Etosha National Park, one of the world’s finest wildlife sanctuaries, is situated in the centre of northern Namibia. It is an enormous area of 22 750 sq km which is home to a wealth of animals: almost 150 mammal species, reptiles, amphibians and more than 350 bird species. There are some 250 lions, 300 rhinos and over 2000 elephants, large herds of springbok, wildebeest and zebra, and there are rare or endangered species like tsessebe, black-faced impala, cheetah and leopard. The vegetation is grass and bush savannah and some dense woodland.
The park encompasses the shimmering silvery-white expanse of Etosha Pan which was a huge lake some 200 million years ago. When the pan fills up with flood waters from the north for a brief time, it attracts hundreds of flamingos, pelicans and other water birds, and even a fish species appears from beneath the parched surface where it has survived the dry conditions above. The pan accounts for one fourth of the park’s total area.
Game viewing is at its best during the dry months from May to September when the animals are drawn to the watering places which are maintained close to the network of roads through the park. Only the eastern half of Etosha is accessible to visitors, the west is still untouched wilderness. There are a number of private lodges around the eastern and southern border of the park and Etosha itself has four so-called rest camps.
Okaukuejo, Namutoni and Halali have been extensively renovated recently. All three rest camps have swimming pools, a restaurant, supermarket, kiosk, petrol station, picnic spots and a floodlit watering place where animals can be watched throughout the day and night. The show begins at dawn when large groups of animals come to quench their thirst and picks up again at dusk. Sometimes black rhino, elephant and lion can even be seen drinking at the same time. Onkoshi Camp is an exclusive new facility which only caters for 30 guests at a time.
Okaukuejo and Namutoni are both remnants from German colonial times. Namutoni, situated close to the eastern gate of Etosha, is a whitewashed fort which actually serves as accommodation. Halfway on the southern route to Okaukuejo is Halali, built in the late sixties. Okaukuejo is a fort-like structure as well, but it was set up as a cattle control post early last century. The historic building now houses Etosha’s research centre, while visitors have various types of bush chalets to choose from.
Established in 1907 by German governor Friedrich von Lindequist, Etosha is the oldest game reserve in Africa, and with its massive original size of 100,000 square kilometres it was the largest in the world.
