Etosha National Park

Unexpected landscape and plenty of wildlife easily reacheable at your own leisure

I stumbled to the Etosha National Park a little by chance as I am usually more interested in landscapes than safaris. Said that...I have being flabbergasted by the park. The nature there is very much different than anything I had seen before and the abundance of wildlife is just stunning. You are left to wander freely in the park, as long as you stick to the indicated roads, and I felt more like landscaping in a very much alive place more than doing a safari looking for this or that animal. I could just enjoy my time going around and wildlife will just be there...literally crossing your road and popping out. And it is peaceful, and quite, and not crowded at all. Not to mention that it is very easy to do on your own with definitely well organized campsites inside the park, indications and roads. Maybe it lacks a little bit the real bush feeling, being so well organized, but you can get that anywhere else in Namibia outside the park just by driving around and stopping to camp wherever you feel like to. I would love to go back there at the end of the rainy season to see how water would transform it, but August was amazing as it was as it felt even magical and eerie in its dryness. As a practical advice, if you plan to do it as a road trip on your own in August as we did, and want to stay inside the park at night, which I strongly advice to do, you should try to book the campsite quite in advance as it seems tour operators get a big chunk of the available places in advance. This means that already in February we had been told by some camps that they had no places available for private travelers. Last but not least, the Halali campsite, which probably is the simpler of the ones inside the park, is probably the one where you want to stop longer if you are looking for a more wild vibe and nature peacefulness. In all we spent 3 days in the park, 2 nights sleeping inside, and all 3 days we saw something different. And we could have spent easily more days there had we had the time. Cheers!

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.

Beautiful landscape, but wildfires

I visited the southwest side through Galton Gate, for a single day, self-driven. Wildfire smoke obscured much of scenery, but we still have great views of zebra, kudu, springbok, vultures, and many other species at the waterholes. The entrance gate could use quite a bit of work in terms of providing maps, guidebooks, and other educational materials. We also visited Dolomite camp just for a look-see - very lovely and quiet.

Absolutely great landscape and wildlife

We saw a lot of different game, such as herds of Zebras, Springboks, Orys and lots of Elephants, Giraffes, Hyenas, Lion, Cheetahs and much more. The scenery was amazing, changing a lot from green to brown and green again. The pan is impressive too. We stayed at the Ongave Tented Camp just outside the park.

Among the park's we visited, Etosha NP was by far the best. A lot of animals, long drives and many options of waterholes, many spots of the Etosha white goast Elephants and lion cubs.

An experience everyone should do!

Amazing wildlife, great lodges and beautiful landscape

We had a self drive from Windhoek and our main reason for visiting was the prolific wildlife. Our first stop was an overnight stay in 'Olive Grove'. A really small boutique hotel, with lovely attention to detail and great food. Our next stop was Hoodia Desert Lodge in Sesriem to visit the world famous dunes. The lodge was beautiful and each chalet has air-con - a blessing in the scorching heat. The main lodge area was beautifully furnished and the manager and staff were extremely helpful and friendly. The food was also very good. We took an early morning trip to the dunes and our guide spotted and showed us stuff we never would've noticed. The walk to the top of Big Mama dune was hard work (for me), especially in 100 + degree heat. The highlight of this trip for me was seeing Dead Vlei - with black burnt trees against an orange background and a cloudless blue sky. This was a photographers dream. We then drove to Erindi private reserve and stayed in Traders Lodge. This is quite a large busy lodge, but the views from the lounge overlooking the waterhole was amazing. We were greeted on arrival by Wild dogs in camp. The evening viewing from camp was non stop from elephants, hippos, zebra, giraffes, wildebeest and Eland, all visiting the waterhole over the course of the evening. Our room overlooked the small waterhole at the rear of the lodge and lions and rhino came in the dead of night (caught with a remote camera). The game drives although good, are in my opinion a bit too organised. We were also unfortunate to have a vehicle that broke down twice! Unfortunately, they hadn't fixed the problem from the previous drive, and so we broke down again the next day. It was disappointing as this meant we missed most of our sundowner, as we were waiting for another vehicle to come and pick us up. The animals are tracked by GPS, and so you are nearly guaranteed of seeing what you want, it felt more like a safari park than an african safari. From here we went on to Etosha for 6 nights. Our first stop was Okaukeujo where we had booked a premier waterside chalet (definitely worth the extra), as you are right next to the waterhole and can sit out all night watching the game come and go. We had an amazing experience with elephants staying from early evening to sunset and beyond, just during themselves and bathing and playing. The trumpeting was an experience never to be forgotten. The chalet was clean and modern. The restaurant is average but the food could be better - however, you go to Okaukeujo for wildlife not a gourmet meal. Our second stop was Onguma Reserve, just out side Etosha. A nice camp which felt like an oasis compared to the dry dusty plains of Etosha. We had one evening game drive in the Onguma reserve which was a little quiet compared to Etosha. The guides are excellent and vehicles comfortable. The waterhole within the reserve was quiet when we visited. We saw a few giraffe and some waterbuck. Our next stay was in Anderssons Camp, again just outside the park. A nice old camp with a vibrant evening waterhole, where Rhino seem to visit every night - Their camp side is great, you are literally within feet of the many animals that go to drink there. We had one game drive within Onguma and saw the resident lions and rhino. We opted to self drive in Etosha and the waterholes are vibrant and teeming with animals. This was our second visit to Etosha and we were concerned we would be disappointed after having a great safari previously - but we were not disappointed and will visit again.

there are many many animals and always unpredictable

This is one of the greatest and largest national parks in Africa.

Wild life as a best; jiraffes, zebras, wildbeasts and antilopes . Only place to see rhinos

Hotels are not prepared for kind services, specially in the restaurants.
The Park is a large one with more than 74 holes, manmade and naturals, where are the best places to see wildlife.
It was my first Safari, but I am looking to compare this one, with information in the web with Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Serengetti y Gorongoro in Safari of Kenya and Tanzania. All have its peculiar enchantments. If you are looking to obtain a real african experience in the wilderness, this is one of the places

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.