Etosha National Park

Etsoha is a popular tourist destination for the foreigner with the big 5 as a major attraction. The camp sites are busy which we try steer clear of.

A vast park (over 22000sqkm) where although there are quite a few visitors there is plenty of space to get lost in, and the wildlife there from the minute you enter.

There was always an animal to see, but finding the big 5 is a challenge. Salt pans and bush are cool to see, but I wouldn't necessarily describe them as breathtakingly beautiful.

We saw lions, rhions amongst an array of animals - a great experience.

A wonderful game park with a wide variety of game both on land, in the water and in the air.

It's 10 o'clock in the morning at Chudop waterhole. Springbok and impalas are at the water. Shy kudus stand at the edge of bushes, slowly coming closer. Nervous giraffes double and triple check their surroundings before bending way down for a drink. Thirsty zebras come trotting right into the water, causing wonderful stripey reflections. Where else can you find such a huge selection of animals coming to drink together. It is possible to spend hours just sitting at a waterhole, watching the comings and goings. Playful elephants, goofy guinea fowl, a bad tempered rhino and shuffling wildebeest all take their turns. It is a wildlife paradise!

A lovely destination. The only reason that bush vibe is marked down is because it was one of the few times we stayed in an up-market resort

Fantastic place full of wildlife, except lions (we didn't see any in 3 days). It's a place where lots of visitors drive their own car, so no "bush vibe". Halali Camp would definitely deserve a better service

This is the most visited park for wildlife in Namibia and therefore more tourists (less in the rainy season) the sites within the park have good facilities and filling stations.

Etosha : An incredible once in a lifetime experience

I would like to do my best to write of my amazing experience in this wonderful place,
I have always wanted to go to Namibia - I think my first time falling in love with this amazing country was seeing a BBC documentary on the Skeleton coast when I was about 10.
20 years later and I finally went on a safari/trekking tour of the country - Etosha national park was our first stop.
We were in a group of about 10 and all got on very well, I was with a bunch of crazy Italians ! -great fun!
The 1st place we stayed in was called Okaukuejo , it was close to the Etosha pan , we were lucky to get our tents near a fantastic waterhole - that always had animals drinking and was floodlit at night - but this did not disturb the animals.
We went to the waterhole and had a fantastic view of a herd of Elephants drinking, then a group of Giraffe and Zebra came along - I must say it was a very emotional experience.

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This was high afternoon and the temperature must have been in the mid 30's, but there was sheltered seats so it wasn't too bad, later on in the evening with fading temperatures and softer light we went out for a drive around the park - perfect for taking pictures with the low sun.
There was plenty of Springbok to be seen ! (more than 20,000 in Etosha :) ), also plenty of Zebra and some giraffe and then later we were very lucky to see a pride of Lions.

That evening we had an excellent cooked meal eating outside in the cool African night .
We spoke with our guides over dinner and I must say I felt like a kid with him telling us great stories about the wildlife in Namibia.
We were about to go to the Waterhole when we heard the roar of Lions !! - they sounded so close ,
but we were in the safety of the enclosed camp - still it was quite a buzz to hear.
We went to the waterhole and were treated to a multitude of animals drinking - including the Pride of Lions that decided to chase off a few Giraffes, some Rhino came along too and then a few Elephants, it was a totally different experience to see these animals at night and was very happy to have witnessed it.
Coming back to my tent there were some Jackals about !, they were harmless enough as long as you didn't feed them or harass them - also we had to leave our shoes in the tent, as people would wake up in the morning to find them all chewed up !! - the Jackals it seemed aren't so different from our own domesticated dogs!!

That night I went to bed with the sound of Lions calling - pure heaven !!.


Early the next morning (6 am) we had a short breakfast and went on a safari drive , again the light was perfect for taking pictures , we were really lucky to see another pride of lions and then shortly after a pair of Lions crossed right in front of us - I got this fantastic shot :
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We took more drives that day and returned to the campsite in the evening ,where again we went to the waterhole for some night viewing - we saw some Rhino and their young drinking.
Later that night the Lions showed up again and scared some Giraffe away!.
A cocky young male Lion tried to stalk the Rhino - but he was having none of it and soon intimidated the Lion off.

Next day (3rd and last full day in Etosha) We went to the campsite at Namutoni - this was a nice campsite that also had a floodlit waterhole - although it was a lot quieter than the one at Okaukuejo.
Before we arrived we took an early morning drive and were treated to the site of two Cheetah and then a Leopard !! - They were quite far off and I wish I could have gotten better pictures but I didn't expect to see them at all so was very happy.
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Then we saw a Spotted Hyaena !! , this is a very rare sighting in Etosha so was thrilled to see him!!

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The final night we could hear the distant sounds of Hyaena's ! - I never did like this animal before this trip but have learned to appreciate them since.

So an amazing few days were had in Etosha, we left on the 4th morning and continued an incredible journey for almost another 2 weeks across this fascinating country.