Clear cobalt skies stretch above white, willowy grasslands. Rocky peaks rise among scattered shrubs. Solitary gravel roads are occasionally interrupted by capacious, sandy riverbeds. Here, the wilderness opens to sweeping plains, filled with mopane woodlands and dotted with hardy shepherd’s trees sculpted by the wind. Along the way, we encounter scenes of daily, rural life: sheep and goat herders, small farming settlements, and roadside stalls selling rough cuts of quartz and semi-precious gemstones. As we venture further into the semiarid terrain of Damaraland, the landscape begins to transform, with both the vegetation and its inhabitants adapting to the region’s rugged geography.