PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

When Everything Turns Green and Starts to Bloom

Week 27 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

Rainy season. It is only then a rainy season when it also rains. There have been many rainy seasons in this country in the past where no rain whatsoever reached most parts of the country.

But when it does rain. When the rainy season brings what it promises. Then everything turns green in this country. The grass will shoot out of the rocky soil of the Namib desert. And flowers start to bloom.

The next photographs are from our road trip through Namibia. It started last week with a birthday celebration and turned into a celebration of nature's beauty.

Starting off with driving up one of the steepest mountain passes in southern Africa we got rewarded with this amazing view along the way. Being already up in the highlands we could see across the plains of the Namib desert.

The next day we only had a drive of 150 kilometers but it took us a total of seven hours to get to our destination. A wild camping spot at the edge of the Khomas Highlands.

Clouds were building up the whole day and as we chose our spot it started to rain a bit. Not much though. Not where we were sitting. But all around our camp massive cloud bursts were to be seen.

During sunset, these spectacles looked even more impressive.

During the rainy season, it is very difficult to spot wildlife. Due to the high grass and bushes covered in leaves, you can’t see very far. But that doesn’t matter — we enjoyed the scenery so much! Happy to see the country in such green.

The only animals we did spot today were giraffes. At two different locations. Guess why? Their heads stick out above the bushland. Not many tall trees are here in this area so one can easily spot these animals.

For the last week, I’ve been watching them. Everywhere. Butterflies. Flying across the road, crossing lakes, and dancing in the air. Finally, I managed to capture one.

Mid-air but still. He’s on film!

The last two nights we slept in a dry riverbed. The riverbeds are all dry again since the last heavy rain has been a while. So we camped inside them on our way back to the coast.

The scenery was getting less green again but I still found many flowers lighting up my days. I love them. Flowers thriving in the desert.

Back home again I found this beauty in our garden. Nobody planted sunflowers. But this one just grew. And look what a beauty she is! I was struggling though capturing the blossom since the wind was throwing the flower around.

While we were busy cleaning the car and sorting out all the camping equipment I watched the birds in the afternoon come for the bird feeder.

I quickly grabbed my camera and slowly walked outside. But before I could take a shot they flew off already. Except for this one. He was sitting calmly on the drinking spot.

A Common Waxbill. Not worrying about me approaching. Or all the others complaining in the bushes. His friends didn’t go far. Sitting in the neighbors' tree they look at me and chirp loud.

While this brave bird is silently drinking.

This has been my week in photographs. From the greens of the highlands back to the coast. I’ve enjoyed exploring the country in its full beauty. I expected to experience more rain than we did but it was still a great trip.

Stay tuned for the next week. More photographs are coming! Thanks to Dennett who started with this photography challenge I’m posting each week an article with a photograph from every day. A photo essay documenting my daily life.

Many have joined and so can you. It’s easy, the rules aren’t strict. You can join once, twice, or let it become a regular thing. Don’t forget to tag me in the article, so that I can have a glimpse into your life too.

Have a look at the other writers too who’ve joined the challenge:

Erika Burkhalter / Eileen Vorbach Collins / Dennett / Sasha Meyer / Tracy Aston/ Lisa Bolin / Juan O. Aguilera / David Wade Chambers / June Nguyen / Mia Verita

More about my photography challenges…

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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.