In the western reaches of the Erongo Region, a flat expanse of semi-desert savannah extends northwards, where the otherwise unbroken horizon is crowned by the unmistakable craggyshaped domes of the Spitzkoppe. Spitzkoppe, a granite inselberg often nicknamed the “Matterhorn of Namibia” for its pointed, jagged profile, stretches 600 to 700 metres above the Namib plains. Forged by time from the eroded remnants of an ancient subterranean mass of solidified lava – much like the Brandberg and Erongo mountains – it is estimated to be more than 120 million years old. The tallest of its many outcrops stands at 1,728 metres above sea level.