Dramatic weather ahead the bank holiday weekend last night on the Isle of Wight Lightning over Bembridge Lifeboat Station on the Isle of Wight last night, May 2, 2024. (Photo by Jamie Russell/IslandVisions/Bournemouth News)

Muay Thai participants, fight during the Kibra Youth Initiative boxing exhibition at the Kibera Fort Jesus grounds in Nairobi on December 23, 2024. The purpose of the boxing exhibition is to promote boxing and Muay Thai in the local communities and help prevention of crime and substance abuse among the growing youth within the area and surrounding communities. (Photo by Simon Maina/AFP Photo)

Jade Marvin from Starlight Express gets her skates on for a special number at The Olivier Awards 2025 at The Royal Albert Hall on April 06, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by David Levene/The Guardian)

The stunning coastline of South Wales in UK on July 12, 2025 was once again turned into a wild and wonderful natural playground as Love Trails Festival powered by Garmin welcomed around 5,000 people to the Gower Peninsula for a long weekend of music, trail running, adventure, movement and community. (Photo by Giulia Spadafora)

An aerial view taken with a drone shows the autumnally colored Fuerst-Pueckler-Park near Cottbus, eastern Germany, Saturday, October 29, 2016. The park, composed with great sensitivity in the 19th century by Prince Hermann von Pueckler-Muskau, is considered as one of the last great German landscape gardens. (Photo by Patrick Pleul/DPA via AP Photo)

Nepalese women and young girls struggle to drink homemade alcohol poured through a pipe sticking out of the mouth of Swet Bhairab, a god of Power, during the Indra Jatra festival at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal, 17 September 2016. Hundreds of women and young girls gathered to drink alcohol as a blessing from idol of Swet Bhairab which they believes will keep them free from all diseases. The Indra Jatra festival is celebrated to honor Indra, the king of gods and god of rains. The festival also marks the end of the monsoon. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

The “EMIEW3” robot (R) demonstrates communicating with a visitor during a press preview in Tokyo on April 8, 2016. Japanese electronics giant Hitachi unveiled its humanoid customer service and guidance robot “EMIEW3” and “remote brain” robotics IT platform. (Photo by Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP Photo)

Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)