Budget Safari in Etosha

Average temperatures hit a sticky 34°C. It’s rainy season: incredibly for a place one thinks of as arid, this can mean mud in patches! A 4×4 will be useful and comfortable, but it is a lot more costly, and the majority of Etosha’s roads remain accessible in an ordinary city car.

Park authorities also tend to temporarily close roads that will be a problem. The weather is simply unpredictable: there can be clear sunny skies, but Etosha can also be overcast for days at a time, with the chance of some quite heavy rain. As such, potentially not the best time for photography, although there may be dramatic skies and sunsets thanks to thunderstorms.

The beginning of January is still peak local holiday travel time, so the park will be packed. Things quieten down drastically later; by month-end some private lodges can even feel a bit echoey! All the more attention for those lucky few.

If the rains have been good, there will be water in the pan itself, and Fisher’s Pan near Namutoni could have turned pink with flamingos, which breed here in good years. Those charismatic big guys, the elephant and rhino, will have gone walkabout toward the east, i.e. moved from the waterholes to thicker bush. As the park roads tend to link waterholes, this can make sightings less accessible.

The peak of the rainy season. Vegetation will be as lush as it gets in Etosha for the next month or two – which makes game viewing more challenging. If the rains have been good, there will be water in the pan itself (and migrant waterbirds); Fisher’s Pan near Namutoni could have turned pink with flamingos.

All the details mentioned for January still apply in terms of the desirability of a 4×4, thunderstorms and potentially, patches of dodgy weather. Elephant and rhino will be more elusive, feeding in thicker bush while they have the chance to be further from the waterholes. Heavy showers can cause dry riverbeds to suddenly flow, although it’s usually over in a matter of hours rather than days.

The park has lower visitor numbers, which some find a great boon, but experts actually tend to tell first-time visitors in search of big-game drama that this isn’t the best time for Etosha. That said, this is a fenced park (although bigger than the US state of New Jersey), and the animals move around within it: they are there; one just needs more time to get lucky. The Namutoni area (and the east in general) can be more productive.

There still a chance of rain and the bush is thick and green and grasses tall… all very lovely, but it does make spotting animals that little bit more difficult! Not many people around, but as per February, not as much big game either, or not lolling around the waterholes waiting to be photographed. Our travel experts say this is a time for more seasoned travellers, rather than those with just one chance to tick Etosha off their bucket list. The game, however, is there, but as always, it’s a bit of a lottery as Tripadvisor notice boards can relate. People have reported superb sightings in March.

Still nice and quiet in beautiful Etosha, although there will be a spike in tourists around Easter, when rest camps will fill up. The seasons are changing, evenings and early mornings may be cooling down by the end of the month. A less predictable ‘shoulder season’ month, but often very good for Etosha. The herds should have started to move back towards the central areas by the end of the month, but this is still not prime game-viewing-at-waterholes season; driving around will be needed.

The land is drying out and long, warm sunny days will start turning the bush a million shades of brown. Average high temperatures are a delicious 29° Centigrade, with lows of 11°C. As things dry out, waterholes become the place to be once again, making it possible to pull up near one and see all sorts of action. By the end of this month, elephants are likely to be heading back to the central /southern areas of the park. It is still not prime holiday time for locals or international, so tourist numbers are low to moderate. A wonderful time to visit the south and east areas.

Good sunny weather this month, with highs of 27°C and lows a surprisingly chilly 6°C. The dry season starts in earnest. Most of the park is considered to have good game viewing potential and visitor numbers are moderate. It’s the beginning of high season, and by the end of the month, pretty busy. The waterholes will be delivering the goods: lovely tableaux of species can gather at one hole. The elephant will be back at the waterholes, barging in as and when they please.

Full sunshine is the default weather forecast, with average highs of 27°C and lows of 6°C (it can and does occasionally hit 0°C). We’re now in peak season, and waterholes will be well attended by both big game and tourists! This means the central part of the park is optimum turf, and game viewing wherever there is a water source is extremely rewarding. Booking in advance is essential.

Peak season in terms of weather, international tourist numbers and waterhole action. August seldom sees a drop of rain, and average temperatures are rising: highs are 31° and lows 11°. It will be busy enough in the park for those allergic to crowds to consider staying in a lodge on a private reserve outside the park borders, or look to the less-visited Western side of the park. Acacia nebrownii trees flower by the hundred in August and September, each tree bearing “hundreds of thousands of yellow flowers that give off a lovely scent,” says wildlife photographer Mario Fazekas.

Still prime dry season game viewing time. Days are hot. Average highs are around 35°C, although a warm jacket may still be welcome on early morning game drives and when the sun goes down, believe it or not. It’s still peak season for Etosha for the first part of the month, and there will be traffic and some congestion at prime waterholes, which will be seeing all the big game action. The central section of the park will be buzzing. Not the African experience you imagined? Consider a lodge in a neighbouring private reserve and dip into the park itself as required.

One of the hottest months of the year, with high temperatures averaging 37°C. You’ll be able to tell it’s really warm when you see the tiny dik-dik breathing rapidly: it has an enlarged internal nasal area with lots of blood vessels and ‘nasal panting’ helps cool it down (elephants flap their enormous ears to do the same thing). Happily, humans have iced drinks! Visitor numbers tend to be high to moderate this month (it quietens down). As with August and September, herds are plentiful in the central areas. If pressed for time, this is the place to go and one need not visit the eastern or western sides. There should be some showers this month, but it’s not guaranteed.

One of the hottest months of the year, when average temperatures spike: it’s 35° to over 40°. November is the real start of the annual rainy season. Once showers have drenched the thirsty land, vegetation springs to life – giving herbivores the chance to move into new areas to feed and become less dependent on the waterholes. November is somewhat of a ‘shoulder’ season though and visitors will see animals, fear not. This is the month that sees most cloud cover (fully overcast days), yet that averages only five to six days. Much of the rainy season is partly cloudy, with rain in the afternoons as opposed to set-in rain.

The rains should have arrived, and the game will be moving east to browse in the Namutoni area and further north, beyond the road network. The central waterholes quieten down and will no longer be visited much by elephant; rhino, too, may take some seeking out.

Baby animals are born and shiver into action, able to walk in no time, but vulnerable for the first few days after birth. Visitor numbers soar in mid to late December as local holidays kick in. Book way in advance if you hope to travel at this time, for all accommodations inside and outside the park. Large family parties will be setting up camp in the park with everything including a kitchen sink and buzzing about in search of predators; if the crowds will intrude on the experience, choose another time. Average temperatures have cooled a bit with rains, but still average 35°. Intra-African and Palearctic migrant bird species should be here, an enormous plus for birders.