Cuvelai-Etosha Basin Oshanas — The Flooding Plains of Ovamboland

The Oshana Region takes its very name from the oshanas — the network of shallow, interconnected seasonal watercourses and pans that crisscross the flat northern plains. Fed by summer rains from Angola, the oshanas flood dramatically between January and April each year, transforming the bush into a vast, shallow inland sea teeming with fish, waterbirds (flamingos, pelicans, herons) and frogs. The flooding — known as efundja — is simultaneously a natural spectacle and a key subsistence resource for Ovambo communities who fish the pans and plant mahangu along their edges. The best viewing of efundja flooding is from the B1 road between Oshakati and Ondangwa.