Due to the surrounding dry, harsh environment which is quintessentially Namibia, you can often find extraordinary scenes of elephant, zebra and all varieties of antelope congregating side-by-side at a small waterhole at any one time. Nowhere else in Africa do you get quite such distinct waterhole microcosms, in contrast to barren landscapes and so the sheer variety and wealth of species which can be seen on a single Etosha game drive (especially in the dry season) is astonishing.

You can tick off pretty much everything in Etosha: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, giraffe, wildebeest, cheetah, hyena, mountain and plains zebra, springbok, kudu, gemsbok and eland. Among the smaller species you will find jackal, bat-eared fox, warthog, honey badger and ground squirrel. You will see more vehicles here than in other parks in Africa, but this can be avoided by staying in one of the private concessions on the outer rim of the national park.