PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE
Abundance of Life
The result of weeks of rain
After two trips exploring Namibia’s South, we were heading north this time. Exploring that part of the country with the highest density of wildlife. Green landscapes and a National Park I’ve only seen in dry seasons.
The reason for this trip was my sister’s visit. Despite all the difficulties when flying at the moment she flew together with her partner from Germany to go on holiday.
Bringing me my book along. It is the first time I hold it in my hands. Three months after publishing and long after I sold the first copies I finally have it too. A very exciting moment for me.
Driving with the fully packed car for four people we were on our way to the capital when we stopped for a quick break. It had been raining and everything was wet and muddy.
But these two butterflies couldn’t be happier. Catching them in a very intimate moment. The contrast of their bright color in front of the lush green made the photograph even more powerful.
When we picked up my sister at the airport it was raining. And raining. It didn’t stop. For a while. We didn’t have to go far this day but eventually, we had to turn off the main road to get to our camp.
The gravel road was flooded. Several spots with standing water. But also rivers were crossing the road. I got out of the car to walk through the water. The water came barely above my ankles.
The second river was different. The water came above my knees. Doesn’t sound too bad you think. It’s basically as high as our tires. My partner said he would drive through it if we were two cars. But this time it’s only us. One car.
I decide to walk through it again. On my way back I walked a bit further upriver hoping for it to be more shallow. But as I wanted to place my left foot down I couldn’t feel any more ground. I got a fright and jumped back.
The water was coming up to my hips by now. Within those few minutes we had been standing here, the water level had picked up already. I walked back to the car shaking my head.
Without a recovery vehicle, we are not taking the chance. Not on the first day of their holiday. We don’t know what will come after this river. Definitely more rivers. And then we might get trapped in between them.
Plan B had to be found and while my partner was driving back out of the waters we had crossed already I looked for a campsite close to the main road so we wouldn’t have to cross a river getting there.
This antelope is one of the smallest ones that exist. The Damara Dik-Dik. Our visitor in the camp today. Allowing me to approach him slowly up to five meters distance.
These animals usually appear in two’s. They find partners for life. If one of them dies they won’t look for another partner. I wonder what happened to this one’s partner. Maybe it was just hiding in the bushes. Maybe.
Day one of game driving in the most popular National Park in Namibia. With all the rain in the past weeks or even months, this park became a paradise for the wildlife.
With the abundance of food and water, the animals had lots of young ones. Letting the herds grow bigger and bigger. This zebra’s laugh stands for happiness. Happiness about the lush green fields and perfect living conditions.
That is why I chose it. We did see more exciting wildlife on the drive, like two cheetahs for example. But I found this photograph simply beautiful.
Driving through Etosha National Park this is all you get to see at the moment. Young animals. Some just born, others already a few weeks old. These two ostriches are already a bit older. They’ve survived the most crucial time and probably outlived some of their siblings.
Survival of the fittest is the rule here.
Today was a day with lots of driving. We drove 300 kilometers (almost 200 miles) inside the National Park. That means 300 kilometers of game drive. We didn’t see animals on the entire drive. But we saw a lot.
The highlight today was definitely seeing a young elephant bull.
But I decided to choose a different picture for today. We drove another two hours after leaving the park to stay at a lovely campsite in Damaraland. One we’ve been to before.
This area of the country is known for the red soil. It’s a very rocky area. Not as green as the rest since it rarely ever receives any rain. But it obviously did receive some rain. Small bundles of grass were popping out of the dry soil.
And this seed. It comes from the trees in this area. I don’t know what tree it is. But if you shift your focus to the floor you’ll see plenty of these plants popping up. Another one of nature’s wonders.
We didn’t drive far today. After being yesterday for seven hours on the road we had just about 50 kilometers to go today. But it was a stunning drive. We started off seeing a few giraffes as we entered the mountains.
The drive today was basically just bringing us over the Groetberg Pass. A stunning mountain drive offering views across the red landscape. The bit of green is creating a great contrast to the soil.
This has been my week in photographs. A challenge started by Dennett last year and followed through by many other Snapshots writers. I love the interactions created with these photo essays. Lots of interesting conversations started.
Erika Burkhalter / Eileen Vorbach Collins / Dennett / Sasha Meyer / Tracy Aston/ Lisa Bolin / Juan O. Aguilera / David Wade Chambers / June Nguyen / Mia Verita
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Anne Bonfert is a traveler. Photographer. Writer. Teacher. Skydiving instructor. Adventure enthusiast. Nature lover. And fell in love with the African continent.
