The San bushmen knew it as "the great white place" or "the white place of dry water." It is Etosha, one of Africa's most dramatic national parks. Price-wise, it is one of Africa's biggest safari bargains.
The first impression for many visitors to Etosha is one of amazement that there is so much life in an environment that is so harsh, so punishing.
The 22,270-sq.-km park is located in northern Namibia, formerly known as South West Africa. Ninety percent of the country is classified as arid, but even after driving through Namibia's badlands, parts of Etosha come as a shock. The park is dominated by the Etosha pan, a blinding white, sterile calcite plain that was once a lake roughly the size of Switzerland. After heavy rains the lake returns, though annual evaporation rates of 3,000 mm in this desert country ensure that it is extremely short-lived.