The Etosha National Park is a national park in the north of Namibia. His name means "great white space". It is the second largest national park in Africa.
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getting there
In the street
You can reach the Etosha NP on paved roads through several gates:
- the From Lindquist Gate leads to the rest camp Namutoni and lies to the east about 100 km from Tsumeb away
- the Andersson Gate in the south leads to the rest camp Okaukuejo and is about 90 km away from Outjo and 160 km from Otjiwarongo
- the King Nehale Gate in the North
- the Galton Gate in the West. The Galton Gate in the west can only be passed with a valid reservation for the Dolomiti Camp. Day visitors are not allowed here. (Last updated 2012)
The gates are open from sunrise to sunset.
Access is only allowed with a closed automobile.
By plane
Camps
In the three state rest camps Okaukuejo, Halali and the Fort Namutoni (the most impressive and most comfortable camp, developed from a former German fort) there are hotels, holiday bungalows and campsites available.
mobility
The driving speed in the park should be kept low, here humans are GUESTS and the animals are at home here. The most prescribed maximum speed is too high for proper animal observation. At 40 km / h you can even miss an elephant.
Tourist Attractions
A visit to the Etosha National Park is a must for a trip to Namibia. Etosha covers an area of over 22,000 square kilometers and was declared a wildlife sanctuary by the German-South West African administration as early as 1907. In the center there is an extensive salt pan, surrounded by grass and thorn savannahs, Mopane bushland in the west and dry forest in the northeast. The central point of the national park is a huge salt pan, which arose from a lake that was formed around 2 million years ago and was fed by the Kunene River and later gradually dried out due to the change in the course of the river.
The national park is very well developed today. Well-drivable, well-kept, but unpaved roads lead to numerous water holes. There you can best observe the rich animal population of the national park. The main entrance gate to the park is the "Andersson Gate" near Okaukuejo in the south, where the park administration is also located. To the east is the "Von Lindequist Gate" near Namutoni. A new gate, the "Nehale lya Mpingana Gate" (King Nehale Gate) was opened in the northeast at the beginning of 2003. In the three state rest camps Okaukuejo (bungalows are partly in the first row in front of the illuminated waterhole), Halali and Fort Namutoni (the most impressive and most comfortable camp, developed from a former fort) there are hotels, holiday bungalows and campsites available. There are also restaurants, small shops and swimming pools. The pan (etosha-pan) is almost always dry. However, especially in the southern part of the park there are numerous water holes, the basis of life for the wildlife in the Etosha National Park.
Almost the entire range of large African game is represented in the park, the very large herds of elephants are particularly impressive, I have never seen buffalo in the national park, but with a bit of luck leopards, lions and cheetahs can be observed well. It is estimated that there are around 250 lions, 4000 wildebeests, 8000 oryx, 300 rhinos, 2500 giraffes, 6000 zebras and over 2000 elephants in the national park. There are almost 20,000 specimens of the dainty springboks. They are often seen in huge herds of several hundred animals.
Preparations
plants
An interesting collection of Moringa trees can be found about 30 km west of Camp Okaukuejo in the so-called "Ghost Tree Forest".
Animals
Birds
unmistakably and everywhere the pigeons, quite loudly also the Korhahn, colorful the fork hack, various types of vultures, secretary birds, herons, pelicans, various types of storks, ibises, eagle owls, owls, owls, eagles, sparrowhawks, marabou's, giant bustard, guinea fowl, woodpeckers, starlings, various weaver birds
Mammals
Here you can find four of the so-called "Big Five": elephants, rhinos (broad and black mouth), lions and leopards, but the buffalo does not occur in Namibia. The park also includes cheetahs, bucket dogs, jackals, mongooses, ground squirrels and giraffes , Zebras and antelope species, e.g. kudu, oryx, springbok, wildebeest, eland, ibex, klipspringer, damara dik-dik, hartebeest, hyena, warthogs, horse antelopes, etc.
Reptiles
You rarely see monitor lizards and snakes.
activities
accommodation
Camps in the park
There are 3 rest camps within the national park:
- 1 Okaukuejo. Headquarters of the administration and a research center, a distinctive feature is a water tower.
- 2 Halali. Inside the area with a good viewing hill to the Moringa waterhole.
- 3 Namutoni. A former fort.
Don't underestimate the distances. From the camp Okaukuejo to the camp Halali it's about 75 km to the camp Namutoni another 65 km. However, the dusty slopes are differently well maintained. The average speed should be a maximum of 50 km / h when driving briskly without visiting water holes.
The comfort of these camps is very modest to poor ??? 5 stars on pad ??? I was pleasantly surprised. However, these three camps are the only way to stay overnight within the park. Like all state camps, all three camps are not expensive. Each camp offers shopping facilities, a restaurant and a watering hole that is illuminated at night for game viewing. Reservation is compulsory. Since the renovation of the camps in 2007, prices have risen dramatically; a room for two in Namutoni costs N $ 1200 per person per night, including breakfast and dinner. Campsite prices have been doubled in most cases.
Outside the park
All overnight accommodations outside the park are very luxurious and correspondingly expensive. If you want to save yourself the camps in the park, you will find an alternative here.
security
It is absolutely forbidden to leave the motor vehicle in the park, except in specially marked and possibly guarded places. be expelled from the park. Quite apart from that rule, it can be very dangerous. Wild animals are wild animals.
trips
Safari trips are offered. But it is very possible to drive your own car and visit the water points. Most of the roads are passable with a normal car. 4x4 is recommended, but not absolutely necessary.
