Lunar Landscape
Namibia is best known for its beautiful deserts, however while these graceful mountains of sand are marveled, it is the barren Lunar Landscape that is fast becoming a popular site to behold. So named for its resemblance to the surface of the moon, this desolate area is used in many film productions from all over the world.
Found in Namib Naukluft in the Nothern Namib dessert, the Lunar Landscape, also known as Moonscapes, offers a number of wonderful viewpoints. However, please note that there are no safety barriers and everything about the area is left in its completely natural state. It takes about four hours to traverse the complete 140km round trip and it is advised to get there just after 10:00 in the morning when the mist of the sea is almost finished burning off the landscapes.
One of the most beautiful features of the Lunar Landscape is the Damara Granites which date back as far as 500 million years ago when they were pushed up through the earth’s surface. The Dolerite Dykes are also spellbinding and remarkable formations of nature. These dykes are actually solidified molten magma that forced themselves through the stress cracks caused when Gondwana began to drift apart to form Antartica, South America, Africa, Madagascar and Australia, as they are known today.
While it may appear to be barren, the Lunar Landscape really is a complex eco system consisting of shrubs and lichens. In amongst the small hills and cracks, there is also scrap metal dating back almost 100 years when the Union of South Africa camped on the Moonscapes. Their scrap metal from their weapons and transport stayed behind and has rusted to match the colour of the landscapes.
Tours to Lunar Landscape are a glimpse into life on the moon as the resemblance is uncanny and will leave you reciting Armstrong’s famous words, “One small step across Namibia, One giant leap across Lunar Landscapes.”