01x10 - Water, Giver of Life

[bunniefuu]

Wherever water flows,

life follows.

It's inside everything that lives.

Over half the human body

is composed of water.

And it's here

at the river's edge

where our civilization started to develop

in Africa.

Lives on the banks of the Great Zambezi

still respond to its ebb and flow.

When the wetlands swell...

The Lozi people take to their boats,

seeking higher ground.

This annual ritual

is called Kuomboka,

which means "getting out of the water."

According to legend,

the god Nyambe

commanded man to build the first canoe

in anticipation of the flood.

Each year, the Lozi leave,

reassured the soil is renewed

for a future harvest.

They'll return again

when the gentle floods subside.

Rivers flow like arteries,

carrying the lifeblood of existence

huge distances

across many different terrains.

Cascading over Victoria Falls,

the Zambezi becomes the largest curtain

of falling water on Earth.

People here call it Mosi-oa-Tunya,

"the smoke that thunders."

Towering clouds of mist

can be seen from miles away.

Plumes of spray

soak everything in reach...

Allowing lush rain forest to thrive

wherever it can take root.

Tumbling over the soft limestone beneath,

the Zambezi

flows for another 1,000 miles

towards the east coast of Africa.

Most rivers end their journey

when the fresh water they carry

finally meets the sea.

Oceans wrap the entire
world with their embrace.

They hold over 90%

of the Earth's water,

and so the majority of life on the planet

lives in the mysterious deep.

Out at sea,

water evaporates and ascends as vapor

into the sky.

On the western coast of Southern Africa,

where sea and sand dunes meet,

tiny droplets

reach land as a spray of ocean mist.

Just the smallest amounts of moisture

allow the most resilient plants

to call the desert their home.

Inland, from Cape Town to Namibia,

water in any form rarely touches

this arid region of Namaqualand.

Yet one sprinkling of seasonal rain,

and this blank canvas

transforms into a masterpiece of nature.

With over 3,000 different
species of wildflower,

it's called the greatest garden on Earth.

Dazzling but ephemeral,

flowers must compete to attract pollinators

with the intensity of their blooms.

Despite so little water,

it's the most biodiverse desert on Earth.

When the hot winds return,

fertilized seeds fall
onto the desert floor.

They wait

patiently in the dust

for the rains to return once more.

Water

is a shape-shifter.

It can flow freely

high above us as rivers in the sky.

Clouds of billowing vapor

can cover hundreds of miles in a day.

The desert people of South Africa

would summon the rain

with a ritual dance.

When the heavens do let loose,

tons of water pour onto the ground...

Quenching the Earth below.

Every year in Botswana,

summer rains that fell upstream

four months ago

start to flow into the Kalahari Desert.

These elephants

are drawn here as if by a magnetic force.

In the dry season,

they time their migration

to the promise of seasonal floods.

They can walk for 50 miles

without a drop to drink.

Elephants never forget their map

of where to find water.

The eldest females remember best

and pass on this precious knowledge

to their young.

Their long trek is rewarded

with the first true bath of the season.

When the floods fully appear,

the Okavango Delta grows

three times in size.

It's one of the largest
watering holes on Earth,

so large,

it can be seen from space.

A multitude of other animals arrive

to share this unique

and delicate ecosystem.

These wetlands give refuge

to some of Africa's most iconic creatures.

Like every living thing,

we emerged from water.

It is the origin

of life itself...

And creates the vibrant diversity

of our world.

As rain and rivers,

oceans and fog...

Water's cycle never sleeps

on its epic odyssey

around the globe.