The phrase “don’t drink the water” might often be used as a punchline – Woody Allen even wrote a comic play called “Don’t Drink the Water” – but bad drinking water is a huge and horrific problem on our planet. Bad drinking water and the diseases it inflicts – among them hepatitis, cholera and typhoid fever – are the top causes of child deaths in developing countries. In many regions of sub-Saharan Africa there are simply no pipes and therefore no hope for clean water; even well water is unreliable and largely unsafe. Likewise, in Afghanistan and Pakistan there is a high mortality rate in both children and adults due to bad drinking water. And the nation of Iraq faces a huge challenge even today in building the infrastructure to provide clean water to all of its citizens.
Even in the United States there are problems here and there with bad drinking water. Native American reservations, which have faced so many tragic health problems over the decades, have in many instances been found to contain unsafe drinking water. Hundreds of schools over the last ten to twenty years have discovered that the water emerging from its drinking fountains (or “bubblers” as they are called in New England) contains lead or pesticides or other harmful substances. In some cities and rural areas the government has said that pregnant women or adults with certain chronic ailments should refrain from drinking tap water. Clean water must be a top issue for governments and individuals all over the world. To put it plainly, a healthy population needs healthy water.
A bird watching in Kenya reveals four spots that are most popular with the bird lovers. To start with, Lake Nakuru National Park takes the first position. This lake situated in the Great Rift Valley is a must go. The shallow Lake holds thousands of the world renowned flamingos and other types of birds. Flamingos are finicky birds. At the best of times, there can be over hundreds of thousands of them at Lake Nakuru when the alkaline waters are full of the blue-green algae or cyan bacteria which they feed on. Lake Nakuru is indeed a bird watchers paradise. One can easily catch a glimpse of a cache of great white pelicans with their enormous yellow beaks land on water and wade out to shove stretching their wing to dry in the sun.
Towards Nairobi at Naivasha town, Lake Naivasha is another bird watching spot. On the shores of the Lake, a boat ride will reveal even more bird species. From fish eagles, pelicans, sparrows, wood peckers, bulbul, ibises, storks and herons. At the nearby Hells Gate National Park, another bird watching is on focus. This park has about 20-30 species and thousands of swift. A unique breeding ground for vultures is found here. It also holds a breeding ground for augur buzzard, the elusive verreaux’s eagle and the rare lammergeyer vulture. A special offer here is the Merlyn Gammelley Raptor Hide. This unique bird-viewing hide incorporates a one way window, which allows visitors to view and photograph the raptors (birds of prey) of the park at exceptionally close range.