Etosha ('great white place' in Herero, due to the bright sun) is one of the finest game reserves to found in Southern Africa and is a vital game reserve for the entire region. The park is home to 114 species of mammal, 340 bird species, 110 different reptiles, 16 species of amphibianand yet just one fish species... and all of this in the 22000 Km²that make up the park named adter the massive pan that covers the vast 5000Km², stretching roughly 120km from east to west and som 70 km across it at it's widest point.

The pan seldom boasts much water as it is fed by the rains rather than reliable rivers, and even when the rains fall hard, few areas fullup or flood due to the incredibly high rate of evaporation.

Etosha is best explored in your own car without a guide. The roads are good and the open landscape allows for excellent wildlife viewing, although there are sections that are thick, bushy and wooded. Gemsbok tend to congregatearound Etosha's waterholes. The rainy season signals the arrival of summer migrants in the form of mammals and birds. In good years the pan will be alive with thousands of flamingoes. The western of Etosha feature some unique areas, including the fascinating Morenga forest or Haunted forest, dubbed spokieswoud in Afrikaans. The Haunted Forest is littered with wierdly contortedmoinga trees which were, quite possibly, shaped by browsing herds of elephant and giraffe.

Etosha has three main rest camps with perimeter fencing and superb floodlit waterholes which can be visited 24 hous a day. The park walked tall as the world's largest game reserve untill the 1960's, when it's surface area was reduced by nearly 80%. Nonetheless Etosha remains one of Africa's largest and greatest game parks.