Etosha National Park

A San legend says that the Pan was formed by a young woman, whose only child was killed by brutal hunters. The woman cried so much, her tears formed a great lake. When the sun came out, it dried up her tears, but left the ground covered in salt. It is true that the Pan does have a high alkaline content, which attracts the wildlife, who require salt in their diet.

If there is exceptionally heavy rainfall, the Pan is transformed into a sludgy lake, albeit only about 1 metre deep, and it becomes a feeding ground for literally thousands of wading birds including large flocks of pink flamingos.

Vegetation in the park: The vegetation in the Park is mainly grass and bush savanna, and is also home to the striking and certainly odd-looking moringa tree, which looks as if it has been planted upside down and its roots are where its leaves and branches should be.

Legend has it that the Creator became very annoyed one day with the animals on Earth, and picked up a tree and flung it down to Earth. Luckily it missed the animals, but landed upside down and there it stayed as a reminder to the animals not to annoy the Creator.
visiting the park on a self-drive safari: Many visitors to Etosha come on a 'self-drive' basis. There are 2 main gates into the Park - the Andersson Gate to the south, and the Von Lindequist Gate to the east. The gates are open daily from sunrise to sunset. All visitors have to pay an entrance fee.

You can either stay just outside the Park at one of the comfortable lodges near the eastern or southern gates, or at one of the rest camps inside the Park, which are operated by Namibia Wildlife Resorts.

The main roads leading in from the 2 gates are tarred, but after that all of the roads are gravel, and range from extremely good to somewhat pot-holed. The speed limit is 60 km/h throughout the Park.

Only the southern edge of the Pan is open to visitors, and there are no roads across the Etosha Pan itself.

A 4WD is not needed to visit Etosha, however a high-clearance vehicle is a good idea as it improves visibility (for looking over bushes and grass) and ground clearance (for puddles). All roads are accessible by a 2WD saloon car, but do watch out in wet weather that you don't drive through too much deep water and risk getting water in the engine and spark-plugs - you don't want to breakdown in front of lions (trust us - you really don't!) If you do have a breakdown or a puncture, just stay in your car and wait for help to arrive!
when to go: The Park is always extremely busy during December and January, which coincides with being both very hot (average temperatures are just over 30°C) and the school holidays. Early booking of accommodation is definitely advised if you want to visit during these months.

January and March are also the wettest months, and the Pan may fill with water if the rainfall is exceptionally heavy.

The Park is incredibly lush and green, and certainly elephant and rhino can be harder to spot, as they seem to 'disappear' into the thickets to feed. However, there are large herds of zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, oryx and springbok on the open grassy plains, and many animals also have their young at this time of year.

The winter months between July and September are the dry season, so the temperatures are cooler and there is little or no rain. The veld is drier, making for better viewing both in the bush and around the many waterholes, where the animals will more frequently gather to drink.

Spend some time at one of Etosha's waterholes in the dry season and you will see a constant stream of elephants, zebras, wildebeest, oryx and other wildlife coming to drink. Lions and black rhino are also frequently seen.

The recommended stay at the Park is at least 3 nights. An ideal scenario is to stay near one gate for a night or 2 and then drive through the Park and stay at near the other gate for a further night or even 2. This gives you the opportunity to travel right through the Park without doubling back on yourself, and experience new and different game viewing opportunities.

However and whenever you decide to visit Etosha, the memories will stay with you for a very long time.
staying in a private reserve: If you do not want to self-drive in the Park, you can stay at one of the private concessions or lodges just outside the Park boundaries.

You will go out on game drives with an experienced guide, and the drives are either on the private concession or you will have a game drive in the Park itself - so you really get the best of both worlds.

Ongava is one of the largest of these reserves, indeed, it is one of the largest private game reserves in the whole of Namibia. There are 3 exclusive lodges on the reserve - Ongava Lodge, which consists of rock and thatch chalets, the smaller Tented Camp, or the stunning Little Ongava, which is nestled on the crest of a hill with wonderful views onto the plains below. Ongava is also one of the few private reserves where you have a chance of seeing both black and white rhino, and tracking the white rhino on foot is a highlight of a stay here.