Olifantsrus

About the camp

Admin buildings at Olifantsrus camp

Olifantsrus Campsite is a historical site and is the newest addition to the western part of Etosha, and now campers and day visitors can enjoy this great place with loads of history about the old elephant abattoir. Yip, 525 elephants were killed in this outdoor abattoir.

Inside the museum at Olifantsrus camp

You will notice a red path road leading from the museum to the hide - this represents the flowing blood of the 525 elephants and leads from death (the abattoir) to life (the hide where visitors can observe living elephants).

In addition to the museum, it has a day visitor’s picnic site and camp site, kiosk, ablutions, hide and kitchen facilities. It is fenced in making it safe to walk around.

Pathway to the hide in Olifantsrus

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"Planning a Kruger trip? A new guide by pro photographers holds the key to good pictures.  Learn from the folks who spent 517 days in the park and make your photos sing!"  - Romi Boom, Editor of Wildcard Magazine, South Africa

Food and Drink

The small kiosk sells beverages, light meals, snacks and cold drinks. There are a number of shaded wooden picnic spots for a quick picnic before continuing on the road, or to enjoy an early morning breakfast after a stay at the camp.

Shaded Picnic sites on the left hand side

Accommodation

Olifantsrus consists of 10 camp sites with a maximum group of 8 people per site. The campsites are situated close to leafy trees, ensuring a bit of some shade from the hot African sun.

There are ten campsites with power points. There are no braai facilities at this stage, but there are flat cement bases on which a fire can be built. (Guests need to bring their own braai grids etc, we take our go anywhere braai which makes things much easier).

The communal kitchen has a two-plate gas stove and a fridge, the ablution blocks have flush toilets and hot water for showers.

In short, Olifantsrus has everything a dedicated camper is looking for, but no luxuries.

Camping in Etosha National Park

Should you wish to get the eBook, click on the book cover above, then click 'Add to Cart' where you'll see a button called 'Add Promo Code' - click on it then add the word K2K and the 33% discount will be automatically applied. This code is valid until the end of the month, so don't delay!

"...the majority of images are really impressive, each chosen for a practical reason, sometimes annotated to stress a point. The authors clearly know what they are doing. For decades they have mapped their sightings, and in explaining how they achieved their images, they’re sharing invaluable tips on understanding wildlife behavior, reading the signs and getting yourself in the best position for the shot. There is a phenomenal wealth of information here; real substance." - Craig Rix, Editor,Travel Africa Magazine, UK

Activities

signage to the hide at Olifantsrus

Getting to the hide is easy because of a wooden walkway/bridge leads you to the two-story high hide from the campsite within the electric fence; the hide is a good concept but not really practical for photographers. I don’t know why the architects / designers of hides don’t consult with photographers before building hides and waterholes!?

HDR image of the Olifantsrus hide and waterhole

If you do go to the hide, try and be there early morning or late afternoon as the hide is circular in shape and the water goes around the sides and you may be able to get some decent shots if the subjects are drinking to the east or west of the hide.

The hide has three red flood-lights facing outwards to illuminate the animals coming to the waterhole.

Olifantsrus Hide in Etosha

The hide was described as ‘state-of-the art’ – sorry to burst their bubble but it’s not.

Here are the problems with the hide relating to photography: 

The hide faces north so you have the sun in your eyes for most of the day.

The top level of the hide has windows that open so you can photograph subjects but you will be shooting down on them when they are at the water – we don’t want images of the tops of heads – as photographers we would like eye-level images. The upper level does provide good views over the veld and gives you a bird’s eye view of spotting the game coming down to drink but that’s about it.

HDR image of Olifantsrus hide with windows open

The top level of the Olifantsrus hide

The bottom level of the hide has 2-way glass that cannot open. Two problems here – some animals will see the people and then run and secondly you will be shooting through glass! When we were there the bottom was locked as they don’t want people in there scaring the animals away! Apparently they are waiting for 1-way glass to replace the existing glass panes.

the bottom level of the Olifantsrus hide has 2-way glass

The roads round Olifantsrus have a number of good waterholes, which means its excellent for game viewing, you can find more hints and tips in our Photographer’s Guide to Etosha eBook 

We have seen elephant, rhino, eland, gemsbok, impala and lions in and around the camp.....

Black rhino under tree in Etosha

Lionesses drinking at the waterhole

Hartmann's mountain zebras

Giraffe looking at a zebra carcass

Black backed Jackal with zebra leg

Hartmann's mountain zebra with foal

Warthogs drinking

Black faced Impala

Black-backed Jackal with zebra leg

Vultures at the waterhole

Burchell's zebras in yellow flowers

animals at waterhole

HDR image of Southern pale chanting goshawk in tree with a carcass

Springbok at termite mound in western Etosha

Should you wish to get the Kruger eBook, click on the above book cover, then click 'Add to Cart' where you'll see a button called 'Add Promo Code'. Click on it then add the word K2K and the 33% discount will be automatically applied. This code is valid until the end of the month, so don't delay!

"This is an indispensable guide to getting the best out of Kruger, camera in hand or not!” - Caroline Webb, Associate Editor, Getaway Magazine, South Africa

Landscape image of Burchell's zebras

Giraffe eating flowers off a bush

Hartmann's mountain zebras playing

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