Etosha National Park

The heart of the Namibian wildlife

The park lies in a large endorheic salt pan, forming part of the Kalahari Basin in the north of Namibia. The park thus has a unique combination of landscapes (spanning from waterholes to stretches of salt) and wildlife, in particular elephants, lions, zebras and birds. The park is very wide, as compared to other parks in countries like Botswana, so, in order to spot wildlife rangers often needs to communicate via radio devices.
The weather in winter (July-August) is relatively dry and days are mostly sunny.
Regarding the accomodations there are a few options just outside of the park, which are comfortable, cosy and often green. Inside the park, lodges put you very close to waterholes, where you can easily watch animals assembling.

Amazing

I went to Etosha for a week, and i have to say it has been awesome ! In just five days I had the chance to see 11 lions, a cheetah (with is usually rare in the area), Rhinos, and other wildlife... I was expecting that much.
the scenery was great, though the disappointing part, is that Etosha in July, August is so dry and deserted. The weather was fine, and the accommodation far beyond my expectations. Food is difficult to find in camps.

At the waterholes in particular we had some great animal viewing.

We very much enjoyed our time in Etosha National Park. The park was easy to get around in, and the people we met were kind and courteous. Animal viewing was terrific. Although we didn't see the numbers of animals we've seen elsewhere in Africa, the dry climate and associated waterholes made for some great, concentrated sightings, with some unique poses. We highly recommend this park as an animal viewing destination.

Best place on earth to see black rhinos. Okaukuejo waterhole is the best waterhole on earth (saw 3 of 5 big 5, lion, black rhino and elephant). Clear routes. Depends on the time you drive, is hardly to see good sightings. Possibility to see rare sightings like Rock Monitor Lizard.

Fine park must see!!!

We went in the wet season and there were less big animals, I think it’s better in the dry season because they have to come to the water holes.

A multiday adventure in Namibia

When visiting Etosha, try to plan your stay for several days. the park has multiple camps (with bungalows and tent places) from where you can discover the wild life of Etosha.

The Etosha N.P. has several waterholes which, during drought, are roamed by zebra's, giraffes, lions, rhino buffalo, leopards and so on. All these waterholes are near the roads making this is almost a guarantee to see a great variety of animals.

I was in Etosha for 4 days and stayed for the first days at the Okaukuejo camp. On the campsite is a large swimming pool and small stores where you can buy food, drinks and books about the park and animal recognition.
During the day I joined various safari's where you follow the dirt road at slow pace and hold at every waterhole.
This campsite also has its own waterhole. My advice is to visit it after sunset. Its easily accessible and the spectator area is on a rocky hill giving a beautiful overview of the waterhole and area.
This was our first encounter with a leopards who came for a drink.

My second destination was the Halali-camp which also has its own large waterhole. During the day I (obviously) went on safari where we found a pride of Lions. In the evening we went on a 3
5-hour night safari where you go off the road with jeeps and red flashlights.

Overall I enjoyed my stay and will go there again in the future.

Many sightings of animals (sadly no leopard although we did see black rhino)

Don't expect too many animals during the wet season

In general, Etosha seems to be a great park to go to. The facilities were good, camping was fun and the scenery is just lovely. As we went there in the wet season of February, Etosha was very green, with plenty of water everywhere, so finding animals was very hard, even for our nice and very experienced guides. We did end up with a few sightings though, highlighted by a young leopard, who was drinking some water in the middle of the road. We saw plenty of giraffes, ostriches and springbok, but the rhinos were unfortunately hiding! It was fun to spot birds and also smaller animals like honey badgers, even though hard when the car was moving. I can definitely recommend going there, but would personally try again in dry season!

My first time I saw wild elephants, rhino & hyena!

I was in Etosha National Park in April 2017. It is end of the rainy season so there is enough water for the animals in the nature. That is maybe the reason why we had not so much good luck at waterholes. We had best sightings in the East around Fort Namutoni. It was the first time I saw elephants, a rhino and a hyena! Most of them in the afternoon, just before sunset.

On the way from East to West we saw a few antilopes, ostrich and some other birds and of course breath taking landscapes. But I wished we would have stayed in the East around Namutoni. Also at the waterhole at Okaukuejo Camp in the West we had no luck.

My recommendation would be coming in the dry season later the year (Aug-Oct) or staying a few days in the East instead of going to the West. But, this is safari, you never know what happens!! Maybe we had just bad luck.

The camp sites were all clean and there are shops and restaurants. It is possible there to book extra game drives / night drives. I recommend to bring your own water / don’t drink tap water (like I did in the rest of Namibia, without any issues).

We loved Etosha. The only thing we didn’t like, was that it wasn’t self catering. We like to braai and do our own food