As the Kuiseb River nears the coast it splits into multiple pathways and disappears into the dunes, creating a landscape of shifting sand, dry river beds and desert-adapted shrubs. For hundreds of years, this area has been home to the Topnaars, descendants of the Khoisan, who survive by keeping cattle and sheep and growing a nutritious melon variety in the dry river beds. The delta is also known for its archaeological riches, which include score of ancient middens, Topnaar burial sites and petrified elephant tracks.

Travel through this desolate and forbidding valley of conical and dome shaped hills near Swakopmund, reminiscent of an actual lunar landscape, resembling the lifeless surface of mars itself. The Moonlandscape represents the leftover of an ancient, enormous mountain range. During more severe weather patterns, the valleys of the mountain range as well as the mountain range itself has been chafed, chiseled and gouged by wind and the waters of the nowadays known Swakop River. Known as “badland topography”, the crumbling granite surface hardly supports any plant life and is best viewed in the late afternoon to enjoy terrific light and shadow contrasts and cooler temperatures.