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The Etosha National Park is regarded by wild-life aficionados as one of Africa's greatest and most intriguing wildlife sancturies. It was once the biggest natural park in the world, covering almost 100 00 kmē. The huge calcrete pan (seasonal lake) was also once the biggest in the world, until climactic changes caused feeder channels to dry up and change the terrain from lush jungle to savannah grasslands, with acacia and mopane woodlands.
The first impression of the park is of a vast expanse of dazzling white pan, but in the early morning and late afternoons, through tricks of refracted light, the landscape glows and shimmers, changing from orange, through pink and purple to an inky deep blue.
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Despite being a semi-arid area, the park is home to over 110 reptiles, 100 mammals, 340 bird species and one of Africa's biggest Black rhino populations. Following the majestic flight of a soaring eagle swooping down to snatch its unsuspecting prey, is an exciting experience even for a bird watching novice. |
Here the game often comes to you - or rather the selected waterholes that surround the pans. Okaukuejo (pronounced okka-koo-yo) has a large waterhole on the perimeter of the camp, providing thrilling opportunities to observe the nocturnal animals at close proximity. Some visitors prefer to sleep through the heat of the day, and spend their nights watching out for big game at the floodlight waterholes by night.
Namutoni is one of the most unlikely rest camps of any in Africa, with the main facilities grouped around a gleaming white Beau Geste type fort rising from the woodlands. This fort, built in 1890, was the site of several battles between German troops and neighbouring tribes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mokuti Lodge, situated on the eastern edge of the park, is referred to as an oasis.
Its lush gardens and comfortable thatched chalets offer guests a chance to relax and unwind. They also offer visitors a variety of walking and biking trails. An excellent network of roads makes Etosha an ideal self-drive destination. Ordinary sedan cars will cope well with the roads, although in the very short rainy season (between December and April) some tracks become very slippery. In good rain years, the pans fill with food-rich, soupy water that attracts thousands of wading birds, including huge flocks of flamingoes, turning the strong alkaline water a deep pink in the mornings and evenings.
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