Size & Location: 22 270km² ,500km North of Windhoek in Northern Namibia
When to visit the park: May - September (game viewing), November - March (bird watching)
Climate: Dry and hot. Avg. daily temperatures at 31°C and can get as high as 44°C
Rainfall: approx. 358mm per annum during rainy season (January - March)
Altitude: 1000m above sea level

PARK INFORMATION:

The Etosha National Park is a major wildlife sanctuary and is one of Southern Africa's finest and most important Game Reserves. Meaning 'great white place', it is dominated by a massive silvery-white hollow mineral pan, the Etosha Pan and surrounded by grasslands and bush. The pan is part of the Kalahari Basin, the floor of which was formed around 1000 million years ago and covers around 25% of the National Park. Now it is a large dusty depression of salt and dusty clay which fills only if the rains are heavy and even then only holds water for a short time, the pan attracts large concentrations of wildlife and an amazing array of birdlife.

A San legend about the formation of the Etosha Pan tells of how a village was raided and everyone but the women slaughtered. One woman was so upset about the death of her family she cried until her tears formed a massive lake. When the lake dried up nothing was left apart from a huge white pan. The park is open to visitors throughout the year and is one of the first places on any itinerary designed for a holiday in Namibia.

The area is home to Black and White rhino, elephant, lion, leopard, spotted and brown hyena, bat eared fox, cheetah, both Burchell's and Hartmann's zebra, the endemic black-faced impala, blue wildebeest, the endemic Damara dik-dik, eland, gemsbok, giraffe, kudu, red hartebeest, dainty springbok and yellow-tailed mongoose. Nearly 400 bird species have been recorded including eagles, hawks, other raptors, black korhaans, ostrich, blue cranes, flamingos and pelicans, incredible clouds of quelea and flocks of doves and Namaqua sandgrouse.

MAIN ATTRACTIONS:
* Wildlife congregate at waterholes during drier seasons
* Extensive flocks of flamingos, pelicans and excellent birdlife
* Mirages formed by the heat reflecting off the salt pans

LINKS:
Wikitravel.org
Wikipedia.org
Etosha National Park
Etosha National Park accommodation
Etosha National Park Safaris