Photo Diary: 3-day self-drive safari Etosha National Park
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Etosha National Park in Namibia was on our wishlist after visiting Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the South African side. It was such a completely different national park compared to Kruger National Park, where we had been several times by that time, and we wanted more of that. But it took another 2 years before we were finally able to go, which had 2 completely different reasons. The first one; because I got a new job but, surprise, it was in a different country. So we packed up and moved from Haarlem in The Netherlands to Watford in England. And secondly; you need to book a trip to Namibia well in advance. We started talking to different travel agents at the beginning of January for our trip in November. By the time we had finalised our complete itinerary and the travel agent booked everything for us, 3 out of the 10 accommodations were already booked out.
But while our expectations were huge after waiting for 2 years, it was absolutely worth the wait and even surpassed our expectations. (Well, the whole of Namibia that, for that matter).
Etosha is one of the largest game reserves in Africa, and with its current size is 22.000 sq km it is larger than the Serengeti and is comparable in size to Kruger. But even though the size is similar to Kruger National Park the 2 game reserves are not comparable. Where you have over 20 camps in Kruger, there are only 6 main camps in Etosha, there as not nearly as many roads in Etosha and how about a salt pan that is 5000 sq km that shimmers in the sun and gives you the feeling you can never quite see the horizon.
Etosha is a vital game reserve for the entire southern Africa region and is home to 114 pieces of mammals like elephants, black & white rhino, lions, cheetah and leopards. But that's not all, there are also 340 bird species, 110 different reptiles and 16 species of amphibians. But due to the lack of water, you won't see any buffalo, hippo or crocodiles.
And in this photo diary, we hope to inspire you to make a trip to Etosha National Park yourself.
Want more information about Etosha? Be sure to read our Ultimate Guide: Self-drive safari Etosha National Park.
Entering Etosha National Park
We visited Etosha as part of a road trip through Namibia and it was our second to last destination. We came from Swakopmund but made a stop in Damaraland on our way to Etosha and entered the park through the Andersons Gate. This gate will give you access to the south side of the park and is close to one of the main camps; Okaukuejo.
The road from Andersons Gate to Okaukuejo is the only road in the park that is tarred, the rest are gravel roads, and here we got welcomed by a Springbok and a Kudo. But we’re not the only ones using this road, as it seemed a high traffic area for Springbok and Zebra to move from one side of Etosha to the other.
Something that we had not seen before, is something you can see in all 3 photographs, and that’s the rocks and stones on the ground. We were so used to seeing trees, bushes and grass that because it is so bare, these white stones really stood out in Etosha.
The magnificence of Okondeka
From Okaukuejo we drove straight on to Okondeka. This is one of the waterholes that is a natural fountain on the west side of the salt pan. It is known to be a favourite spot for lions who like to take their kill there. And that’s exactly what we got. You can see it best in the photograph in the middle (right photograph with the lion that is most left).
It was amazing to see all these different animals altogether and we had not seen anything like it. And the lions in the foreground definitely made it more special (can you see all the animals keeping an eye on them?
Okondeka Waterhole- Etosha National Park
The lions of Etosha National Park
The lions in Etosha were the highlight of this safari. Spotting this first 3 on our way to Okondeka turned out to be only the beginning.
After our first night in Okaukuejo, we entered the park as soon as the gates were open. Heading towards Halali on the main road, we took the first exit on the right towards the Nebrowni waterhole as this is where we saw 2 lions just before sunset the day before.
We were in luck; there was a male lion drinking. Not much later another male and female also came towards the waterhole. We were curious to see what would happen when the 2 male lions met. What we did not expect was to see them join up and chill at the waterhole together.
At the end of the day, we went back to the waterhole again and saw another male lion. So the next day we took the same approach and drove towards the Nebrowni waterhole as soon as the gates were open.
This second day was even better than the first day as we came across this lion cub. He/She was walking through the long grass with its mom towards the road. So we followed them there and watched them cross the road. But at the same time, a male lion came from the waterhole walking towards the road. This turned out the be the dad as the cub broke away from mom and ran towards dad. Once they were done cuddling and playing, they both walked towards mom again, where dad got welcomed by a slap in the face. Unfortunately, we’re too late to catch this on camera.
The zebras of Etosha National Park
We were absolutely amazed by the size of the zebra herds in Etosha. I'll be honest, after countless game drives, we did not pay a lot of attention anymore to zebras. But we were completely fascinated by these large herds in Etosha. From watching the little ones drink with their moms, stumble on their not so steady legs to 2 males that were running around each other for a while pushing & biting each other before it got a little bit more aggressive with kicking and jumping.
The landscape at Etosha National Park
The landscape in Etosha is unlike anything we’ve had ever seen due to the 5000 sq km how salt pan. The pan is empty most of the time but can have some water in the rainy season when the rivers towards Angola start to fill up and carry water to the pan.
As you can see from the photographs below the pan gives a unique view as it shimmers in the sun and gives you the feeling you can never quite see the horizon.
Acacia tree in front of Etosha Pan- Etosha National Park
Etosha Pan- Etosha National Park
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT...
..the photo diary from our trip to Etosha National Park. We hope you enjoyed it and if you have any questions just leave your comments below. And if you are planning your own trip to Etosha let us know where you are staying.
Want to know more about Etosha and self-drive safari’s? Keep on reading the following blogs:
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