Etosha National Park

Terrible ‘roads’; bit hit or miss what may turn up at the waterholes. Would have liked the guide to show more interest in the birds

Etosha is stunning. It has a great infrastructure but it is a pity that maintenance is apparently not a priority. Roads are poor compared to other parts of the country and the NWS accommodations could use a make over.

Very different from the Kruger Park but that was not a bad thing. Generally facilities were good.

Happy to have been. An abundance of animals and viewing spots, barren landscape and bumpy roads.

I visited the Etosha National Park from a campsite outside the main gate. Even before reaching the first Lodge inside the park I had seen two lions. The roads were quite drivable, even in a two wheeled car. There were plenty of watering holes and an abundance of animals. You really didn’t have to look too hard. I saw in addition to the lions, giraffe, rhinos, wildebeest, elephants and many others. My only criticism would be the hopelessly inadequate queueing system to buy the park entry permit. One person dealing with these requests and two other people sat idly beside her. Not their job.

There was plenty to see and we saw some amazing sites - Black Rhino, Bat eared Fox, baby elephants just to name a few.

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

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).

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!

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

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.