Namibia National Parks
Namibia’s unique landscape filled with a natural beauty that you can hardly find in any other country has enabled it to have some of the best National Parks on the African continent. Your safari to the country will not be considered as one if you do not take time and visit some of the best National Parks in Namibia where you get a chance to carry out some activities like trekking, birding, game drives and many more others. Namibia has a lot of National Parks but some of the best National Parks in the country include:
The Etosha National Park
Know to be the most visited tourist attraction site in Namibia, the Etosha National park is located in the South western part of the country with an impressive number of wild life that habitates within the park. The Park is filled with quite a large number of water holes which means that unlike in other parks where you have to drive around searching for the animals, in Etosha Park they will be found lazing around the water holes especially during the dry season. it has about 114 animal species and 340 bird species and if you ever get a chance to visit the Etosha National Park some of the wonders that you will see include elephants, lions cheetahs, kudus, leopards, elands, bat eared fox, black rhinos, impalas, giraffes, gemsbok, hyenas, zebras, the Kori bustard, the Monterio’s hornbill, the lesser pink flamingo, black necked grebe, vultures, the tawny eagle and many more exciting species. You can also take nature walks through the park and get to visit the oldest living group of people in Namibia known as the San Bushmen.
The Mangetti National Park
Located in the south western part of Namibia, Mangetti National Park is small as compared to its counterparts and it was initially opened up to cater for the endangered species that had been hunted down but at the moment you will find that there are a lot more animals species that habitate within the park making it a top spot for all those that love animal viewing. It is a home to a wide number of wildlife some of which include antelopes, the blue wildebeest, elephants, duiker, the African wild dog, African wild cat, caracal, the steenbok, leopards, the eland, hyenas and a large number of birds that are mostly seen during the rainy season and these also include the King fisher, the Meyer’s parrot, lapped faced vulture, the common bulbul, flycatchers, the African harrier hawk and the African blue. All these can be seen either when you take a game drive or a guided nature walk through the Park.
The Dorob National Park
The Dorob national park which is located along the Namibian coast is a home to a large number of wild life that is both animals and birds and it was opened up to protect the Namibian environment where it is located. Some of the wild life that can be seen in the Dorob National Park includes the springbok, African wild dogs, the brown fur seal, zebras, Oryx, the gray’s lark, the brown hyena and many more other species.
The Khaudum National Park
The peace and quiet that is experienced when one gets to Khaudum National park which is located in an isolated area in the North Eastern part of Namibia is immense in that you will want to go back there each time you go on a safari to Namibia. It is not commonly visited by tourists and that is why some refer to it as a jewel that still needs to be discovered by everyone. The animals can be seen moving freely around the park and since it is not fenced, you get to experience the real wild life of Namibia with animals like elephants, kudus, the roan antelope, Oryx, the African wild dogs, the side striped jackal, leopards, the blue wildebeest, giraffes, lions, hyenas, warthogs and all these can be seen during the dry season as they move around the park in search of food and water. It is a home of about 300 bird species which are best seen during the rainy season between the months of November and April and some of the species that you will get to see include Abdim’s stork, yellow billed stork, the African openbill, Bradfield’s hornbill, the southern ground hornbill, the pallid harrier, western banded snake eagle, Meyer’s parrot, lesser spotted eagle and the Dwarf bittern.
The Bwabwata National park
Bwabwata National Park is located at the border of Namibia with Angola and Botswana and as search there are several animals that cross from the two countries into the Park making it a good place for one to go game viewing. The Park is also filled with a human population of about 5000 people and when you add that to the ever increasing number of animals in the area, the Bwabwata national Park becomes a good place for any tourist who is within Namibia for a safari. The park is also filled with flood plains which normally get full during the wet summers subsequently bringing in a large flock of birds both local and migratory and if that is not enough for you, you can still go out and climb the mini sand dunes that are located within the Park.
Some of the wild life that you will see in Bwabwata National park include crocodiles, the African buffalos, zebras, wild dogs, the red Lechwe, elephants, the roan antelope, cheetahs, lions, leopards, hippos, sitatunga, white rhinos, the rarely seen African skimmer, the salty egret, rufous bellied heron, collared palm thrush, the African pygmy goose, the Dickinson’s kestrel, Allen’s gallinule and the swamp boubou.
The Waterberg plateau Park
The Waterberg plateau Park is located next to the Kalahari Desert and a top tourist destination in Namibia. It acts as a habitat for a large number of wild life and some of the animals that you will get to see while here on game drives and nature walks include hyenas, warthogs, cheetahs, leopards, the black rhinos, kudus, African grey hornbill, the crested Francolin, the cardinal wood pecker and the speckled pigeon.
The Mudumu national Park
The Mudumu National Park is located within the Kwando River plain and one of the best National Parks in the country. It is a home to many wild animals and about 430 recorded bird species and the good thing about this park is that each time you go there, you will find that there is always something new that you will see because they keep on introducing new species in the National Park. There are a lot of activities that are carried out within the Park and these include game watching, birding and nature walks. The Park was divided into different categories and these are the ones that determine the type of activities that you can carry out while in the Park. The animals that habitate here include the African elephants, impalas, zebras, sitatunga, cheetahs, giraffes, meerkats, leopards, the African buffalos and some of the bird species in the park include the African pygmy goose, coppery tailed coucal, the collared palm thrush, the rufous belied heron, the grey backed Cisticola, the brown fire finch and many more other species.
The Namib-Naukluft National Park
Located in the Namib Desert in Sossusvlei, this great National park was set up by the German colonialists in order to stop the advancing army of the British that wanted to overtake their colony. The Namib-Naukluft has a lot to offer to tourists from the numerous sand dunes that are found in close proximity to the Park that is the Dune 7, the big daddy sand dune and the Dune 45, the animals that are now used to the harsh conditions that are experienced within the Park and some of these include the giraffes, black baboons, Oryx, Kudus, duikers and Klipspringer. It is a very good destination for game viewing but the sand dunes will keep you busy and wanting to go back for more. Some of the most common tourist activities that can be done within the Namib-Naukluft National Park include quad biking, nature walks, hiking and balloon rides and all you need to do is to carry lots of water, hire a 4×4 car to maneuver the sand roads and a camera to capture all the beautiful moments.
The skeleton coastal National Park
The skeleton coastal National park located in Namibia got its name from the shipwrecks that can be seen on the banks of the Atlantic Ocean. It is made up of three National Parks that is the Namib-Naukluft, the sperrgebiet national Park and the Skeleton coast. The locals believe that the shipwrecks formerly belonged to pirates and they were washed up after experiencing bad weather. There are not so many wild life species to see in the Park but some of those that you can get to see include the Oryx, ostriches, giraffes, elephants, jackals, springbok, the brown hyenas, the black rhinos and other species. Although most visitors are attracted to the mess at the coast, there are so many activities that you can carry out while here are trekking along the coast, enjoying the good view of the Mountain in close vicinity and also get to explore the shipwrecks closely and all you need to know about this Park is that you will not be bored throughout your stay here but you need to be extremely ready for the harsh weather conditions in the area and therefore should pack some warm clothes with you.
The Nkasa Rupara National park
The Nkasa Rupara National Park located in the Caprivi Strip on the Island of Nkasa and Rupara and this is where the name of the park came from. The park has a lot to offer the only problem is that the roads that lead into the park are so terrible that one has to use a 4×4 car to get to and through the Park and not with ease but this does not mean that you will not get to enjoy yourself as some of the animals that you will get to see when you take a trip to the Nkasa Rupara Park include the hippos, elephants, hyenas, the red Lechwe, the roan antelopes, kudus, Impalas, sitatunga and many more other species. The Park is also a home to quite a number of birds and these include the Bradfield’s hornbill, the Luapula Cisticola, Dickinson’s kestrel, the red winged pranticole, the southern bee-eater, African Jacana and the rufous bellied heron.
The Tsau Khaeb National Park
This former diamond mine is one of the thriving National Parks in Namibia that you should follow in order for you to have a blast while on a safari in the country. It is located in the southern part of Namibia in the Namib Desert next to the South African border and it was isolated by the German colonialists in the year 1908 after the discovery of diamonds in the neighboring Lüderitz. The park is a home to meteor rocks and many archeological sites that you can visit on top of game viewing all the wild life that is found in the Park.
Namibia is one of the most exciting adventure and holiday safari destinations in Southern Africa. Some of the Namibia National parks and reserves are found in the vast Kalahari desert which is home to more than 56 different species of endemic Namibia wildlife and more than 500 species of birds including endemics like Herero chat, Damara tern, Monteiro’s Hornbill and the rock runner…to mention a few.
Some thing unique about Namibia’s wildlife is the Namib desert habitat…it seem kind if hot and hostile but boasts some of the unique wildlife habitats and endemic species of both flora and fauna.