Enchanted Kingdom 3D Page #2

...until the rains arrive.

Fresh water is what brings

the dry kingdoms of Africa to life.

These fingers of mist

don't promise healing showers...

but they beckon us towards

another magical realm...

...just beyond these sands.

The sea!

An eternal, restless Empire,

at the boundaries of what we know...

...battering the shoreline of Africa

from all points of the compass.

Barracuda...

...cruising in a shoal.

They seem to sense

the path to take.

The traffic of the deep.

Ocean travelers...

...moving as one towards

a wonderful creation of the sea.

The most vibrant of

all Africa's realms...

...a coral reef.

Reefs can only grow at the perfect

temperature, at the perfect depth...

...and with plenty of sunshine.

So, they're rare.

But when it all comes

together you get this...

...a crowded city under the sea.

A hawksbill turtle

looking for food.

Like any human city, there are lots of

different places to live.

And being so crowded,

it pays to get on with the neighbours.

A quarter of all life in the sea

lives on coral reefs.

It may be beautiful, but don't let

the bright colors dazzle you.

Like most cities,

the reef has its darker side.

When you leave the light behind,

you never know quite what you'll find.

These sweeper fish like

to shelter in caves.

But they seem pretty spooked.

A gang of Lionfish

on the prowl.

Beautiful, but deadly!

Their spines are highly poisonous...

...and the stripes warn others

not to mess with them.

Lionfish use their outstretched fins...

...to corner their prey

against the walls.

Sunbeams pierce the depths...

...direct from the heavens.

Ride them to a kingdom in the sky...

...among a sea of clouds

to reach the top of the world.

A realm of ice and snow,

right on the equator.

Mount Kenya, towering over

three miles high.

Hidden among these snow-capped peaks

is a secret world of strange plants.

Life up here beats to a magical rhythm.

As night falls, temperatures plunge...

...and this whole place becomes

a crystal kingdom.

To avoid freezing, the plants wrap

themselves in a blanket of leaves.

Like snuggling under a duvet.

As they sleep,

everything around them turns to ice.

It's winter, every night.

Each morning the sun brings

the mountains back to life.

It's summer, every day.

Across the highlands,

everyone's waking up.

Geladas.

They live only up here,

in the mountains of Ethiopia.

Woken by a touch of the sun...

...as has been the way

for millions of years.

Their luxuriant fur has kept them

warm at night.

But needs a lot of attention

to keep it clean.

Pwah!

Life up here is all about

simple routine.

Easy days beneath the eternal sky.

As the day heats up,

everyone heads off to find food.

Families join up, in their hundreds,

searching for the best grass.

With so many monkeys together...

things sometimes get a bit out of hand.

Most of the time no-one

comes to any harm.

It's just the males showing off.

All part of the daily routine.

As the day ends it's time

to find somewhere to sleep

and huddle from the cold.

The same as every night

they can ever remember.

Winter then summer...

...summer then winter...

...like a whole year in a day...

...on and on, forever.

From a land where each day and each

night are the same as those before...

...comes a world

of constant change.

This is how rivers are born...

...drop follows drip,

follows drop.

A trickle that becomes

a flow and then a stream...

...and then it goes on and on...

...always downhill...

...always looking for the lowest level.

Africa's rivers create

a mercurial realm of great highways.

Legends like the Nile,

Congo, Zambezi.

Victoria Falls...

...the smoke that thunders.

Even the wildest rivers

calm down eventually.

This place might look peaceful,

but don't be fooled.

Wildebeest always on the move,

looking for fresh grass...

...but they have to stop to drink.

This is the closest thing to a dragon

you'll ever see.

The biggest crocodiles in Africa.

Some weigh over a ton.

Monsters like these have been around

since the time of dinosaurs.

They have the most powerful jaws

of any animal on Earth.

It's been almost a year

since these crocs last ate...

...and there's no guarantee the herds

will come back.

Even if they do,

they might drink elsewhere.

It's a long and winding river.

But if there's one thing

crocodiles are good at...

...it's being patient.

The wildebeest have to drink,

eventually.

Even the biggest crocs in Africa

can't stop them all.

They have to keep moving...

...to find a place where

there's fresh grass.

That means chasing the rain.

It's hard to predict when rain will

come to the savannah...

...but the animals seem to know.

They follow the clouds.

And they come into a world

being created anew...

...a world at the tipping point.

The sun and the rain...

...the light and the water...

...have come with a miracle...

...a transformation.

Rain brings the world into flower...

...and every living thing

blossoms too.

Something extraordinaryis

about to happen.

Africa...

...bursting into life again.

A happy ending after

so many difficult journeys.

A long search for water is over and

there is joy in the world once more.

Endless delight in being alive.

We can be swept back into Nature...

...and feel the joy of it...

...if we let the world show us the way.

The natural world is

so powerful...

...so enchanting that even here,

even in the city.

We can be swept back

in to nature.

It's all around us...

...and in every one of us.

THE END:

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