Etosha 17th best park in Africa

The Etosha National Park has been named the 17th best among 50 safari parks in Africa, according to an international safari and tour operator. In total, 138 parks of the eight major safari countries (Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) were in consideration for a place in the top 50, according to SafariBookings.com. The site, which is an online marketplace for African safari holidays, stated that the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is the winner. The MalaMala Game Reserve in South Africa and the Okavango Delta in Botswana came in at second and third place respectively. SafariBookings said Etosha offers excellent wildlife viewing, especially during the dry season. As part of the attributes which landed Etosha in the top 50, the website mentions the classic safari experience; the presence of the ‘big five’ – the lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino; and the “excellent” wildlife viewing during the dry season. According to the analysis, Kenya with eight parks in the top 50, only has the Masai Mara National Reserve ranking in the top 10. The Kruger National Park in South Africa scooped 20th place, while Zimbabwe did very well, with its Mana Pools National Park ranking fourth. The analysis was based on 3 008 park reviews collected through the SafariBookings website. Of these, a total of 2 234 reviews were contributed by safari tourists from 63 countries around the world. The remaining 774 reviews were written by renowned industry experts, most of whom are guidebook authors working for Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Frommer’s, Bradt and Footprint. In spite of Etosha’s good ranking, the park has been battling rhino and elephant poaching for a number of years. Since the beginning of the year, a total of 60 black rhinos and two white rhinos were killed for their horns in the park. In 2014, four black rhinos were killed. Only one black rhino poaching case was reported in the park during 2010 and 2009, respectively. During the years 2008, 2007 and 2005, no cases of rhino poaching were reported in Namibia. WINDHOEK NAMPA