Road on main route through Etosha being rebuilt from scratch

Written by Admin | Aug 6, 2025 8:12:10 AM

Elephants and oryx antelopes at the Nebrowni waterhole in Etosha National Park in northern Namibia. The waterhole is situated about 8 kilometres east of Okaukuejo on the road, which is closed until the end of November due to construction work. Photo: Sven-Eric Stender

Good news: The bumping on the rutted main road through the Etosha National Park in northern Namibia will soon be history. According to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), road construction work on the first section began today.

This section is about 20 kilometres long and lies between the Okaukuejo rest camp and the Ondongab waterhole at the Etosha Pan. It will remain closed until 30 November, MET announced yesterday. The eastern gate of the Okaukuejo rest camp is also closed.

This means that the Newbrowni and Kapupuhedi waterholes cannot be visited during this time. Both waterholes are located on the closed section of the route, 8 kilometres and 17 kilometres east of Okaukuejo.

MET referred to a signposted diversions that leads in an arc to the south past the Gemsbokvlakte waterhole. This route is also used by the vehicles supplying the rest camps and the conservation officers.

Closed road section (red) and diversions (blue) on the route between the Okaukuejo and Halali rest camps in the Etosha National Park in northern Namibia. Map: Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET)

Here is the same map section of the Etosha National Park in northern Namibia, which shows that the closed road section extends from the Okaukuejo rest camp to the Ondongab waterhole. Map: Google Maps

Sven-Eric Stender

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