Namutoni is a restcamp on the eastern edge of the

Etosha pan The Etosha Pan is a large endorheic salt pan, forming part of the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin in the north of Namibia. It is a vast hollow in the ground in which water may collect or in which a deposit of salt remains after water has evaporated. The 1 ...

in the

Oshikoto Region Oshikoto is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, named after Lake Otjikoto. Its capital is Omuthiya. Further major settlements in the region are Tsumeb, Otjikoto's capital until 2008, and Oniipa. , Oshikoto had 112,170 registered voters. Ge ...

in northern

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. The adjoining Von Lindequist Gate about 10km east is one of the entrance gates to the

Etosha National Park Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. ...

. The most prominent structure at Namutoni is ''Fort Namutoni'', built in 1896. It was originally a German Police post and, as part of the Red Line, a veterinary control point. The Red Line at that time extended to

Okaukuejo Okaukuejo is the administrative center for the Etosha National Park in Namibia. It is located approximately 650 km from the capital Windhoek. An average annual rainfall of around is received, although in the 2010/2011 rainy season were measur ...

in the west and Otjituuo in the east. Later Namutoni was used to hold English prisoners in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and later served as a police post and then a south african army base. The original fort was destroyed in 1904 following the

Battle of Namutoni The Battle of Namutoni fought between the militaries of the Ondonga kingdoms and German South West Africa on 28 January 1904 was part of an uprising against German Colonial expansion catalysed by the Herero Uprising to the south that started a fe ...

and rebuilt a year or two later. Fort Namutoni was declared a National Monument in 1947 by the

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

Monuments Council. The current fort was restored to its present state in 1957 and served as a lodge, stopover, and view point for visitors to Etosha National Park for several decades. However, the fort is currently unused as bigger and more comfortable restcamp facilities were built near the fort. The restcamp also features the King Nehale waterhole. The

Namutoni Airport Namutoni Airport is an airfield serving Namutoni and the Etosha National Park in Namibia. Namutoni is an entrance gate located to the east of the park. See also * * *List of airports in Namibia *Transport in Namibia This article deals with the ...

, is close by and provides a dirt landing strip mainly used by wildlife and emergency services.

References

Etosha National Park 1896 establishments in German South West Africa National Monuments of Namibia {{Namibia-geo-stub