Waterberg Plateau

A domineering landscape

Lying part way down the country between the Etosha National Park and Windhoek is Waterberg Plateau. With near-vertical sides, this domineering sandstone formation towers some 600 feet above the surrounding landscape. Rainwater filters down through the plateau's layers of sandstone until it gets to a slanting layer of mudstone. Here it forms an aquifer, from which water escapes via an abundance of springs along the base of the cliff.

The vegetation around these freshwater springs is lush and has created a habitat, which is the breeding ground of several game species including white and black rhino, buffalo, sable and roan antelope. Visitors to the Waterberg Plateau Park may also come across wild dog, tsessebe, leopard and cheetah.

This region is also a haven for a great number of birds. Its 200 bird species include both Bradfield's and Monteiro's hornbills as well as rockrunners, the black eagle and the rare Ruppell's parrot.