Day 8 marked the long-awaited arrival at the renowned Etosha National Park. We were, of course, thrilled to finally embark on a true African Safari at our own pace.
However, over the past few days, we’d noticed some issues with the car’s ignition – it was becoming increasingly difficult to start. More often than not, we had to turn the key multiple (and by that I mean at least 50) times before the engine would fire up. Given that we were heading into a vast national park, home to lions, hyenas, elephants, and other potentially dangerous wildlife, we realized it might be wise to make sure our car was in top condition.
We reached out to our friendly car rental agent, Rian, for assistance. He quickly connected us with a mechanic in Outjo who would fix the ignition switch before we’d continue our journey to Etosha. So, we left the White Lady Lodge early that morning, en route to Outjo. After about 100 attempts, we managed to get the engine running, but stopping along the way wasn’t an option unless we kept the engine running. Fortunately, we made it to Outjo without any issues and located the repair shop quite easily.
The mechanic offered to drive us into town so we could run errands and have lunch while they worked on the car. Since we had run rather low on supplies, we gladly accepted. About three hours later, the garage called to let us know the car was fixed and they would pick us up. The timing couldn’t have been better – we had just finished our delicious “Italian-style” pizza at the Outjo mall.
Back at the repair shop, the owner handed us the keys, and we started the engine. Thankfully, it worked perfectly – something we would come to appreciate just a few days later.
We then continued on our way to the Etosha Trading Post camp, located right at the entrance to the park. Upon arrival, we couldn’t resist a quick dip in the pool to cool off before setting up camp for the night.
Etosha was just hours away, and we couldn’t wait to explore it!
