Etosha Safari Camp

The stay

Down-to-earth chalets, ten minutes from the gate

Etosha Safari Camp is the value option on this property and makes no secret of it. Fifty freestanding safari bungalows on a small hill, simply built and creatively decorated, with an en-suite shower, air-conditioning and a veranda to sit out on. After nine hours in a vehicle that covers most of what you need.

What lifts it above the usual budget stop is the surroundings and the atmosphere. Big mopane trees, lawns kept green, birdsong at both ends of the day, and a restaurant that is genuinely good company.

The restaurant and bar are the social heart of the place and unlike anything else near Etosha. Themed as an African shebeen and hung with old artefacts, with an old train carriage converted into a dining room, a courtyard, fireplaces and live music from local musicians most evenings. Gondwana calls the whole thing the Place of Legends, and it is a good deal more fun than the hush of a camp restaurant.

What to do

Why stay at Etosha Safari Camp?

Etosha rewards early starts and late afternoons. Gates open at sunrise and close at sunset, and the waterholes are busiest at both ends of the day, so every kilometre between your bed and the gate comes off your best game-viewing hour. Ten kilometres is about as short as that run gets.

This is the cheaper of the two chalet options on the property, and the saving is real without the comfort dropping away: air-conditioning, your own bathroom, breakfast included and a pool to come back to.

The one thing staying outside cannot give you is a floodlit waterhole after dark. Those belong to the rest camps inside the park. If that is what you are after, say so when you enquire and we will tell you honestly what it costs and how far ahead you need to book.

This is one property with several ways to stay on it, so a mixed group does not have to split up. The alternatives are the ready-pitched tents at Camping2Go, a pitch of your own at Etosha Safari Campsite and the smarter rooms up the road at Etosha Safari Lodge.

Before you book

• Rates are bed and breakfast
• Park entry fees are not included in the guided game drives — they are paid at the gate
• Family chalets have bunk beds suited to children, not four adults
• Under 5s stay free; 6 to 13 year olds pay half the bed-and-breakfast rate
• Check-in from 14:00, check-out by 10:00
• Security on site 18:00 to 06:00; mobile signal as well as Wi-Fi

Restaurant hours

• Breakfast 06:00–09:00
• Light lunch and three-course lunch 12:00–15:00
• Dinner 19:00–21:30
• Live music from local artists most evenings

Getting into the park

• Half-day guided game drive — morning departure about 30 minutes before sunrise, or an afternoon run from around 14:00. Five to six hours, with snacks and refreshments
• Full-day guided game drive — about nine hours, leaving 30 minutes before sunrise
• Self-drive — park roads are fine for a normal car, and the gate is ten minutes away
• Etosha Safari Mobil — a seven-seater Kombi adapted for game viewing, rentable for an unguided trip. A driver can be booked at extra cost
• Guided walk on the property, 2 to 3.5 km through the mopane woods, with refreshments

Things to see

• The Etosha pan and its waterholes
• Elephant, lion, giraffe, zebra and springbok in the park
• Black rhino, which Etosha is one of the better places in Africa to see
• Birds and smaller wildlife in the mopane woodland around the camp

Facilities

• Shebeen-themed restaurant, bar and entertainment area
• Dining in a converted train carriage, courtyard or around the fireplaces
• Cold-water swimming pool
• Curio shop
• Wi-Fi and mobile signal
• Secure parking, laundry service and card payments
• 12-hour security, 18:00 to 06:00

Getting there

• 10 km south of the Andersson Gate, on the C38
• Tar road to the gate; a normal car is fine
• Airstrip transfer to Okutala available, about 30 km each way
• Scheduled shuttle services run to Windhoek and Damaraland