PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

Adventures Across the Country

Week 29 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

It’s been a week of lots of adventures on soil, water, and in the air. While showing my sister and her boyfriend the best parts of the country we let them explore it by being active as well.

After last week’s rainy weather we were back at blue skies and sunshine. Exploring nature with the camera in my hand is what I love doing so have a look at the results.

This has been my week in photographs:

Ground squirrels. Recognized on their dark stripes on the back. Very similar to the tree squirrels of which I made an article. Not as tame as the ones in Etosha National Park but just as hungry were these squirrels in today’s camp.

When camping I do not throw food leftovers into the bin. I throw them in nature. And so I was throwing the inside of a pumpkin into the bush when I later saw the squirrel picking it up and carrying it onto a small branch in the thicket.

Driving back to our home in Swakopmund we were leaving the green landscapes of Namibia behind and entering the dryness of the desert. But it wasn’t dry all along the way.

Some stretches were remarkably green. Others just received their first signs of life as bundles of grass were pushing through the soil.

On our first day back at the coast, we inflated the kayak and the stand-up paddleboard. Being four of us we tested them both at their max capacity.

But they both could withstand the weight of two people and we even went out onto the rough ocean. Fighting with the waves of the open ocean I didn’t always manage to stand up on the board while my sister was sitting in front of me moving around.

The balancing part gets way more difficult once you’re having two people on the board.

Being tourists in the country my sister and her boyfriend went on several adventures. One of them being the camel rides. She couldn’t believe I’ve lived here for so long and never done it myself.

I guess it involves too little adrenaline for me to give it a try. But that doesn’t matter. They went for it and had lots of fun. I’m glad for them.

Today my sister’s boyfriend went for his first skydive. Don’t think just because we do jump out of planes for a living we force everyone to do it too. Not at all. I usually don’t mention it when people visit me.

They know we skydive. They know they can do a jump with us. If they want to. But I will never force somebody to jump out of a plane. This ain’t no fun for us. And for them.

But he wanted to do it. So we did it. My partner took him on a tandem jump and I filmed the two of them leaving the plane. I still can’t help it but I love this moment. This plane looks just so beautiful in the sky.

This is what they call moon landscape. Here in Namibia at least. Assumingly it must look very similar on the moon. This is actually a riverbed with its surrounding mountains and hilly landscape.

And it's probably a bit hotter than on the moon. But it’s a stunning place all in all. I’ve only been once in a similar environment before. That was in Romania on a volcanic landscape.

Well, and this is Zak. The dog that taught me how not to be scared of dogs. And how to be a loyal friend. How to always be excited when seeing your best friend again.

We’ve spent a few years together. He’s grown up since. I’ve grown up. We’ve both grown up. But we can still have lots of fun together. Like in the good old days one would say.

This has been my week in photographs. It’s been a turbulent one. It’s been a thrilling one. Knowing how much I love adventure, there couldn’t be anything better than being on the road. For me at least.

I can’t wait to hear what you’ve done this past week. Share an insight of your daily life with us and join the community. Select one photograph a day and add a caption.

Dennett has started this photography challenge sometime last year and many have participated ever since. Have a look at their work too:

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.