Namibia
- Etosha Pan
Etosha
is one of the largest and best game viewing parks in
the whole of Africa. The reason is in the Ovambo name
Etosha, which means 'huge white area' or 'place of dry
water', depending upon whom you ask. For most of the
year a vast shallow pan, which was once a lake the size
of Holland, shimmers a glaring bright white from crystallised
salt across its entire surface. Surrounding the pans
is a variety of grass and woodlands amongst which live
a wonderful variety of animals and birds, insects and
reptiles.
The
inhospitable pan is 75 miles (120km) long and 45 miles
(72km) at its widest, and lone wildebeest or herds of
oryx can be seen crossing it or just standing as if
mesmerised.
If
ever you are likely to see a mirage it will be here,
as the intense hazy sun reflecting against the shimmering
pans distorts your eyesight and makes you see all sorts
of things that are not really there.
In
complete contrast, when the rain arrives, up to three
feet (1metre) of water turns the parched surface into
an algae-rich soup attracting thousand of birds.
The
pink mist shifting slowly across the water is a huge
flock of flamingoes, for whom this is an important breeding
ground.
After
a good watering, the surrounding woodland savannah and
scrubland, which is normally sparsely vegetated, bursts
with an abundance of yellow blooms and rich grasses.Etosha
has dozens of waterholes, some are natural while others
are artificially fed from boreholes.
