Okaukuejo is the administrative centre of Etosha National Park and the first camp you reach when coming from the south via Outjo. It is just over 17 kilometres from Andersson Gate, and 415 kilometres of tar from Windhoek to the gate. The waterhole at the edge of the camp is floodlit at night. In the dry season elephants, lions and black rhinos come down to drink.
- from Windhoek to Andersson Gate
- 415 km
- from the gate to the camp
- 17 km
- park fee per adult per day, as of October 2026
- N$ 280
- of rain a year on average
- 350 mm
The camp is run by the state-owned Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR), with everything from campsites to chalets right on the waterhole. There is a pool, a restaurant, a bar and two small shops. A room with breakfast costs N$ 1,900 to 5,930 per person sharing, and a campsite N$ 560 per person until the end of October and N$ 460 from November (as of October 2026). You book Okaukuejo directly with NWR. On 13 October 2026 its online booking was down; email works instead.
If you would rather sleep outside the park, there is a string of lodges along the C38 before the gate: Gondwana Etosha Safari Lodge and Etosha Safari Camp, Etosha Village, Mopane Village and Eldorado, and further out Okutala and Epacha. From there you drive through the gate in the morning. The gates open at sunrise and close at sunset, with the exact times posted on site. If you are staying in the camp, be back before sunset.
Fill up before the gate
Do not count on the pump in the camp. Since early 2025 fuel deliveries to the NWR camps have failed again and again, and in August 2026 travellers found no fuel at any Etosha camp, Okaukuejo included. Fill up at the Etosha Trading Post outside Andersson Gate, or earlier in Outjo. At the gate itself there is a veterinary check.
Since 1 April 2026 the park fee for foreign adults has been N$ 280 a day, up from 150. Sources quote N$ 50 or N$ 60 for the car, and they disagree on whether you pay at the gate or in the camp. Game drives with NWR from Okaukuejo cost N$ 650, the night drive N$ 750 (as of October 2026).
The tower and the Red Line
Okaukuejo was the western end of the Red Line, a veterinary boundary drawn in 1896. In 1901 the Germans built a fort here, and the round tower in the camp is considered a remnant of it. Since 1974 Okaukuejo has been home to the Etosha Ecological Institute, which studies the park.
Average rainfall is 350 millimetres a year. The 2010/11 rainy season brought 676. According to the German Foreign Office, the malaria risk in Etosha is high from September to May and moderate from June to August.
Today, as of Since April 2025 the environment ministry has been rebuilding and tarring the main road east from Okaukuejo. Towards Halali you drive on detours, which were still in use on 9 October 2026. Self-drivers have only been allowed into the west of the park, with Galton Gate and Olifantsrus camp, since February 2014. The park fee nearly doubled in April 2026, and since 2025 the camps have often had no fuel.
- Time needed
- two nights, so you get one evening and one morning at the waterhole
- From Windhoek
- 415 km, 300 minutes
Our tipKeep the evening free for the waterhole and bring a warm jacket, as dry-season nights get cold. And arrive with a full tank: the camps had no fuel in 2026.
Places to stay in Etosha South (Andersson Gate)
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Tarentaal Guest Farm
10Km On D2695
- Pool
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Air conditioning
from €191per night on 23 November 2026
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Mopane Village Lodge Etosha
Road C38
- Pool
- Spa
- Breakfast
- Restaurant
from €208per night on 24 September 2027
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Etosha Village
On C38, 2km from Okaukuejo Gate
- Pool
- Breakfast
- Restaurant
- Kitchen
from €32per night on 23 November 2026
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Mondjila Safari Camp
Situated Only 70Km North Of Outjo On The
- Pool
- Breakfast
- Restaurant
- Parking
from €166per night on 23 November 2026
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Etosha Safari Camp
Okaukuejo
- Pool
- Breakfast
- Restaurant
- Parking
from €110per night on 23 November 2026
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Gondwana Etosha Safari Lodge
10 km South of Andersson Gate on C38
- Pool
- Breakfast
- Restaurant
- Parking
from €178per night on 13 November 2026
Check prices on trivagoEtosha South (Andersson Gate): frequently asked questions
Is the Okaukuejo waterhole lit at night?
Yes, the waterhole at Okaukuejo camp in Etosha is floodlit at night. In the dry season elephants, lions and black rhinos come to drink there after dark.
Where can I stay outside Andersson Gate?
Several lodges line the C38 outside Etosha's Andersson Gate, among them Gondwana Etosha Safari Lodge, Etosha Safari Camp and Etosha Village. From there you enter the park in the morning from sunrise.
What time does Etosha's Andersson Gate open?
Andersson Gate opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. The exact times change with the seasons and are posted at the gate.
How do I book Okaukuejo camp?
Okaukuejo belongs to the state-owned Namibia Wildlife Resorts, and you book it directly with NWR. When its online booking was down in October 2026, bookings went through by email.