Monday, July 27, 2009

Africa Etosha

By Andrew Keet

The word Etosha means Great White Place and aptly describes the vast white plains of the ancient salt pans situated in the Kalahari Basin of southern Africa. The floor of this expansive basin is thought to be 1 billion years old and is made up of dry, dusty clay and salt. Water comes rarely and for a short period of time.

Been such an ancient remnant of Africa the Etosha is home to a large variety of animal- and plant life, this abundant fauna includes most of the antelope species in Africa as well as zebra, rhino (black and white), cheetah, leopard, caracal, elephant, kudu, wildebeest and giraffe, amongst many, many others. The Etosha has a wide variety of birdlife with a species count of nearly 400, one of them been the endangered blue crane.

Salt pans of this size are rare in the world and one of the places a person can view and experience one of them is at the Etosha National Park in Namibia, Africa, which covers an impressive 22 000 square kilometres. Most tour packages offered by the tourism industry of Namibia offer packages that include a visit to this awe inspiring natural wonderland.

Etosha is bordered by fantastic perennial springs that are frequented by an abundant variety of wildlife including an impressive array of birds. This area of Africa is best visited during the cooler winter months between May and September as summers can be oppressively hot. The watering holes in the Etosha National Park are lit during the evenings and early mornings as to give the discreet onlookers a better view of the wildlife that visit them.

The Etosha National Park has three camps, all with the tourist facilities that one can expect from a luxury modern game reserve including a restaurant, a shop, a swimming pool, and many more comfortable conveniences.

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