Etosha National Park, Namibia

Etosha Game Park was declared a National Park in 1907. It covers an area of 22 270 square km, and while it isn’t as abundant with game as some of the more famous parks on the continent, it is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 110 reptile species, 16 amphibian species and one species of fish.

Etosha means "Great White Place", and the name suits the landscape, which is dominated by a massive mineral pan. This covers around 25% of the National Park, and was originally a lake fed by the Kunene River. However the lake dried up when the course of the river changed thousands of years ago. The pan is now a large dusty depression of salt and dusty clay which fills only if the rains are heavy and even then only holds water for a short time. But the springs and water-holes which remain along the edges of the pan attract large concentrations of wildlife and birds, and are the prime spots for viewing game.

The game viewing in Etosha National Park is excellent, the best time being from May to September - the cooler months in Namibia (we were there in July). Visitors can usually expect to see antelope, elephant, giraffe, rhino and lions, all of which we saw (though the lions only at night). Apparently some lucky visitors also see leopard and cheetah, but we didn’t here, although we did see the latter elsewhere in the country at Okonjima. There is a good network of roads linking the rest camps and various waterholes and other game viewing spots, all of which are navigable with a regular saloon car.

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Etosha is a must when you visit Namibia. It offers an abundance of wildlife and understandably attracts lots of visitors. There are two ways of observing animals in Etosha: game drives and viewing them at waterholes while you are staying at a campsite. The floodlit waterholes ( there are three of them in Etosha) allow you to watch animals practically for twenty four hours a day.
I personally found the waterhole at the Okaukuejo camp the best place to observe animals. It was never empty, even at midday. Herds of antelopes, zebras and wildebeest visited it in daylight. So did the elephants that seem omnipresent in Etosha. After dusk the place became the stage for different animals. A couple of rhinos emerged from the darkness, followed by giraffes and then elephants again. The 'audience' sat in silence looking at the amazing spectacle.
Game drives must be done at daylight but they are hardly ever disappointing. During one of them we spotted groups of lions in just a few km intervals amounting to about 25 of them altogether.

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This is the waterhole to come to late in the afternoon, before sunset.

We arrived and the couple of cars that had been here were just leaving... with BIG smiles on the faces of the occpants. When we got to the waterhole we saw, to our utter disappointment, the behinds of the last couple of elephants walking away. However, with a handful of giraffe enjoying the cool of the dying day and the water, we were content to sit and watch them - elegant in all their gangliness! And we were richly rewarded for our wait. With no other vehicle about for miles we were treated to not one, not two but thee seperate (small) herds of elephant, including some very old big boys and some incredibly playful calfs and teenagers. As the older elephants drank from what seemed to be the communal elephant drinking area, the youngsters came right down to our car and started to spray water and mud everywhere. It was our last day in the park and it was the most wonderful end to our time there.

ooph how to describe this waterhole. It is a vast area where possibly every zebra in Etosha seemed to gather. In between the sea of black and white stripes one could make out the odd giraffe, springbok, wildebeest etc...

I can only presume it is down to the sheer number of zebra but they were all definitely not very patient with one another and we witnessed many kerfuffles which rapdily turned into rather spiteful disputes!

This waterhole was the only place I saw the colour green in this dry pan.

To say it is an impressive sight is an understatement. Definitely a waterhole to go to.

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Each time we visited this peaceful waterhole we were treated to a variety of antelope as well as warthogs and a variety of birds (including thousands of helmeted guineafowl).

It was tranquil and the antelope brought an atmosphere of grace all of their own. We sat here for such a long time, many times just watching. It was totally magical.

We were treated to the presence of giraffe on one occasion at this waterhole, but, quickly the small viewing area filled with vehicles who slewed in sideways ensuring their premier viewing but leaving no space for the likes of us hwo had driven for hours and had children esperate to see... it became apparent these ewre Etosha's tours and they were obviously in radio contact for them all to appear from nowhere.

and note of etiquette... do turn your engine off when sitting and watching.

Watching a (floodlit) waterhole at night is wonderful and magical.

The best time for waterholes is in the dry season - the less the water, the more animals that will gather. But, it should be noted that the dr season is Africa's winter and, whilst the days are still gloriously sunny and warm to hot, the mornings and nights are FREEZING.... especially when you are sitting still watching and waiting. In late July/early August padded jackets, hats, gloves, thermos flasks etc... would not have been out of place. We thought we had enough layers but we underestimated - we soon ran back to our room to get the throws to wrap around ourselves and to make cups of tea!

Despite being frozen - as were all, except the very experienced winter night waterhole frequenters, the rewards were quite simply awesome. Our waterhole did not disappoint - 4 white rhino (including a calf) - 2 adult males having a little "disagreement about who had the right to be there) and then several herds of elephants who meeted and greeted one another - stroking trunks and shunning a couple of loners... and our children... more interested in a rat scurrying around near us!!!

If you come all the way to Etosha, really, you need to try to get to a waterhole at night. However, it is at a premium... you are going to have to stay inside the park and that will suddenly bring the cost of your accommodation up a notch because there are only 3 lodges - Okaukeujo, Halali & Namutoni Resorts and they have the in-park-accommodation-market all sewn up!

Having spent 3 days in Etosha, my opinion is, if you are on a budget, stay outside the park except for the one night you would like to be at a waterhole. There are som good and considerably cheaper accommodations to be found literally just outside the gates - so you can still get up, get in and have a full day inside Etosha.

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As with everything in Namibia, Etosha is BIG - over 20,000km surrounding the Etosha Pan.

The general public are not allowed in the west of the park (which takes up about 1/3 of the total area of the park).

You can get around the park easily in a 2-wheel drive vehicle. Or you can organise safaris at one of the lodges... You will sit higher up and therefore have a greater vantage point and guides all seem to have super spectacular eye sight BUT if you have your own vehicle it is a waste of money... drive yourself!

There are 3 rest camps in the park (Okaukeujo, Halali & Namutoni Resorts) which all have information centres, shops etc... Recommend you stop at the first one, Okaukuejo Rest Camp (just inside the Anderson Gates) to pick up a map of the park... I had my Lonely Planet map but it was not as comprehensive as the parks official one.

On entering the park you will be asked to fill out the obligatory visitors forms. Payment is per day, so if you are staying inside the park you will pay upfront for the duration. If you stay outside, you will pay for every new day you enter.

Etosha is vast. We spent 3 days there and did cover most of it. It is possible to drive around for ages and not see so much as a ground squirrel but see lots you will and especially at the waterholes. The best ones seemed to be Aus (for eland, kudu and other antelope species), Sprinbokfontein (for more zebra than you could possibly ever imagine seeing in your lifetime) and Kalkheuwel (for herds and herds of elephnats and giraffe).

Apparantly,The Etosha area was used as a backdrop during the filming of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Not particularly relevent to anything else, but I felt you should know!

The Etosha pan is a large salt pan in the north of Namibia. The 120-kilometre-long dry lakebed and its surroundings are protected as Etosha National Park, one of Namibia's largest wildlife parks.

It was first explored by the Europeans John Andersson and Francis Galton in 1851. American commercial traveller McKeirnan visited the area in 1876.

The area exhibits a characteristic white and greenish surface, which spreads over hundreds of kilometres. The pan developed through tectonic plate activity over 10 million years.

About 16,000 years ago, when ice sheets were melting across the Northern Hemisphere land masses, a wet climate phase in southern Africa filled Etosha Lake. Today, Etosha Pan is seldom seen with even a thin sheet of water covering the salt pan.

Now the Ekuma River is the sole source of water. Typically, little river water or sediment reaches the dry lake because water seeps into the riverbed along its 250-kilometre (55-mile) course, reducing discharge along the way.

You can't get out and walk on it as no roads go over it and you cannot leave your vehicle once inside the national park (unless you fancy being a lions dinner!)