Singing echoed across the water as we puttered over the Chobe river in the shimmering afternoon sun. A beautiful African melody, becoming clearer as we neared our new home, the Zambezi Queen riverboat. The Namibian crewmembers were lined up to greet us with beaming smiles, swaying and clapping. Crocodiles basked lazily on nearby sandbanks. Huge dragonflies in iridescent colours buzzed the boat. On the opposite bank, we could see hundreds of elephant, heading down to the river to bathe. Later, we would sit, gin-and-tonics in hand, and watch them, under a blazing sunset that left streaks of burnt orange across the sky until the first stars appeared.

Deepest Africa isn’t a place normally associated with river cruising and the 28-passenger Zambezi Queen experience is, in truth, more of a stay on a houseboat than an actual cruise. To confuse matters, it doesn’t even sail on the Zambezi.

The boat plies a 25km stretch of the Chobe River, a sometimes mile-wide waterway forming part of the border between Namibia and Botswana and flowing into the vast Zambezi upstream of Victoria Falls. It potters slowly between the same mid-river moorings all the time. There are no ports of call and no river traffic; there aren’t even any towns here apart from the nearby community of Kasane. Once you’re out on the river, it’s just vast expanses of open space, which is part of the charm.

Elephants come down to the river banks to drink and bathe in the afternoons

The vessel is stunning, all done up in tasteful neutrals with African artwork, zebra rugs and faux (of course)-leopardskin cushions. It’s South African managed but all the crew are local and employment from the ship supports more than 40 Namibian families.

Our stay was only short, but the days quickly settled into a pattern of early breakfast in the bright, airy dining room on the top deck, open to the river breezes, followed by game viewing ashore in the Chobe National Park. We spotted endless dazzling birds, zebra, plenty of giraffe, numerous antelopes and elephants; with 70,000 of them in the park, estimated to be the greatest concentration anywhere in Africa, you can’t miss them.

After the morning game viewing trip, tuck into a delicious breakfast

One aspect of this cruise that requires patience is the endless border crossings; this being Africa, you just have to treat them as part of the adventure. The boat sails in the Namibian channel of the Chobe but all the game viewing, both in the park and from specially adapted boats on the water, is done in the Botswana channel. So to go ashore, we’d have to take a tender to the river bank, exit Namibia, cross the river and enter Botswana, repeating the whole process to get back to the Zambezi Queen. It wasn’t a hassle – a man in a hut simply stamps your passport – but it takes time, not to mention space in the passport.

After lunch on board, everybody would take a long siesta. Each cabin has sliding doors that open an entire wall to the river breezes (with a fly screen to prevent unwelcome visitors) and we’d lie for what seemed like hours, listening to hippos grunting just outside the boat in the stillness of the afternoon.

A crocodile lazes in the midday sun

I actually preferred the evening game viewing to the game drives, as it took place from a small tender boat, laden with gin and tonics in true safari style. Not because of the gin, but because we got so close to the riverbanks, where hundreds of elephants emerged from the bush in the late afternoon and played for hours in the water, rolling in the mud, swimming, chucking water over their own backs and generally having elephant fun, seemingly oblivious to our little boat. Some had babies; our guides estimated one infant to be just a week old, standing shyly under its mother’s belly.

Sunsets this far south in Africa are breathtaking; not the sudden day-to-night you find on the equator but an orange fire that builds in the sky, leaving a pink afterglow that tinges the first stars of the night. Once dark had fallen, we’d feast on amazing African-fusion dishes, not least the best lemon meringue pie I’ve ever tasted, washed down with chilled South African wines.

Every night brings a dazzling sunset

Dinner conversation was always lively; our travelling companions included a honeymoon couple; a multi-generational family from South Africa, the grandparents of which were real authorities on bird life; and a prominent South African politician, on holiday with his wife and children. Bedtime came early; at 10pm, the main generator is switched off and after a spot of stargazing on deck, most people retire, dozing off to the sounds of the African night.

One minor challenge for me was the fact that we hadn’t spotted any big cats. By the final morning, as we were having a last coffee before leaving, I’d resigned myself to this fact. Suddenly, one of the guides grabbed a pair of binoculars, focusing intently on the riverbank. Everybody gasped; two leopards were making their way stealthily down the muddy bank to drink from the river. We quickly scrambled into the tender boat and positioned it very quietly close to the bank, where we sat for half an hour, gazing in sheer wonder at their sleek beauty. Africa had delivered, right at the last minute.

Leopards prowl the river bank

As we boarded the tenders that would take us back to the border, the crew lined up, singing a haunting Namibian goodbye song. There wasn’t a dry eye among the guests. As we chugged across the river, I realised how many memories we’d accumulated in three short days, from baby elephants to giant crocs, leopards, superb meals and starlit nights, all against a backdrop of the gentle, unobtrusive hospitality of the Namibian crew.

The Zambezi Queen sails the Chobe River

Book it: Check out zqcollection.com for details of Zambezi Queen and her sisters, or book a package through amawaterways.co.uk (or amawaterways.com outside the UK).