ABOUT: NPM-DVD-104 - Nature Parks ETOSHA NamibiaYear after year, Namibia's Etosha National Park attracts thousands of visitors. Approximately 22,000 square kilometres in size, Etosha is a special wildlife experience and its magnificent flora is unique among all the other wildlife parks in Africa. It also has the reputation of being one of the major wildlife sanctuaries for a wide variety of Africa's animal species, such as antelope, zebra, springbok, giraffe, lions, gnu, hyenas, gembok, elands and kudus. Apart from the desert-like area of the Etosha Salt Pan, the park consists of Mopani Woodland and Savannah Grassland and also a large number of acacia trees. The few precious water holes are an important and vital meeting place for many kinds of animals and ideal for observing wildlife in its natural habitat. The history of the impressive Namutoni Fort dates back as far as 1851 when explorers set up camp next to the Namutoni Spring. The fort was completely renovated in 1983 and today it is one of the national park's three camps that offer overnight accommodation. Although most Namibia's major roads are covered with asphalt, the roads inside the national park often consist of loose gravel, or even sand, and are called, 'Pads'. The desert-like Etosha Pan is a place of timeless tranquillity, a flat saline desert, 130 kilometres long by 50 kilometres at its widest point. Close to Namutoni, Fischer's Pan is well known for its excellent variety of different bird species, among them Namibia's national bird, the crimson-breasted Shrike. In other words, the Etosha National Park is a nature lovers' paradise!