One of the worlds largest game parks Etosha National Park is a unique wildlife experience where you will see so many animals.
Its has not been developed in the same way as say Kruger in South Africa and access is controlled by keeping vehicles exclusively on roads, this keeps the animals more relaxed as you will not find them surrounded by a ring of cars but rather you head to a waterhole and watch life unfold in front of you as animals and birds interact around the essential life that is water in a desert environment.
What to do in Etosha Park
- Self Game Drive
- Guided Game Drive
- Waterholes
- Predatory Sanctuary
- Bird spotting
- Game Driving Tips
- Camera gear
- Clothes
- Binoculars
- Park Entrance fees
- Group vs private game drives
Self Game drive
The easiest and most common way to experience Etosha, roads are passable in a normal 2wd car although a bigger vehicle will make it more comfortable and give you a better view point.
You can game drive from all the camps both inside and outside of the park on a daily basis.
Guided Game Drives
A great way to gain some knowledge about the wildlife of Etosha is going on a guided game drive, these are avaialable from all the lodges in and around Etosha, the private lodges offer the option to book a seat on a group trip or pay for a private guided tour for just your group.
Camp Waterholes
Some of the camps inside Etosha Okaulkuejo, Halali and Namutoni are famous for thier waterholes that you can view from inside the camp. Instead of driving all day you can sit at the camp and watch wildlife come and go at the waterhole.
This is available for day visitors.
Predator Sanctuary
Eldorado Farm 8km from the Anderson Gate of Etosha is a working live stock farm that rescues predators. They offer tours of the farm and opportunity to see some of the predators up close.
Bird Spotting
Etosha is home to over 340 bird species about a third of which are migratory, so summer is the best time of year as the rains draw in these visitors. Get the bird book and binoculars and start spotting.
Park Entry Fees
There is a daily entry fee, you register at the entrance gate and pay the fee at the resort inside the Park. fees are per person and per vehicle per day. If you are staying outside the park and going in several days in a row you can pay for all your days on one occassion.
Game driving Tips
There is no need to spend all day driving around in Etosha, the best way is to select one of the waterholes and patiently sit wait and watch the action unfold in front of you.
Camera Equipment
You will get close to many of the animals in Etosha so for general snaps a cell phone or a point and shoot will get you memory snaps however a camera with a decent lens (70 to 300 mm range) will be much better, for the birders a 400 to 600 mm.
Clothes for Safari
You will either be in a vehicle or in the camp so the most important part about your clothing will be a comfortable fit offering protection from the sun, and layers of clothes to take on and off. Preferably no bright colours.
Places to stay
Etosha National Park
All the places to stay in and around Etosha Park listed here
Road trips in Namibia
Here are some more ideas of road trips through Namibia, browse and see what takes your fancy, or simply send us an email with your desires and we will put your trip together for you.
The main environment if flat and open making spotting animals quite easy even at a distance, and all life goes to the waterholes at some point, so less need to drive around but better to sit quietly at a waterhole (some camps have waterholes that you can view from inside the camp), and wait and see what arrives and how it acts around the other animals.
It is quite easy to drive yourself around the Park on your own and get great sightings and of course that means you can go where you want and spend as much time at each sighting for as long as you like, there is also options to go on a guided game drive which is worth doing if you want to gain some knowledge about the wildlife and relax a bit more on a game drive.
The roads in Etosha Park are mostly gravel and can get bumpy but you can still enjoy Etosha in a 2wd car, larger vehicles like 4wd, minibuses and bakkies do have a higher viewpoint so often have a better view at animal sightings.
