According to wholevehicles, Namibia is a huge, colorful patchwork quilt, intricately sewn from giant canvases of national parks. The championship unconditionally belongs to the Namib-Naukluft reserve, the second largest patch is the Etosha National Park. He captured the salt lake of the same name in his exotic embrace.

The name of this area, translated from the language of the Ovambo tribe, sounds poetic: “a large white space” or “a place where nothing grows”. It is, because most of the year the Etosha Valley is a dull, gloomy expanse of cracked white clay. And only occasionally fantastic mirages appear: herds of wild animals fill the lifeless natural canvas with spots. It is breathtaking if it turns out to be the rarest species of animals on the planet: a black rhinoceros or a black-faced impala antelope. Here you can also meet antelopes – blue wildebists, mountain and valley zebras, hyenas, lions, cheetahs, leopards, giraffes and elephants.

On the territory of the reserve it is strictly forbidden to drive around in open cars, turn off the paved roads, get out of the car in the wrong places and, of course, use any firearms.

How to get there

It is more convenient to get to Etosha by plane from Windhoek, the flight will take about an hour and a half.

Weather in Etosha

Winter here is from May to September with an average air temperature of +18…+20 °C, summer – from October to April, then the temperature rises to +20…+34 °C. The driest period is from July to September, while the rainy season lasts from November to March. The best time to visit Etosha National Park is during the winter, which lasts from May to August.

Note to the photographer: the main thing in your luggage is a camera with a decent lens, the focal length of which should not be less than 400 mm, high-speed film for night shooting, protective filters.

Entry rules

For tourists, the park is divided into two zones: in the eastern part, you can move independently by car, and only special tourist cars are allowed to enter the western part. From the south, you can drive into Etosha along the C highway through Oucho, the southern Andersson gate and the city of Okaukueyo, from the east it is better to move along the C38 road through the Von Lindqvist gate and further to the village of Namutoni. These are the main checkpoints. From the north, tourists enter through the King Nehale Lya Mpingana Gate. Do not try to enter the park through the Galton Gate: the western part of the park is closed to self-driving.

The park-reserve is open for visits all year round. At the entrance to the reserve, a certain fee is charged from each person and car.

Where to stay

If you plan to spend a few days exploring the local landscapes, you can stay overnight in one of four recreation areas with camps managed by NWR: Onkoshi Camp, Okaukuejo Camp, Halali Camp, Namutoni Camp. Halali has 2 bungalows and rooms, Namutoni has 1 bungalow, rooms and apartments, Okaukueyo has bungalows and single rooms. Comfortable rooms, gas stations, shops are guaranteed. The cost of a night is about 115 EUR for a double room with breakfast. Also, a large number of private lodges have been built in front of the gates to the camps, which offer accommodation at more reasonable prices. Do not try to spend the night as a “savage”: this may entail an administrative penalty, such liberties are prohibited here.

There are restaurants in the camps, but strictly according to the schedule – from 12:30 to 14:00.

Attractions and attractions in Etosha

Okaukueyo is the best place to shoot elephants and black rhinos, which can be seen even at night thanks to special spotlights installed around the perimeter of the reservoir. Around Namutoni, surrounded by water holes, you can easily meet giraffes, lions and antelopes: impala, springbok, eland and kudu. The Imperial German Fort is also located here. In the Halali camp there are two Goas watering holes, which are regularly visited by lions, zebras, giraffes.

The abode of birds and elephants is the Andoni Plains, located at the end of the road. Huge animals come here to get drunk and take a “dust bath”.

Other reservoirs: Ubareb, Klein Namutoni, Baitia, Olifantsad and Fisher’s hollows are also a constant place where the smell of water attracts the wild inhabitants of the park.

Etosha Park website.

3 things to do in Etosha:

1. Wait at the waterhole and take pictures of the most unusual inhabitants of the reserve.
2. Look into the western part of the park, where the famous Fairytale Forest rises, the only place in Africa where moringa grows – an upside-down tree that grows upside down.
3. Capture on film the elusive cheetahs in the Andoni Plains, where they love to roam.