Sunset at Etosha Watering Hole

Another top thing to do in Etosha National Park is to hang out by the watering hole located just on the other side of the fences to the park’s campground. At dusk, you’ll find all kinds of species of animals making their way to the waterhole for a drink. The wildlife activity goes on all night with elephants, giraffes, rhinos, and even lions if you are lucky.

“Be quiet, shhh” are the only whispers you hear. Seated on hard wooden benches are hundreds of people. We have headlamps around our necks, torches in our pockets, canteens next to us, and cameras in our hands. We wait. As the sun sets, the horizon is set ablaze in hues of red and orange. The colors change as quickly as the scene. Its cable television lives, in color and directly in front of us. Even the youngest children are silent. You can hear a pin drop.

We sit at the Watering Hole in Etosha National Park. Namibia’s premier park for animal citing and game drive viewing has campsites, a pool a restaurant, and this, the watering hole. “I could stay here for days”, we both say to each other simultaneously knowing that if we could, we would. Within the first minutes, we know we have to return someday. Each day people come and sit for hours. Sunrise, daylight, sunset, night-it doesn’t matter the time or the weather-they wait.

This is the real animal kingdom where wildlife roams free and humans are second-stringers. As the hour’s shift, so do the animals. The sun starts to set and the jackals appear. “Be sure to keep your shoes inside your tent” Paul (our guide) reminds us because these scrappy little guys will take them for a chew toy. We smile and return our gaze to the scene before us. The zebras arrive. In a sea of black and white stripes, over forty adults and little ones come out of the shadows and wander into the water. Some fully enter; others dip their toes and a few put their little zebra lips down for a drink. Today, there are no lions guarding the precious water so it’s safe, for now. Suddenly in the background, tall silhouettes start to take shape. Dusk has arrived and with it, the giraffes begin to appear.

Where to stay while watching the sunset at the Etosha watering hole

Okaukuejo camp

Okaukuejo camps is famous for its floodlit water hole. Here you will see lion elephant and rhino drinking side by side. Etosha’s busiest camp offers chalets with views of the waterhole and is structured around a tall stone tower.

Dolomite camp

Dolomite camp is perched on a hill in the exclusive western part of Etosha National Park. Luxuriously appointed safari-style tents offer views of a vast area that has been almost untouched by tourism. Several waterholes offer great game sightings.

Namotoni camp

Namotoni camp is a former German fort. The tall white protective walls of the fort give this camp a unique personality. Two restaurants offer a wide variety of tasty meals and sundowners on the fort’s walls are a must when visiting Namutoni.