Connect the dots

Fairy circles, Namibia

This pattern of polka dots stamped into the savanna of Namibia has a mystical air, turning an otherwise nondescript stretch of the Namib Desert into a puzzling series of terracotta-coloured pockmarks. Two origin theories for the fairy circles have emerged from a hotly contested scientific debate: that the dappled landscape is caused by termites establishing their territory or they’re the result of plants forming an orderly arrangement as they suck water from the soil. They can be seen at ground level – the largest are up to 25 metres wide – but a scenic flight showcases the breadth of this magical display, stretching some 2400 kilometres from Angola through Namibia and down to South Africa.