Etosha National Park

Etosha – the name conjures up images of a wilderness of stark, wide-open spaces and that’s exactly what this Namibian National Park is...

The park is well-known for its waterholes. Each of the three main camps has one and visitors can sit throughout the day and watch procession after procession of game coming down to drink. You can even sit through the night as each waterhole is floodlit.

This picture shows a black rhino drinking at Okaukuejo waterhole after the sun has set. You’ll notice the pink afterglow in the water (no filters or Photoshop additions here)

• The park was proclaimed in 1907 by the then Governor of German South West Africa

• Even though most of the park is the salt pan, the surrounding sweet grass plains support the majority of the animals

• The three main rest camps...

Namutoni

Halali

Okaukuejo

...are situated on these grass plains to the East and south of the pan

• The natural springs and man-made waterholes surrounding the pan to the South and East support the many different game species and make the park a photographer’s paradise in the winter months

• The park’s big-five comprise the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and cheetah

• Keep a lookout for the rare Black-faced impala, found only here

• When we visit the park we hardly ever go out on drives as the waterholes at Halali and Okaukuejo camps produce such good game sightings. The waterhole at Namutoni Camp is generally not good for game viewing

• We sadly stopped visiting Etosha in 2002 as the bungalows, restaurants, air conditioners and ablutions were not adequately maintained. Namibia Wildlife Resorts have, however, upgraded all the facilities - with a more than doubling of fees of course - but Etosha is still much more affordable than the East African safari lodges or the private lodges.

• In 2009 we ventured back to the park and the bungalows are now superb! The decor is most appropriate for an African Game Reserve and all the air conditioners are new. Namutoni, in our opinion, is still not a nice camp - many of the staff members are still unfriendly, the waterhole is not productive in terms of game sightings, and the accommodation, even though it has been upgraded, is very expensive for what you get. Even the rooms in Halali and Okaukuejo have been done up so that you would think you are in a 5-star resort - at a fraction of the cost of the Namutoni bungalows. Here are two views of the room we stayed in at Halali...

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