Etosha National Park

When it comes to big game then the 22,750km2 Etosha National Park is unquestionably Namibia’s finest, and it is possible to include this park amongst the most rewarding safari destinations in Africa.  In the northwestern quarter of the park you can find the enormous salt flats that give the park its name. For much of the year this area is extremely dry, with white salts, left behind when the water evaporated, dusted over the soils. During the short rainy season between January and March, these flats are covered by shallow water, which gives new life to the local vegetation and attracts game animals and an incredible number of birds, with at times up to 1 million flamingos together with pelicans and smaller wading birds.

For most of the year it is the many waterholes in the southern section of the park that support the  large population of animals here. Four of the famous “Big Five” live in the park - only the buffalo is missing from this group of animals. However Etosha is an excellent place to see leopard, lion and elephant, and there are few better places anywhere for seeing rhinoceros. It is possible to see many black rhinos around the park’s waterholes, while there is a good population of the larger white rhino in the private Ongava reserve just to the south of Etosha, which is also home to the same range of animals that live in the main park. The flat savanna around  the salt flats is a good place to see cheetahs, while jackals and spotted hyena can be found all over the park. Large herds of zebra, wildebeest and antelopes such as springbok, gemsbok and eland can be seen in Etosha, which is also home to many impala of an unusual black-headed variant.

During the dry season before the summer rains fall, the waterholes make for a very impressive sight, especially around dawn when groups of many different species of animals arrive at them to drink, as they don’t dare come here during the hours of darkness because of their fear of the predators with good night vision. If elephants arrive at the waterholes, they usually see off the other animals, as they like to have the spot to themselves. The arrival of predators will also cause the other animals to disappear - all apart from the elephants. The many rhinoceros typically come to drink during the night, when a few of the waterholes are floodlit allowing visitors to see them. Etosha is home to an impressive number of birds all year round , including many birds of prey and ostriches. The park can be driven to from Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, along around 450km of good asphalt roads.

Højdepunkter:

• Namibias mest vildtrige park med mange store planteædere og fin bestand af rovdyr
• Parkens mange vandhullerne, hvor rækker af dyr kommer ned for at drikke
• Sorte næsehorn omkring Etosha´s vandhuller, og hvide næsehorn i Ongava

Højsæson: Juli til oktober