ETOSHA MINI SAFARI (2 DAYS)

3 Hour Guided Excursion into Etosha (departing from the lodge 30 minutes before sunrise) Return to Windhoek Embark on a guided trip per game viewer to view the unmatched wildlife and the renowned Etosha Pan within the Etosha National Park. The pan, formed over 100 million years ago, stretches 130 km long and up to 50 km wide in certain areas, covering almost a quarter of the entire park. "Etoshall can be loosely translated as "Creat White Place" in the Ovambo language. The 414km (2h45) journey from Etosha to Windhoek begins as a peaceful countryside drive, gradually transforming into bustling towns as one moves more inland to the capital. This journey is filled with an abundance of different sceneries as the landscape changes from the large open white, seemingly ashy earth crust with just a few basil green arid thorn-shrubs and Tamboti trees sprinkled through the horizon to large mountain ranges and peaks known as the Khomas Highlands. We first travel through the small town of Outjo, which has approximately 6000 inhabitants. As the "gateway to Etosha", Outjo has numerous bistros and friendly residents eager to greet and entertain the tourists. Upon entering the Otjozondjupa Region, one finds an even bigger town- Otjiwarongo, one of Namibia's fastest-growing towns with 28,000 inhabitants and numerous surrounding private game farms and nature reserves. On route to Okahandja, one passes the Okanjati Wildschutzgebiet (Okanjati Game Reserve) on the right-hand side. The Came reserve is about 360 square kilometres and is privately owned for the protection of hippos and to house many different species of birds, antelope, lions, cheetahs, and even the much-endangered rhinos. A fossilised dinosaur footprint can be seen in the pa rk. Okahandja is known as the "Carden town of Namibia" and is the place where the Okavango and Okamita rivers meet and flow into each other, but do not expect much water in the river as it only flows when the area has had heavy rainfall for some time during the months of November to April. One major tourist attraction is where many locals carve wood into various decorative items, such as giraffe statues and small canoe boats. Exiting Okahandja, the Von Bach Dam turnoff will appear on the left-hand side. The last 47km before one reaches Windhoek sees a dramatic shift from the semi-arid countryside and rural areas to industrialised buildings and suburban life. One enters the highway to see poultry farms and even vehicle salerooms. We arrive back at the Windhoek Truckport at 18:00. END OF SERVICES