Etosha National Park Part 1 – Morning

Etosha National Park is one of the highlights of any trip to Namibia, whether you are birders or not. It’s very easy to explore the park on your own as the gravel roads are well-maintained, can be done in a sedan car and there are signposts at all intersections.

In the map below, I have highlighted our route for a day trip in yellow. We entered at Anderson Gate, drove through via Okaukuejo, stopped at Halali for lunch, then continued on to Namutoni Gate to exit just before the park closed.

We were up at the crack of dawn to be the first ones inside the gate, an easy 10 minute drive from Eldorado Guest House & Camping.

First in line at Anderson Gate!

Once they opened, we were given a form to fill out and told to pay at the office in Okaukuejo.

Sunrise brought the birds out!

Okaukuejo Rest Camp is in a large complex with an office, restaurant, shops and all kinds of accommodation from tent spaces to cabins.

Get this map & bird book at the gift shop. I’ll be using it to identify the birds below since we didn’t have a guide with us.

Get down to the watering hole as quickly as possible to catch the early birds and animals.

We saw a lot of these beautiful little birds – Shaft-tailed Whydahs.

These cabins are near the watering hole and there were quite a few tourists hanging out here. We couldn’t get a room here as it was full and here was the evidence.