuti's reputation grew.

However, the channel's flow was gradually reducing and, in 1982, it ceased to flow completely. Gradually the water shrank into a few remaining pools, and then they dried up too. With them went the fish, hippos, crocodiles and all the other creatures that had lived there. During this time Lloyd was frequently photographed kneeling or lying in front of a thirsty elephant, excavating sand from a hole in the bottom of the channel until he reached water. This sad time was well chronicled in a video, The Stolen River, by Derek and Beverley Joubert. It's also one of the main subjects of Clive Walker's book, Savuti – the Vanishing River (see Further Reading).

Nobody really knows why it stopped, as nobody understood why it started again after almost 80 years of dryness. Explanations range from changes in the paths used by the Linyanti's hippos to tectonic shifts – see Mike Main's book, Kalahari, for a more detailed discussion.

However, even with the channel now dry, Savuti remains a classic area for game. Experts observe that the soil here is especially good, and the grazing particularly rich. Furthermore, there are now several permanent waterholes in the area. The oldest is pumped by the National Park, near the centre of Savuti, while two others are in front of the two lodges in the area. A further two are towards the bottom of the marsh, on opposite sides of it – and these try to attract the game, and especially the elephants, away from the centre of Savuti which has been so heavily impacted by game over the years.