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Africa Travel Newsletters > Etosha Namibia

Namibia is a vastly arid country of stark rough-hewn beauty. Its most stunning imagery is that of haunting technicolor landscapes of swirling orange dunes, shimmering mirages and treacherous dust devils. The country is defined by topographical diversity, a vast wilderness and a climatography that ranges from subtropical to bone-dry desert. This apparent desolation is deceptive as plant and animal life, and even man has adapted to this environment.

Those in the international media unfamiliar with the charms of Namibia were surprised when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – one of Hollywood’s most celebrated couples-, selected the country as the birthplace of their child. The child was born in May 2006 in a small hospital near Swakopmund on the Atlantic coast. The country is so sparsely populated - 2 persons per square km that paparazzi have no place to hide.

Namibia sits to the southwest of the African continent, and was in fact named South West Africa by unimaginative German colonials. The country received its present name after independence from South Africa in 1990. Germans ran the country from 1884, but after the First World War, South Africa took over under a League of Nations mandate. The country borders South Africa to the south, Botswana and Zambia to the east, Angola to the North and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

Though Namibia occupies some of the continent’s hottest and driest perches, it fascinates travellers and especially intrepid adventurers. The highlights of a Namibia safari for the visitor are: Windhoek –the county’s capital and only city; the Namib Desert –the world’s oldest desolate tract with its spectacular dunes; the Fish River Canyon –one of Africa’s great natural gorges; the swampy reserves of the Caprivi Strip; the Skeleton Coast –on the ghostly Atlantic desert shores; the culture and traditions of the people of the land; and Etosha National Park –a wildlife and wilderness marvel, that is counted with the best in Africa.

Namibia's top draw is the Etosha National Park, and which you will not miss on any good value tour of the country. Etosha nourishes life in abundance in the seething heat of Namibia’s north. Recorded inhabitants of the sanctuary include 114 mammal species, over 340 bird species, 110 reptile species, and swarms of insect species. Etosha has rich, magical backdrops,andsome of the best wildlife photographs have been taken here.

Designated a national park in 1907, Etosha is one of Africa’s largest game reserves, covering well over 22,000 sq km. Up until 1967, it extended over 100,000 sq km and was the world’s largest national park. Etosha can be reached, travelling by road, 430 km northwards of Windhoek.

Etosha in the Ovambo language means “the place of dry water”. This particularly refers to the Etosha saltpan that sits at the heart of the national park, and after which the park is named. The pan is a large, white sandy depression that converts into a shallow water mass in the rainy season. The rains are not always faithful- but are most likely to come in summer - between October and April.

The Etosha Pan resulted from the caprice of the Kunene River, which thousands of years ago, coursed through here, forming a lake. With time, the river changed course, thirsting the pan as thedry desert heat exerted its toll. Today, except for a short period in summer, the lake remains a huge saline pan, which with its haunting mirage effect only clings to the memory of its abundant past. The Ovambo’s name for the pan as the ‘place of dry water’ is evocative and thoroughly descriptive.

The salt-sand lake stretches 130 km long and 50 km in width, taking up nearly 25 percent of the entire Etosha National Park. The pan is an important source of life continuity and in the wet season provides unique opportunities for game watching. The fleeting waters of the pan attract large herds of plains game, which in turn attracts the big cats and other predators and inevitably the promise of drama. Elephants, giraffes, rare black rhinos, and thousands of birds –most visibly flamingos and pelicans, are also in attendance.

Beyond the pan, Etosha is characterised by vast savannah grasslands, Mopane woodlands, mixed thorn savannah, dense woods and bushes. There are well over 30 waterholes in Etosha, which all present the perfect chance to view wildlife. During the day, most game drives are centred around the waterholes which most visitors approach and quietly wait for the animals to come for a drink in the heat of the day.

The waterholes around the rest camps are floodlit, providing opportunities for night game viewing, when it is cooler. Most of the waterholes are manmade and the park authorities ensure that they do not run dry. Mans helping hand supplements the rains and caters for most of the animals water needs all year round. This simple and clever strategy keeps the animals within park boundaries, which are tightly fenced off. It has the benefit of minimising human-wildlife conflict and has generally been successful.

Etosha National Park has 3 main entry points: the Andersson Gate in the south, the Von Lindequist Gate in the east and the Nehale lya Mpingana Gate (King Nehale Gate) in the northeast. You are allowed to drive at the edge of the Etosha Pan, but not on inside the pan itself. The pan is reachable from any of the parks main entrances, rest camps and private game reserves.

The Andersson gate is the main entrance to Etosha Park and is the most accessible from Windhoek. Okaukuejo, 18 km from the gate, is one of three main rest camps within Etosha, and is the oldest and best public camp. This is the best place to start your Etosha safari as there are more wildlife species here than anywhere else in the park. It is really more of a small town, and is an excellent place to overnight and restock.

In addition to accommodation, other facilities include restaurants, swimming pools, a souvenir shop, motor garage and fuelling station, a leisure centre, and most convenient of all –a floodlit waterhole right at the edge of the camp. The station also houses the park’s administration centre and the Etosha Ecological Institute that manages conservation research.

Okaukuejo camp overlooks a waterhole that is a big puller, for both animals and visitors alike. The camp has a theatre-like setting around the waterhole, with a platform of benches from where visitors sit quietly to watch the animals drink. At night, the water base is floodlit and the viewing is phenomenal! The animals stream in, oblivious of their audience and of the stage on which they perform. It is the best time for seeing even the shyest of the game that only come out to drink when supposedly there are no spectators. In the night light elusive leopard, rare desert elephants, and the occasional black rhino are all guests at Okaukuejo’s flood lit waterhole.

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