Etosha National Park and the End of the Overland Truck

Etosha National Park

We spent most of our time in South Africa hearing about the drought and since arriving to Namibia we have heard of their unusual rains.  We’ve witnessed green in places where it is usually just sand or dirt and rivers flowing in what are normally dry beds.  This continued in Etosha.

Green horizon in Etosha

We entered from the West into what used to be a wilderness area up until a few years ago.  The animals are not as used to the cars and are more skittish.  On our way in, we spotted mountain zebra that were socializing with the Burchell’s zebra, giraffes and a few antelope scattered around.

Giraffe in the bushes of Etosha

We were staying at Olifantsrus Camp, which was used in the past as the location to kill off the elephants during times of overpopulation.  It had a man-made waterhole with an enclosed hide to be able to watch the animals drink.  There were 2 female kudu drinking when we arrived and a heard of oryx with a lone wildebeest in the distance.  That night, a storm blew in just after sunset and we ate dinner on the bus before letting the rain patter on our tents throughout the night.

Two kudus drinking from waterhole at the hideout

The hideout at Olifantsrus Camp

Sunset wine to finish the first day at Etosha

Storm coming to our camp

The oryx and wildebeest were still near the waterhole the next morning, but we had to say our goodbyes.  We would take our time going through the park towards our camp for the night.  The landscape started to clear as we got closer to the pan and there were less trees and places for animals to hide.  We saw a herd of roughly 200 springbok run past us and ate lunch next to zebras and wildebeests accompanied with their young.

Herd of springbok running

Looking for animals from the truck

We stopped at waterholes along the way, but as there was water everywhere they were not necessary.  Our camp for the night was at Okaukuejo, which used to be a military base during the time of war.  It also had a waterhole, where we found a male and 2 female kudus looking around the edges curious of the fence and concrete.

Kudus at the waterhole

For the first night since leaving Swakopmund, we did not get rained on although we could see a storm in the distance.  We could hear lions grunting somewhere in the pan as they monitored their perimeters.  Meanwhile, two black-backed jackals were wandering around camp looking for scraps to eat.

Lioness hiding in the bush

The next morning, Tico and I watched the sunrise from the lookout tower and could see giraffes and springbok in the distance.  We continued looking for animals on our way out of the park.  We watched as a spotted hyena ate its breakfast and reached the exit gate before spotting many more animals.

Sunrise view from the tower of Etosha main camp

While we enjoyed our time at Etosha, our experience was not what we had expected.  We had seen pictures taken by people who had visited months earlier and had been very lucky at the waterholes.  We’re glad that we got to see views that are not common due to all the green and more than anything, it gives us a good excuse to have to come back to see the dry, white landscapes.

Comparison of a waterhole between rainy and dry season (Left photo: roamtodiscover – Right photo: Wikipedia)

Windhoek

From Etosha we made our way to Windhoek, our last stop on the overland tour and the most populated city in the country.  We’d already arranged our escape plan as we didn’t want to spend much time in the city.  The next day we’d trade in the overland truck for a 4×4 truck rental with a rooftop camper.

The amazing overland group of Africa4Us

Our last night with the group we went out to eat at Joe’s Beerhouse.  It’s definitely touristy, but has great decoration and gave us an opportunity to try different game meats.  Tico and I both opted for the Bushman Sosatie, which had springbok, oryx, zebra, crocodile and kudu.  Without skipping a beat, we both chose kudu as our favorite.  We finished off the night with Amarula liqueur back at the hotel.

The next morning we had our final breakfast together before saying our goodbyes.  Being such a small group, we had the chance to get to know one another well.  It was a great experience being on the truck and one that we might consider repeating further along in our trip.

Overland tour organized by Africa4Us.

Helpful tips:

• The Eastern part of the park contains the salt flats, which make it much easier to view animals, even when covered in green.
• The Western part of the park used to have restricted access so the animals are less accustomed to cars.
• Look at the amount of rain, if traveling in the rainy season, to be prepared for the possible scenery.  Granted our views were still uncommon.