Etosha - Namutoni Restcamp - Arnoud Quanjer Wildlifephotography

Etosha - Namutoni Restcamp

Monday, 08 March 2010 21:42 |

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Namutoni restcamp is is located approximately 11km from Von Lindquist Gate which is the Eastern entrance to Etosha. Namutoni was built around a fortress built in the days when Namibia was a German colony. The fortress was originally used as a German police post and later as a place to hold English prisoners in World War I. The original fort was destroyed shortly after its construction in 1904 and rebuilt a year or two later. The current fort was restored to its present state in 1957. Today the fortress holds a couple of curio shops and a bar and restaurant.

Namutoni is located on the Eastern edge of Etosha Pan. Sightings in the Namutoni area are generally speaking good. It is the only area in the park where you can find the smallest antelope species in the park: the Damara Dik-Dik. The best place to find these tiny antelopes is on the first 15 km of the access road from Namutoni to Von Lindquist gate and on Dik-Dik drive which is near to Klein Namutoni waterhole. Another rare species of antelope which you can find in this area is the Black-Faced Impala. Klein Namutoni waterhole is also a good place to look for black rhino at the end of the day.

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

Staying in Namutoni

The camp offers a wide range of accomodation. You can camp if wish or you can stay in a bush chalets or double rooms. When you choose to camp or stay in a tent then communal ablutions and field kitchens are available. The last time I was in Namutoni was in October 2007. The camp had just been completely upgraded. The communal ablutions and field kitchens were excellent. They were clean and everything worked (including the hot water). Be aware that when you stay in a 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.

After years of mismanagement and neglect of Etosha the managing authority of Namibia's parks (Namibia Wildlife Resorts) has started systematic improvement of all facilities in the NWR portfolio. These improvements are very obvious in the whole of Etosha. I hadn't been to Etosha since 2003 and the difference to 2003 is shocking. In 2003 the communal ablutions were filthy and absolutely nothing worked. An elephant could walk through the ablutions and you probably wouldn't even notice it. Now it's a very different story. The bungalows and huts have been upgraded and the facilities at the campsites have also been improved. From what had been done to the camp it was very obvious that Namibia Wildlife Resorts is trying to lift the standard of accomodation to that of private lodges. Unfortunately the price of staying Etosha has also gone up accordingly.

Petrol, food and other things

Namutoni 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.

Waterhole

Like all the restcamps in Etosha Namutoni offers a floodlit waterhole. When I stayed in Namutoni in October 2007 you had to be an overnight visitor staying in a chalet to get free access to the waterhole. If you were a day visitor or an overnight visitor staying at a campsite you had to pay N$100 entrance to the viewing deck. To make it possible to restrict the access to the waterhole the original waterhole had been closed and a new one had been opened behind the fortress. The only way to see the waterhole was from a viewing deck on the wall of the fortress. This meant looking down at the waterhole from a height of 5-6 meters making it unsuitable for serious photography.

When NWR introduced the N$100 viewing fee for the waterhole there were lots of articles in the newspapers condemning this practice. It seems NWR have come to their senses as I've recently (February 2009) been told that the new waterhole behind the fortress has been closed and that the original waterhole has been reopened. This waterhole is now accessible to everybody for free again.

Arnoud Quanjer Wildlife Photography