Etosha National Park - Namibia

There are three camps in Etosha, Namutoni on the East of the park, Okaukuejo on the West and Halali midway between the two. Each camp has chalets, shop, restaurant, campsite and a floodlit waterhole.

Starting with Okaukuejo we planned to camp for at least two nights at each. On the drive to Okaukuejo we saw the ubiquitous Zebra, Ostrich and Springbok but not much else. Arriving at the campsite we could see that it was pretty busy as all of Etosha's camps tend to be all year round - if you want a bush experience then Etosha is not the place for you but as an introduction to an African game park it is pretty good.

Most people when they arrive at a camp for the first time go through the ritual of driving round and round trying to pick the best available spot. We have found its better to park at the first spot which looks half decent then walk around the site to see if there is anything better, that way you at least hold one spot whilst your making your mind up as its really dog eat dog out there!.

After a bit of looking we picked out a reasonable spot quite close to the fence and started to set up camp, all the while there where more people arriving circling the camp like a pack of hungry Hyena's - we had arrived just in the nick of time.

We could hear Jackal calling quite soon after it went dark but the highlight was when two male Lions started roaring just outside the fence - a small crowd gathered with spotlights trying to get a look see and we managed to see one quite clearly before they moved off into the shadows. Tanya and Carol were very happy we had a fence between us but Sue and I would have liked it to be open.

That night it was very cold so we donned fleeces, hats and sock's and had Baileys in our coffee to keep warm, later around 3am we were woken by the Lions calling again.

Next morning was cold but sunny and bright so after breakfast we went out on a long game drive to a lovely area called the Fairy Forest, so called because of the unusual trees which look like miniature Baobabs growing in just this part of the park.

When Sue and I had last been in Etosha in the late 90s it had been arid, dusty and glaringly white, now after all the rains it was green with thick grasslands all around and whilst not as conducive to game spotting it was very nice to see the park doing so well.

It was obviously good for the animals as we nosed our way through some good herds of Zebra on  the tracks. The scenery was lovely with all the trees in bloom, it was nearly 5pm when we arrived back in camp so Sue and I went up to the waterhole for sundowners whilst Carol and Tanya went for showers. The waterhole is the focal point at Okaukuejo, its nice especially when floodlit  but the setting is spoilt by the proximity of the Rondavels.

There are benches spread around the low wall separating the hole from the camp and once everyone goes to bed it can be very relaxing to sit here and watch the game come to drink - the only problem is you can doze off as did one guest one year who was taken by a Lioness who climbed the moat and wall to get at him, one can only imagine his last thoughts as he awoke to find her over him!

The night was another cold one and the Jackals were very active around the camp looking to steal anything edible, making short work of Tanya's flip flops which she forgot to put away. Once again the Lions were especially vocal and continued calling around the camp from midnight to 3am. Next day was lovely and sunny, up to now although we could hear the Lions at night we had failed to find them during the day, but late in the afternoon we finally located them, four big males, no females or cubs, sadly the lighting was not good and they were mostly hidden in the bush so we didn't get any decent photo's but it was Tanya's first sighting of wild Lion..  

After Okaukuejo we moved onto Halali, this camp is probably the least developed of the three and is very austere but it has by far the best waterhole which is worth going for on its own. When we arrived at 1pm the place was virtually deserted but even then it was hard to find an attractive spot. The site has six  ablution blocks compared with just two at Okaukuejo but no grass and hardly any shade so first impression is of being in a huge car park. We picked out the most likely spot and set up camp, one advantage with it being quiet was we pretty much had an ablution block to ourselves.

It was a lovely sunset so we went over to the waterhole for sundowners and we were rewarded by a Black Rhino and her calf coming down to drink. One good thing about Etosha is it is well policed so apart from the Kruger it's one of the last parks in Africa where you have a good chance of spotting Rhino. In East Africa they are virtually extinct or if they have any they are heavily guarded within fenced enclosures - a sad indictment of mans greed when less than 50 years ago they were numerous.

On our last visit to Halali we were regularly visited by a Honey Badger each night who patrolled the camp raiding the dustbins. There were signs up every where warning people not to feed them but sadly none came about while we were there, mind you you don't want to mess with one of these as they have a fierce reputation and have even been said to attack car tyres!

The next mornings game drive was very quiet so we chilled in the afternoon and then went to the waterhole again for sunset where a few antelope came to drink but nothing else. After dinner at about 10.30pm Sue and I decided to go back again but Carol & Tanya felt too tired and went to bed.

The waterhole was deserted as by now everyone was tucked up in bed so it was lovely just sitting there on our own. When we last visited here some eight before we had a Giant Eagle Owl flying around us, its the largest Owl in the world and is a magnificent bird to see so we were very pleased to find they or more likely their offspring were still about.

However the piste de resistance came just as we were thinking of heading back when a big male Leopard suddenly appeared from out of the dark and we watched as keeping to the shadows he had a drink then quite slowly walked back off into the bush - unfortunately whilst the light was enough to see him with the bino's it was too dark to take a photo, but he kept us there till well past midnight.

From Halali we continued East to our last camp at Namutoni which is also the park headquarters. The campsite here is probably the nicest in terms of grass and trees but is also the smallest so it really does get crowded.

Although we had seen quite a lot of game such as Zebra, Giraffe Gemsbok and Springbok one thing we had not seen yet and which Tanya was anxious to see was Elephant. On previous visits we had seen plenty of Ele's but with all the rains they had retreated further into the bush to  water holes they could visit away from the tracks and so were keeping well out of sight.

Also we had yet to get a half decent photo of Lion however as often happens this was all to change on our final day in the park.

Etosha has quite a number of waterholes and pans some of which are natural and some man made. Most contain water at least some of the time and the park guidebook is very good at providing a short description and history of each hole. 

The area surrounding Namutoni contains some of the best waterholes for spotting game so if any Ele were about then there was a good chance of seeing them at Tsumcor, a man made waterhole known as a good spot for Elephant.

Tsumcor looked empty as we approached it but then we noticed a game viewing vehicle from the lodge was parked up as if waiting for something to happen, clearly the driver/guide knew something we didn't.

Then as if on cue in the distance we saw the head of an Elephant making it's way towards us through the thick bush and soon realised there was a small herd following behind. As they neared the water the younger ones broke into a trot and soon we had about 20 Ele's drinking and playing around the waterhole.

Equally within a short space of time we were joined by at least 10 other vehicles each jockeying for the best position which spoilt the occasion somewhat but at least Tanya got to see Elephants before we left.

Even better as we headed back to camp we came across a small pride of Lion, a young male and three females who posed quite nicely for us so at last we managed to get some decent shots. All in all it was a nice ending to our visit to the park, tomorrow we would do the long drive back to Windhoek so Carol and Tanya could catch their flight back to Joburg.

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