Etosha Safari Lodge

The stay

Ten kilometres from the gate

Etosha rewards early starts and late afternoons, which makes the drive to the gate the thing worth optimising. Ten kilometres on tar puts you at the Andersson Gate when it opens rather than an hour into the morning, and gets you back out comfortably before it closes.

The bungalows run along the top of a low hill, each with a private veranda looking out over the mopane woodland towards the park. They are unfussy and comfortable rather than luxurious — air-conditioning, an en-suite shower, a safe and a tea and coffee station — and after nine hours in a vehicle that is mostly what you want.

The main building is themed as a shebeen, hung with artefacts, and Gondwana calls the whole place the Place of Legends. It is more fun than the usual safari-lodge hush, and there are three cold-water pools and a sunset deck for the hours between the morning and the afternoon drive.

What to do

Why stay at Etosha Safari Lodge?

Ten kilometres is the shortest run to the Andersson Gate of anywhere outside the park, and in Etosha that matters more than it sounds. 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.

The one thing staying outside cannot give you is a floodlit waterhole after dark. Those belong to the rest camps inside the park, and sitting at one at ten at night is a genuinely different experience. 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.

What you get in return is a good deal more comfort for the money, three pools to come back to, and a bar with some personality rather than the hush of a camp restaurant.

Sixty-five rooms also means this is one of the easier beds to get near Etosha at short notice, which is worth knowing if your dates are already tight.

Before you book

• Rates are bed and breakfast
• Park entry fees are not included in the guided game drives — they are paid separately at the gate
• Guided drives leave about 30 minutes before sunrise, so breakfast is usually a packed one
• 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 is on site from 18:00 to 06:00
• There is mobile signal as well as Wi-Fi

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, with a light snack and refreshments
• Self-drive — the park roads are fine for a normal car, and the gate is ten minutes away
• Etosha Safari Mobil — a seven-seater VW Kombi adapted for game viewing, rentable for an unguided trip. A driver can be booked at extra cost

Activities

• Half-day and full-day guided game drives into Etosha
• Guided walk through the mopane woods, 2 to 3.5 km, with refreshments
• Self-drive days in the park
• Sundowners on the viewing deck
• Three cold-water swimming pools

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 lodge

Facilities

• Restaurant with a viewing deck
• Shebeen-themed bar and lounge at the main lodge
• Three cold-water swimming pools
• Curio shop
• Wi-Fi and mobile signal
• Secure parking at the main lodge
• 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