Etosha National Park must be one of the best places to see wildlife in the whole of Southern Africa. And to my mind, each of these three camps offers its own rewards.
At Okaukuejo near Anderson Gate, you can sit in the comfort of the camp and look out over a waterhole for excellent sightings of elephant, black rhino, lion and leopard that come to drink. A tetchy encounter between rhino and elephant isn’t unknown, and it’s a great place for keen photographers to park themselves for a few hours, day or night.
Etosha pan
About six kilometres away from Okaukuejo is Nebrownii waterhole, a busy pitstop on the animal super-highway. On our last trip there, we found a regular Noah’s Ark of different species thronging the open plain around the waterhole: lots of impalas, zebras and wildebeest, giraffes, two grumpy gemsbok, a handful of kudu and a small family of warthog. Sadly, on this occasion, there were no elephants, which always add excitement to a waterhole sighting, particularly when the little ones get bored with drinking and start to play.
Moringa waterhole, Halali
Halali camp is the piggy in the middle, about halfway between Okaukuejo to the west and Namutoni to the east. Of the three, it’s my favourite because it’s less busy than the other two and has the superb Moringa waterhole for 24-hour viewing from inside the camp.
From your perch on a small hill above the waterhole, you get an amphitheatre view of the game that comes to drink. In the evenings, forktailed drongos use the floodlights as a hunting aid that highlights insects they take on the wing, and pearl-spotted owlets perch nearby on the lookout for a quick snack. Best of all, you’re almost sure to see elephant and black rhino if you visit at sundown and are patient.
From your perch on a small hill above the waterhole, you get an amphitheatre view of the game that comes to drink. In the evenings, forktailed drongos use the floodlights as a hunting aid that highlights insects they take on the wing, and pearl-spotted owlets perch nearby on the lookout for a quick snack. Best of all, you’re almost sure to see elephant and black rhino if you visit at sundown and are patient.
On our last trip, our most exciting encounter at Moringa was when a black rhino came for a peaceful drink around 7pm. Ten minutes later, the tranquility evaporated when a larger and far less chilled rhino entered the arena and chased him off with much stomping and screaming. They’re really not very sociable animals.
People say that if you spend the whole night at Moringa you’re pretty sure to see spotted hyena and leopard too. But although the days were warm in June when we were there, the nights were a little too cold for a marathon stake-out – at least for me.
People say that if you spend the whole night at Moringa you’re pretty sure to see spotted hyena and leopard too. But although the days were warm in June when we were there, the nights were a little too cold for a marathon stake-out – at least for me.
Namutoni fort
Namutoni camp in the east near Von Linquist Gate has a Beau Geste-style fort built by the Germans as a defence against the Owambos in the early 1900s. It’s intriguing to catch up on the history of the area in the small museum opposite reception.
In my view Namutoni’s campsite isn’t as pleasant as Halali’s, mainly because it’s a lot smaller. When we came back from a drive one afternoon, we found our campsite hemmed in by two Overland trucks with their multiple mounds of identical little tents and foreigners. Luckily, they were fairly quiet, except the next morning when one of the trucks hooted at 04:30 to wake and muster his ‘troops’ for the next stage of their whistle-stop tour of Namibia.
In my view Namutoni’s campsite isn’t as pleasant as Halali’s, mainly because it’s a lot smaller. When we came back from a drive one afternoon, we found our campsite hemmed in by two Overland trucks with their multiple mounds of identical little tents and foreigners. Luckily, they were fairly quiet, except the next morning when one of the trucks hooted at 04:30 to wake and muster his ‘troops’ for the next stage of their whistle-stop tour of Namibia.
Hook-lipped rhino at Klein Namutoni waterhole
The waterholes around Namutoni are excellent. We saw lions at Kalkheuwel, black rhino at Klein Namutoni, leopard at Koinachas, elephant at Tsumcor, and two dozen giraffe loping across the veld to Two Palms for sundowners in the late afternoon.
Because I love watching breeding herds of elephant so much, I was getting anxious when we’d been in the park for just over a week and still hadn’t spotted more than a few lone bulls or small bachelor groups. Then on our second last day we found a breeding herd peacefully drinking at Groot Okevi waterhole a few kilometers north of Namutoni.
Because I love watching breeding herds of elephant so much, I was getting anxious when we’d been in the park for just over a week and still hadn’t spotted more than a few lone bulls or small bachelor groups. Then on our second last day we found a breeding herd peacefully drinking at Groot Okevi waterhole a few kilometers north of Namutoni.
As we watched, more ellies arrived until there were nearly forty drinking together. Some of them were still quite small, but at least six-months old because they had already mastered that tricky little trunk well enough to suck up water. Bored, a cocky teenager asserted himself to push another away from the water, trunk pushing hard against the other’s butt.
Then they all melted into the bush again, leaving as quietly as they had arrived. We were left listening to the Namaqua sandgrouse flying in and away, their liquid call as soulful as any you can hope to hear in the bush.
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Then they all melted into the bush again, leaving as quietly as they had arrived. We were left listening to the Namaqua sandgrouse flying in and away, their liquid call as soulful as any you can hope to hear in the bush.
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Okaukuejo camp: see elephants on an Etosha safari
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Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
Okaukuejo camp: see elephants on an Etosha safari
More about Etosha
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
