How long to drive from Windhoek to Etosha?

Old Apr 1st, 2007, 03:49 PM
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How long to drive from Windhoek to Etosha?

We're planning a short stay at Etosha NP in August, flying into Windhoek from JNB and arriving around 1 PM. Am I right that it's too long a drive to get to Etosha that day and we'd be better off starting in the morning? About how long (not counting stops or minor detours) is the drive? Typical road conditions? Thanks for any help.
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Old Apr 1st, 2007, 06:11 PM
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It usually doesn't take very long to deplane and clear customs. I assume you are picking up a vehicle at the airport and that is also usually fairly quick. So if the plane is on time you might be out of the airport before 2 PM. It's 30 minutes or so to Windhoek. Where are you going in Etosha first? Windhoek to Namutoni is about 205 km and the roads are paved an
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Old Apr 1st, 2007, 06:19 PM
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For peace of mind, I would recommend an overnight at a wonderful lodge enroute to Etosha, namely Okonjima. Of all the places I stayed in Namibia last year, Okonjima was by far my favorite.
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Old Apr 1st, 2007, 06:21 PM
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Sorry sensitive touch pad.

the roads are paved most if not all the way so you could make it before the gate closes but it might be close. What we planned to do (but couldn't because of a luggage problem) was drive to the Che
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Old Apr 1st, 2007, 06:24 PM
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Sorry again! We planned to visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund center:

http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=13

which is sort of on the way.

As MisterAviator said it makes more sense to overnight somewhere and go to Etosha the next day.
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Old Apr 1st, 2007, 08:09 PM
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Windhoek to Namutoni is about 550 kms. Figure at least seven hours. I would get a start after arrival and drive for a couple hours only. Its paved all the way to Namutoni. If you enter the park from the South and head for Okaukuejo, it also paved up till the rest camp. The distance is over 425 kms. Remember kudu come out at dusk and you could end up with something extra on your bonnet or worse. So look for something south of Otjiwarongo for that evening.

You can try Okomjima Lodge. About 200kms north and or Windhoek and 25kms down a good graded road. www.okonjima.com/site/lodge/index.html

You may even want to make 2 nites of it.
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Old Apr 1st, 2007, 08:45 PM
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Sorry I misread the mileage chart, a little over 500 km is about right. We made the drive from Okaukuejo to Windhoek in about 4 hours, and only encountered one vehicle in first 200 km in 2003. Sunset will be about 5:30 PM in August so even if you drove to Okaukuejo you would not make it before the gates closed.
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Old Apr 2nd, 2007, 06:36 AM
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Hello
Like you, we arrived in Windhoek around 1pm and drove to Etosha (Halali) with a 2-night stop at Okonjima. I agree that it is an excellent place to stop over, and indeed a wonderful place to stay in its own right. If you have two nights to spare there, it'd be worth it

On the way back, we drove straight from Etosha to Windhoek and it took us about 5 hours, if I remember correctly.
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Old Apr 2nd, 2007, 06:38 AM
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Sorry, hit post before editing. We stopped at Okonjima on the way up to Etosha. It was an easy drive there from Windhoek and we arrived around 4pm I think. From there to Etosha was, again, a relatively easy drive.
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Old Apr 2nd, 2007, 01:27 PM
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Thanks for the feedback. Okonjima it is, then. I gather that if we want to make the return flight to JNB when we're done with Etosha (flight leaves at 3 PM) then we probably shouldn't try to make it the same day we leave Etosha, so maybe another night at Okonjima would be in order?

Final question - Given this, how many nights (minimum) at Okaukuejo would people recommend? Thanks again.
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Old Apr 2nd, 2007, 03:59 PM
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Two nights at Okaukuejo should be enough.

On the way back, why not try a different place then Okonjima? A different way back to Winhoek? There are a lot of game farms and lodges along the way.

I found quickly a couple, not recommending any of them, but here are two examples.
www.omaruru-game-lodge.com/lodge_english.html

resafrica.net/epako-game-lodge/

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