Omuthiya Accommodation

Omuthiya

Situated a mere 10 kilometers from one of Namibias top tourist hot spots, Etosha National Park, is the small town of Omuthiya (Omuthiya Gwiipundi). The town which has a population of around 5000 people is the capital of the Oshikoto Region in northern Namibia. It lies in the centre of the Oshikoto Region and right on the edge of the Etosha Pan. Omuthiya is a gateway to the Etosha National Park, northern towns and Tsumeb in the south, destinations which can be reached either by road or by rail. The town is also surrounded by the King Nehale Conservancy.

Locals tell a story of the towns early beginnings. The town's full name, which is translated from Oshiwambo, the language of the Ovambo, means that which is in camerathorn tree. And It is said that a contractor constructed a table and chairs under a Camelthorn tree on the side of a main route for travellers to stop and rest. With the increase of visitors to the tree, it soon became a trading spot where villagers traded their goods which often included food, weapons and crafts. It wasn't strange to see cattle herders also trading or even just resting in the shade. The original Omuthiya tree mysteriously fell down in 1976 but despite this the trading and development in the area continued to grow and Omuthiya was proclaimed a town in 2008. Today Omuthiya is located near the B1, Namibia's main highway. This is a road that stretches from South Africa through the capital city of Windhoek and on to the Angolan border.