Okaukuejo Rest Camp

Okaukuejo is the largest and oldest rest camp in Etosha, sitting near the western end of the park close to the massive saltpan. It serves as the main entry point for visitors arriving from Windhoek via the Anderson Gate, and most visitors spend at least one night here.

The camp's waterhole is the main attraction — a concrete pool with tiered seating, good lighting at night, and a steady stream of animals from dusk to dawn. Elephants, lions, rhinos, giraffes, and dozens of antelope species visit through the night. The observation area never closes, and dedicated visitors set alarms and return in rotating shifts to see whatever arrives next.

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Okaukuejo's floodlit waterhole is world-famous among wildlife photographers. At night, with the pumps running silently and the floodlights casting a cool white glow, black rhinoceroses arrive one by one from the darkness. Etosha holds one of the largest populations of black rhino on earth, and this waterhole is where many visitors see their first — often at arm's length through a chain-link fence at midnight.

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