Onguma Game Reserve, located on the east side of Etosha’s fence line, offers a number of accommodation options. We chose to stay in one of the bush suites at Etosha Aoba Lodge, one of the eleven thatched-roof bungalows, where the little houses blend harmoniously into the look and feel of the forest.
Meals were served in the open air, under a big canopy in the main building, so that you could enjoy the outdoors even when the seasonal rains were thundering. Our three night stay was truly luxurious. A new treat for me at breakfast was the smoked oryx, chewy but moist, a formidable challenger to prosciutto, my all-time favorite cold breakfast meat. Dishes at dinner changed every evening. Night number one featured butternut squash pasta for an appetizer and oryx steak with a perfectly constructed cream sauce as a main course.
Relaxing afternoons at the patio and pool included a regular visit by a small tribe of Kudu, who browsed and grazed their way to the small waterhole less than forty feet away.
The concluding treat on our final evening was a visit with the bush babies on view from our seats at dinner, just outside the restaurant. A scops owl joined the group to accompany us on our walk back to our chalet – a truly magical aerial experience.