Wildlife is of course an exciting part of a trip in Africa, and Etosha is one of the better parks to see the 5 big ones and more. Here you can follow us between 4 camps over 6 days.
Read here for planning and practicalities, such as booking a place in Etosha: Namibia Overlanding Planning
All about Namibia roundtrip here: overlanding namibia
To visit Etosha, you must book well in advance, especially during the high season July – August. June turned out to be a great month. It is not particularly crowded then, and the drought has set in so the animals move to the water holes. The park is large, about 380 km along the east-west, and 90 km across, and there are a number of water holes scattered throughout the park. Most natural and some man-made. In the park there are 4 camps where you can park your car. All are equipped with barbecues and electricity, and a number of toilets and kitchens are scattered in the area. Everything is clean and well maintained. Tourism is a large industry in Namibia and they are extremely concerned that tourists should have a good experience of the country. On the whole, all the people in Namibia are very polite and helpful. It is common to greet with a “How are you”. There was some begging in Windhoek, but they were not approachable and took a no for a no.
Namutoni Camp
There are 3 gates to the park. We chose to start east, at the Namutoni camp. At the gate, all papers are checked. You must have paid for the camps in advance, but the park fee of 150 NAD per person and night, and for the entire stay, is paid in the first camp you come to. We had booked 6 nights, at 4 different camps. It is said that you should have 4-7 nights to get a good look around, but 2-3 can do if you are in a hurry.
Curious Mongoose
We had two nights at Namutoni, but we packed up the tent after the first night and drove off to get to the water holes during the day, and then return to camp in the afternoon. Driving after sunset is not allowed.
At Namutoni we camped on a large grassy plain where there were lots of Mongoose, a lynx-like animal, only larger. They were extremely approachable, and large flocks ran around our legs. Fun to begin with, annoying eventually. A sign said they could have rabies so we were grateful for the rabies vaccine we had taken.
Waterhole with many animals
The water holes absolutely fulfilled our expectations. We saw a lot of antelopes, Springbok and Oryx, and buffaloes. Two elephants also stood and drank at the last water hole. You have a hope of seeing lions, but they only come to the water holes at night. All camps are located by water holes so you can go there at night. They are illuminated with red lights that do not disturb the animals. At Namutoni it was mostly antelopes and buffaloes.
Close encounter with elephants
On the way to camp two, Halali, we came across two elephants standing close to the road. After admiring these huge animals and taking the necessary pictures, we slipped past and drove on. Elephants can get a little moldy and attack cars. I sat ready to accelrate off if they should show signs of aggression, such as straining the ears. The only thing to do then is to run away. They weigh up to 4 metric tons and a Hilux is an easy match. At Halali we saw no animals at the camp’s watering hole.
Good gravel roads
Between the various camps we take it easy and stop by water holes along the road. Between the first three camps it is about 70 km, while the last, Olifantrus is located 127 km from Okaukuejo. The roads are mostly good gravel roads. The landscape is completely flat where open areas changes between forests with small trees. To the north is the large Etosha Pan, a dried-up sea that is only filled with water during the rainy season. Everywhere you come across animals. Mostly antelopes and zebras.
Rhino and lion
Next camp is Okaukuejo just inside Anderson Gate. This camp is known for having the best water hole. And it does not disappoint. Right after sunset we see 6 large rhinos here, and at 9 in the evening a lion appears. Unfortunately, it does not come down to the water hole which is about 30 meters from where we are sitting. Instead, it sneaks along the forest edge a fair distance away. In addition, we hear two classic lion roars from somewhere in the forest. A lady we talk to says they had seen three lions close to the road driving when they were out driving.
At Okaukuejo we had to keep an eye out for black-backed jackals. These too could have rabies and some could sneak into the camp despite the high fence around the camp.
If you have little time in the park I would recommend Okaukuejo because of the wildlife here.
Safe country for travel
We talk to two South Africans at the camp. They have traveled a lot around Namibia and can give us good tips. Namibia is the favorite destination for many South Africans, both because of nature, but especially because it is so safe to travel here. They said there is no danger of robbery or inconvenience if you wild camp, and the people is not aggressive, unlike South Africa. But beware of wild animals if you wild camp
Rugged tents
We have two nights in Okaukuejo, but do not drive around during the day. It’s nice with a day of rest. Just letting go of all the packing and pitching of tents is great. The tents are called Eezy Awn, but they are not so easy to pitch, or especially to pack down. Tents of the type Maggiolina that you just crank up and down are much simpler. But they are spacious and solid. It is recommended to ask for two mattresses when ordering, otherwise you only get one of 4 cm which is hard to sleep on.
Giraffe Congress
The next night there are no lions, but a congress of giraffes. 9 large and small giraffes stand for a long time in a cluster waving their long necks. A strange sight. And some rhinos stumbling around or just staring into the night. One of them crawls towards a couple standing there, probably with a desire to take over the chick of the other male. He is abruptly rejected and sadly withdraws. At least that’s what it looks like.
Shop in advance
There are shops at all the camps except Olifantrus. Diesel is in theory also found. But in Okaukuejo it was empty, so we had to drive about 5 km past Anderson Gate to get refueled. There we also found a decent shop. The shops inside the camp mostly have a basic selection of canned food, so it is wise to shop in advance. They are also expensive. But in Okaukuejo we found the big brother of Five, Ten himself. Best Brandy in Africa I guess.
Olifantrus camp
The next day we continue the 137 kilometers to Olifantrus on a reasonably good gravel road. A little corrugated at times, but OK. Corrugation will always build up over time, but they are run over with a road scraper when they get too bad. So it’s a bit of luck, or bad luck how the road is. We pass 3 water holes on the way, and see large flocks of zebra and springbok, some ostriches and elephants in the distance.
Great watch tower
At Olifantrus, on the other hand, we get a few meters close to a large elephant at the water hole in the camp. A tall tower has been built by the hole, and the elephant stands right next to the tower and drinks. Fascinating to see the large wrinkled animal up close.
Olifantrus is a very basic camp with room for 10 cars. No cabins, no cellular networks and WiFi turned off because it’s to windy! There is a small kiosk with 6 packets of potato chips, some water and some cola. Shop in advance!
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Strong wind
We are assigned the most windy spot at the camp and have to take shelter behind the car. It has been annoyingly windy all the time. The wind gets a good speed over the endless open spaces of the park. The wind starts at sunrise and at sunset it fortunately becomes completely windless, like the plug has been pulled out.
The next day we continue out of the park at Galton Gate and into Kaokoland, the wildest and most beautiful part of Namibia. Stay tuned!
All about Namibia roundtrip here: overlanding namibia
