Namibia : Etosha

Etosha is Namibia's premier wildlife park. Covering over 8,000 square miles, the park encompasses a vast salt pan 80 miles long. Once a vast lake fed by the Kunene River, the pan dried up thousands of years ago when the river waters chose a new course. Now one can stare across the huge depression of salt and dusty clay to witness herds of wildebeest almost hidden behind the hazy heat waves. Salt, dust, thorns, and heat may make Etosha seem a forbidding place to human intruders. But mammal and bird species call it home by the hundreds. Etosha is big game country. The Pan itself is strictly off-limits, but a network of gravel roads runs along its edge. Animals congregate at the waterholes left over from the rainy season. Etosha's drawback is that the only accommodations within the park are the three large rest camps that become especially crowded during regional school holidays. However, Ongava offers an excellent alternative.

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wildlife	animals congregate	elephant

Quick links:
Ongava Lodge
Ongava Tented Camp

Ongava Lodge
Ongava Lodge is situated on the private 30,000-hectare Ongava Game Reserve and shares a common border with Etosha. As it is a private game reserve there is the option of going walking and on night game drives which are not allowed in Etosha. Ongava Lodge accommodates a maximum of 20 guests in ten chalets, which are very luxurious but a bit close to each other. Each chalet has an en suite bathroom with flush toilet, a bath and a shower. The main setting, bar and dining area is under thatch and have great views across the plains below. At night you will eat out under the stars on the dining terrace and you can sit and have a drink and watch the game come to drink at the flood lit water hole below you. There is a swimming pool to cool down in in the heat of the day.

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	dining area

luxurious chalets	great views

Ongava Tented Camp
Smaller and more personable is the Ongava Tented Camp, it is a small classic, 12~bedded traditional tented camp. Guests sleep in comfortable "Meru" or East African classical style tents with open air, en-suite bathrooms at the back of each tent. The main dining room is under thatch and there is a veranda for dining under the stars. The camp also has a pool. There is a much frequented, floodlit waterhole in front of the camp and guests experience excellent game viewing from the bar, swimming pool and the tents. Ongava lodge is much more luxurious and does have great views but the tented camp has much more charm and with game all around you feel part of the wilderness.

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Ongava Tented Camp	'Meru'	veranda