White pan
And mirages.
Dominik Angstwurm — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 4.0
A vast white salt pan stretching some 120 kilometres across northern Namibia, the bed of an ancient lake long since dried, visible from space. Around it lies Etosha National Park, over 22,000 square kilometres, one of Africa's great wildlife reserves. For most of the year the pan looks like a gleaming white desert with mirages shimmering over it; in heavy rainy seasons it fills with shallow water and thousands of flamingos arrive. Its edges hold grasslands, small woods and waterholes where animals gather. The park has huge elephants, lions, black rhino, giraffes, zebras, oryx and many kinds of antelope. Visitors drive themselves along park roads between waterholes, where animals gather, especially in the dry season from May to October when water is scarce. Etosha entry is NAD 280 per foreign adult per day since April 2026, per visitor guides, plus a vehicle fee. Stay in your vehicle except at designated spots. Namibia's gravel roads cause many accidents, so drive slowly, never travel at night and carry plenty of water and fuel.
And mirages.
Gathering wildlife.
Rare.
Northern Namibia, Etosha National Park
The dry season from May to October, when animals gather at the waterholes and are easiest to see.