Etosha National Park

The Etosha National Park, with its vast salt pan, is unique! The area stretches across northern Namibia from west to east. ‘Etosha’ means something like great white place. The salty clay pan is 130 km by 50 km in size.

During the dry season, animals gather around the clay pan because they can still find water there - while taking in important salts. We are here in the rainy season, which is the low season. However, this also has advantages: Along with fewer visitors, the park is incredibly green - everything is blooming.

We drive from the east at the 'Namutoni' entrance with our rental car into the national park. The best time for wildlife observation is early in the morning. On the first day, we leave our accommodation at 6 a.m. Over three days, we want to explore the park and see as many different animals as possible. There are good gravel roads built in the park, with various routes and many waterholes. We are thrilled that we can see a variety of animals up close! Unfortunately, getting out is only allowed in specially secured areas...

Due to the extreme rainfall, the salt pan resembles a very spacious lake - an absolute rarity!

Here is an oryx in the lush riverside grass...

Although it is harder to spot animals since the tall grass provides good hiding spots, the animals are distributed throughout the park as seen with the black-faced impala.

As we slowly approach with the car, they often stand curiously still, allowing us to get quite close!

We frequently see herds of springboks and plains zebras in the wide green plains!

Surprisingly, we also observe numerous giraffes. They wander between bushes and continuously graze the leaves of tree canopies. We find these huge animals incredibly fascinating!

Occasionally, we also encounter other animals as we continue westward: for example, warthogs, wildebeests, and plenty of ostriches!

On our last morning, we hit a jackpot! Something moves in the grass, and after a short wait, two lions actually rise and stroll leisurely along the roadside.😃

We also spot numerous birds! Particularly large and remarkable: the kori bustard and the marabou stork

As we exit the national park, an elephant even walks across the road in front of us, quietly disappearing into the underbrush. We never thought we would see so many animals despite the rainy season and tall grass! The visit to Etosha was absolutely worth it 👌

Cheetahs, leopards, and especially rhinos 😆 must have hidden too well from us...

Next, we will travel further to Damaraland - a region in the west.