Etosha National Park - Enjoy an African safari in the "Wild West".

When the first explorers discovered this in the 1800s, they enthusiastically perceived it as wild and untouched by people, and this is what people are still looking for today when they go on an African safari.

The problem is that there are very few places that can be called untouched desert areas, with some exceptions, and the western part of Etosha is one of those places.

For the past hundreds of years, the western Etosha has been closed to the public, but now with the opening of a new holiday camp in Dolomite in June 2011, visitors staying at the Dolomite campus are allowed to enter the western part of Etosha, either from Okaukueyo camp in the east or through the Galton gateway to the southwest.

If you go from Okakuejo to the Dolomites, you will notice a transition to vegetation when you pass the Ozonjuiti m water storm. - the sweet grass will turn into a thick mopani bush until you reach the water intake Nomab, where it will again turn into an acacia bush. The dolomite hills will slowly rise from the horizon when you drive, and then when you reach the drainpipe area of ​​Duineveld, you will be surrounded by rocky dolomite hills. The Dolomite camp is located on one of these hills overlooking the Dolomietpaunt.

Seven things that make Western Etosha unique:

• This is still the untouched natural desert.

• The vegetation is unique - the area around the dolomite camp is characterized by strong dolomite hills (for example, a small dolomite hill found in the Halali camp), dominated by Moringa trees, shepherds trees, chestnut trees, common tree bark trees and red shrub ham trees,

• There are many animals, but they are wary, timid and suspicious of people, so when you get into the pond, you do not rattle at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour with tires that crackle on gravel and clouds of dust, clogging up behind you, and expect the animals stand up If you drive slowly, the animals will be watching you, but they will remain in place, allowing you to take a picture of them.

• Animals, such as the Hartmann mountain zebra, baboons and antelope swarm, are found only around the Dolomite camp, and not in the east.

• Some birds, such as francioni Montiro, Hartlaub, Rokrunner, Ryupell, parrot, white-tailed shrike, purple hoopoe and brainless bobsleigh, only in the western part of Etosha.

• There is very little traffic on the roads. In all our games, most of the cars that we saw were two cars at the same time with us at the water bow - for the rest of the time it was just us and the animals!

• Camp Dolomites is unique - it is fenced, accommodates only 40 guests, has five-star food and service and has a magnificent view of the surrounding plains and hills

View games and nature photography

Watching the game is good in this area, especially in summer, as this hilly western part of Etosha is used by wildlife as a retreat during the rainy season. Although we visited the camp in October (late winter / early spring), we saw the pride of lions, cheetah, black rhino, elephants, Hartmann's mountain zebra and many other games in the plains.

If you are a photographer, there are about 20 water holes in this western part of Etosha, about half of which are worth a visit, as the others are dry or closed. Our favorites are Klippan, Radeldraf, Dolomiettunt, Okavao, Renostervlei, Olifantras and Tobiroen.

The dolomite water well is located at the foot of the dolomite hill on which the dolomite camp is built. If you are a landscape painter, bird or macrograph, then the photo from the camp is very pleasant, but if you are a wildlife photographer, we suggest you focus on visiting nearby water holes, since the Dolomietpunta rain well is at least 250 meters from the nearest chalet, so wildlife photography can be a problem, especially if you do not have the right photographic device, such as a 500 or 600 mm lens. And night shooting can be almost impossible if you don't have a bright light, such as a Lightforce 240 Blitz 70W HID spotlight!

We found that many visitors stayed for one night in the Dolomite - you can't feel in the camp or the western part of the park in such a short time. We recommend staying at least 2 or 3 days, especially if you are a wildlife photographer.

So if you like gorgeous views, a feeling of loneliness, good food, excellent service, no traffic jams on animals and truly “wild” animals, then you will love Etosha. where you can enjoy authentic African safaris with minimal visitors!