Namibia
Etosha Waterholes
Namutoni & King Nehale Waterhole
Namutoni is an Oshindonga word meaning ‘elevated place’. The first German army garrison here was established in the 1890’s to take advantage of the copious water supply and open views across vast tracts of terrain. King Nehale waterhole, located on the edge of the camp, close to the striking ‘Beau Geste‘ style whitewashed fort, is named after the leader of the 500 Ndonga warriors that successfully attacked and destroyed the fort in 1904 during the Ovambo Uprising.
The Germans rebuilt and reinforced the stronghold within a year, however, and during the Great War South African POWs fighting on behalf of the British were incarcerated here for a time. The original German fort fell into disrepair in the 1930’s but during the 1950’s the Etosha Natiional Park authorities built accommodation here to resemble the original complex.
Thanks to the fort, Namutoni is the most scenic of the National Park’s restcamps, but its waterhole is poorly sited. With a bit of luck and good timing, however, you may be able to get some decent wildlife shots here. The location is overlooked by a thatched open-air viewing area with several rows of banked seating, but the deck’s modest height means that smaller subjects are often screened by the extensive reed bed, and in any case the source, an artesian spring, is almost 200 metres away. The waterhole isn’t particularly popular with animals. Some do visit but usually in far smaller concentrations than those found at the other sites in this part of the Park. Elephants occasionally appear and sometimes roll about in the mud right in front of the viewing stand but most seem to prefer drinking at Kleine Namutoni, Koinachas or Chudop, which are all fairly close by.
Even though the main restcamps (apart from Dolomite) are well fenced, animals such as Jackals and Honey Badgers seem to find their way in with ease.
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In the above view, the Reception / Admin building is on the left and the Museum building is in the centre with the restcamp filling station on the right.
This area of Etosha experiences much higher rainfall than the rest of the Park but, as far as I know, following excellent downpours in 2010 and 2011, very little rain had fallen until recently. Like those at Okaukuejo and Halali, the rest camp waterhole at Namutoni is floodlit at night. Its covered viewing area is shown here. The other shot above shows the fort`s courtyard.
Thanks to the marshy area on the edge of the camp, Namutoni is reputedly an excellent place for snakes, with African Rock Python sometimes targeting the doves and smaller birds when they land to take a sip. If you`re staying here overnight, the best way to find them is to scan the area of short grass between the fence and the waterhole by torchlight.
I never saw any snakes at Namutoni during several brief visits, but this guy, which I`m pretty sure is a Western Barred Spitting Cobra (a.k.a. Zebra Cobra) was basking on a roadside termite mound very close to the rest camp. These reptiles, which actively hunt for for prey including rodents, birds, lizards and other snakes, are mainly nocturnal. When provoked they will spread a dark hood and spit their venom. Zebra snakes have a potent cytotoxic (cell tissue destroying) venom which causes intense pain, swelling and necrosis. Tissue destruction starts taking place as soon as the venom is injected, and because of the long distances in Namibia, the victim will probably arrive too late for the antivenom to be of any use.
A view of the reed bed from the viewing area with the waterhole in the distance.
Above: More views of the Admin block at Namutoni.
This large elephant skull stands opposite the small museum (above) and adjacent toilet block.
Museum exhibits include uniforms, equipment and weapons from the German colonial days, plus information on the history of the fort and the National Park including its wildlife. If linked left-to-right the following three images taken from the top of the fort`s tower cover the northern sweep of Namutoni Restcamp from west to east including the reed bed, waterhole and covered viewing area...
The swimming pool is just visible through the trees towards the right-hand side of the above shot.
Right: Looking towards the Von Lindequist entrance from the top of the fort. The gate, not visible in this view, lies at the far end of the access road which is just visible to the right of the radio mast. The turn-off for Kleine Namutoni waterhole and Dik-Dik Drive is very close to the restcamp and makes a popular first or last stop with many visitors.
The view below looks eastwards from the top of the Namutoni Fort. The road that runs round Fischer`s Pan can be seen disappearing into the distance in the centre of the photograph. The section visible is on the south side of the pan and if an anti-clockwise circuit is made it initially leads to Twee Palms Waterhole. |
The camp grounds, and waterhole act as a magnet for birds throughout the year but it`s during the rainy season that the species list grows dramatically, especially if the main pan holds water. Black Crakes and other species are resident in the reedbed year-round and huge flocks of Red-billed Quelia usually fly over at sunset, making a nice silhouette before landing to roost. Several types of owls have set up home in the trees within the camp and can be seen hunting at night.
The Chudop Triangle is a relatively compact area at the east end of the National Park which comprises three of Etosha’s most productive waterholes, all of which can be comfortably reached during a drive from the Von Lindequist Gate or Namutoni. They are Kleine Namutoni, Koinachas and Chudop. This is prime Cheetah territory so even the plains very close to the restcamp can turn up a few gems, especially early morning, like this family on the hunt for breakfast.
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