Etosha - Halali Restcamp - Arnoud Quanjer Wildlifephotography

Etosha - Halali Restcamp

Monday, 08 March 2010 21:44 |

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Halali gate Halali is located in the middle of Etosha and is surrounded by some of the most popular waterholes in the park. One of these waterholes is Goas waterhole. If you're staying in Halali then do yourself a favor and visit Goas. There are often lions at Goas and there's always a stunning amount of general wildlife at Goas. In the late afternoon the light is good for photography. Some of my best sightings have been at this waterhole. In October 2007 I was parked at this waterhole at a lion sighting when all of a sudden a white rhino and a black rhino appeared. The black rhino charged the white rhino and ran away into the bush. The white rhino was startled by the charge of the black rhino and ran towards the waterhole. I was taking pictures of the rhino and panning while it walked towards the waterhole when while panning I suddenly saw a leopard sitting next to a dead tree. It had probably been there for a while already but I only noticed it while panning and taking pictures of the white rhino. Literally in the space of 60 seconds we'd seen lion, leopard, black rhino and white rhino. In the Etosha image galleries you'll find many pictures that have been taken at Goas.

Halali offers all the facilities that you need. There is a shop, restaurant, swimming pool and a filling station. The shop sells basic food items and drinks and is reasonably well stocked. If you're planning on braaing in Etosha and you can bring meat with you from outside the park then that would be your best option. The shop sells meat but the choice you have is limited and the quality is mediocre.

Namibia Wildlife Resorts offers various 360 degree panoramic images from Halali. You can find these images here.

Staying in Halali

The camp offers a wide range of accomodation. You can camp if wish or you can stay in a family chalets, two and four bed bush chalet or double room. When you choose to camp or stay in a tent then communal ablutions and field kitchens are available. When I was in Halali in October 2007 the camp had just been upgraded. The communal ablutions and field kitchens were clean and tidy. The interior of most of the bungalows had also been upgraded. Be aware that when you stay in a family chalets, two and four bed bush chalet or double room you don't get braai (barbeque) facilities. This means that you are forced to eat at the restaurant. I think this is absolutely ludicrous and I haven't seen this in any other National Park in Southern Africa. Check the pictures in the gallery at the bottom of the page to see these facilities.

Honey Badgers

Honey badger at Halali campsite For me one of the major attractions of this camp are the honey badgers that raid the dustbins at night. Every night honey badgers systematically check every dustbin for scraps of food. They do that by trowing the dustbins over and removing all the content from the dustbins. As the dustbins are made of metal the 'dustbin inspection' is not soundless. When your tent is close to the dustbin you will wake up when a honey badger decides to throw it over. The honey badgers are reasonably used to people and you can get reasonably close to them for photography. When you get too close they will warn you by growling very loudly at you. Don't push your luck with them if they growl at you because they are not afraid of you. They have strong claws and large teeth and will have a go at you when cornered so be careful!

If you're lucky then a honey badger will stick around the camping site till just after sunrise. This can give you the unique opportunity to get some good pictures of a honey badger. This is the only place I know of in Africa where you stand a reasonable chance of getting good honey badger shots, so if you're a photographer and you're staying in Halali then check out the camping ground at night and in the early morning.

Floodlit waterhole

Halali waterhole Halali has a waterhole which is floodlit at night. In the daytime you will usualy see a fair amount of general wildlife at the waterhole as it is the main source of water in the area. At night you have a fair chance of seeing black rhinoceros drink at the waterhole. The waterhole at Okaukuejo is much better than the one at Halali, but the waterhole at Halali is still not to be missed. It is located next to a small hill about 200m from the camp so you have to walk a bit to get there. I think this discourages some people as the waterhole is usualy not very crowded at night. A recent new improvement at the waterhole is the construction of a roof above the viewing area. A couple of years ago there was no such roof and that meant that you had to sit in the sun while watching the waterhole in the daytime. Now you can sit in the shade and watch the animals drink at the waterhole. If you're in Etosha in summer then you'll be very thankfull for that roof as temparatures can soar to over 40 degrees centrigrade.

Arnoud Quanjer Wildlife Photography