While I was going through some of my mementos, I came across a sixty-year-old receipt from Etosha Game Park. Back then a bungalow for two cost a mere R1.50 per night. Could it be?
I had a closer look at the yellowed paper and indeed it was so. A two-night stay with two additional people (at 50c extra per person) cost R5, whereas a luxury bungalow sleeping four would set you back R5 a night and a campsite 50c per person.
Issued at Namutoni on 1st October 1962 (exactly sixty years ago today), the receipt confirms that the Etosha visitor was charged R1 per vehicle on entry, with occupants over twelve years of age charged 50c per person. The ‘game park’ or ‘wildtuin’, as it was then called, was closed over the rainy summer season.
A year earlier, in 1961, the Union of South Africa had become a republic and the British currency of pounds and shillings was replaced by the rand. The South African rand was also introduced into South West Africa, which was considered a fifth province at the time with South Africa’s segregation policies firmly in place, including restrictive access into Etosha. Fortunately, times have changed over the interim years, and the Namibian national parks are now enjoyed by all. What hasn’t changed, however, is the government’s heavy subsidies for the Etosha resorts.
Out of interest, I looked up today’s tariffs and noted that a double room, per person sharing, costs N$1782 and a bush chalet, sleeping two, N$2079 (unless you take advantage of the SADC specials). Camping costs N$416 per person. Entrance fees have had a 29 900% increase over the six decades – an average annual increase of approximately 10%. Today the national park charges N$150 per adult per day for foreigners, N$100 for SADC residents and N$50 for Namibians. The national park is open year round.
Luckily, despite the many changes over the decades, Etosha, positioned at the heart of Namibia, remains a thriving wildlife conservation area and a top tourist attraction.
(If you have photos of Etosha from the past, please share them with us. We would love to see them!)