The photo challenge topic of the week is weathered, and I have chosen to share some landscape images captured in the Namibian desert. There, it was easy to see the effects of wind and water on the landscape, both from the ground and from the air.
I hope you enjoy my selections.
While driving through the desert, we came to this spot where the wind and water had carved the sand and soft stone into beautiful shapes.The tallest of these sand sculptures only came up to my knees.Some day, these too will be gone, reduced to grains of sand blowing in the wind.Devil’s Thorn growing in the rapidly drying desert.Mountaintops weathered flat by the wind. Somewhere between Hoanib and Windhoek, April 2017.
And another week begins! I don’t know about all of you, but the weekend flew by in a flash for me (which is the exact opposite of how this leopard sighting turned out). We came across this gorgeous male leopard early into our afternoon game drive, and tracked him for a short while along with another vehicle. He went into a thicket and the other vehicle gave up, but our guide Albert predicted where he would come out of the bush, and we reconnected with him and then got to spend time with him when he climbed this tree and the sun set. That other vehicle certainly missed out on a great sighting!
The first WordPress photo challenge topic of the year is growth. There are lots of directions that this can be taken, but I’ve decided to use it as an opportunity to show off some of the younger generation of animals that I saw on my last safari. The wild is a dangerous place for youngsters, with so many species having mortality rates above 50%. I hope all of these animals have been able to grow strong and healthy.
A rhino cow and calf seen during a late afternoon game drive on the Ongava Reserve near Etosha National Park in Namibia. We were very fortunate to have several rhino sightings during our trip. Namibia, April 2017.This lion pride was very busy, with 6 small cubs, all of whom were suffering with mange. I am hopeful they all made it through the winter months. South Africa, May 2017.I have few photos of this sighting, as the light was falling rapidly and the cubs were deep in a thicket. But their antics were too adorable not to try and capture. So while their Mom fed on a giraffe kill, these two scampered around, wrestled, and attempted to climb the tree behind them. They even had a few moments of playing with the food. South Africa, May 2017. (1/250sec, f5.6, ISO 25,600)We came across these elephants just after setting out from camp early one morning. They had discovered an underground water pipe and had pulled it up to get to the water. Elephants of all sizes were enjoying a drink as the sun came up. Being amongst the elephants is definitely one of my favourite things; I could have happily spent the whole day with them. South Africa, May 2017.Right after leaving the elephants seen above, we saw this. I don’t think it gets any better in terms of an amazing sighting; we were able to track this beautiful leopard all the way to her new den site, and then spend time watching the tiny cubs explore their new home (a hollow log). South Africa, May 2017.
Happy Monday to all! For my first monochrome Monday post of the year, I decided to share not only my favourite animal, but an image that I recently printed for a display in my home. I love surrounding myself with images that evoke memories of wonderful times and fantastic adventures. I reuse old frames over and over again, some needing to have duck tape on the back to hold everything together, but it allows me to update images whenever I want. I have loads of photo displays throughout my home, from beautifully framed large-size matted prints, to unframed 5″ x 5″ cardstock images arranged in groups of 25 images. As I move throughout my home, I’m taken back to beautiful places and inspired to plan the next adventure.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.
An elephant in the desert. Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, Namibia. April, 2017.
A few old boys at a water hole near Nxai Pan in Botswana. The one spraying mud was the first one there, and when seeing him we thought he was an absolutely enormous bull. But then these other individuals came along and he was forced to make way for them, deferring to their larger size.