In the vast arid space of Northern Namibia lies one of Southern Africa’s best loved wildlife sanctuaries. Etosha National Park offers excellent game viewing in one of Africa’s most accessible venues. Zebra and springbok are scattered across the endless horizon, while the many waterholes attract endangered black rhinoceros, lion, elephant and large numbers of antelope.

Etosha, meaning ‘place of dry water’, is encloses a huge, flat calcrete depression (or pan) of about 5 000km². The ‘Pan’ provides a great, parched, silver-white backdrop of shimmering mirages to an area of semi-arid savannah grassland and thorn scrub. The pan itself contains water only after very good rains and sometimes for only a few days each year, but is enough to stimulate the growth of a blue-green algae which lures thousands of flamingos.

During the drier months from June to November the water points exert a magnetic pull on the big game herds, and forms the centerpiece for visitors looking to see the nearly 150 mammal species found in the park, including several rare and endangered species such as the Black Rhino, Black-faced Impala, Tssesebe and Gemsbok.