Rainbows have the power to make any place look magical, especially if they make an appearance in places that are already very charming. Klein Namutoni is a beautiful waterhole in eastern Etosha that seems to be always teeming with animals from ungulates to birds, and an occasional lion or two. On that afternoon, however, there was a storm nearby and animals generally tend to stay away from waterholes when there is water to be had elsewhere. A handful of black-face impala and zebra remained along with a small group of vultures and ducks. I tend to photograph, or at least document, any tagged or collared animals because researchers may have use for it, and I saw that some of the vultures sported wing tags. As I was engrossed in vulture documentation, I had failed to notice a rainbow that had popped in front of the stormy sky. You should photograph that rainbow, Wendy suggested. What rainbow?
There was a fantastic background and the sun was behind me at a great angle. Nature’s studio was all set, but there were no eager takers for the role of a model. After what seemed like eternity, a zebra on the near side decided to walk into the frame. And as I clicked away the zebra called out kwa-ha-ha-kwa-ha-kwa-ha (the source of its scientific name – Equus quagga) which added a nice touch to the photograph. Just as the calling zebra moved out of the frame, I noticed that another zebra on the far side had now walked right into the frame, and even better: it stood directly below the rainbow. I don’t know if the photograph evokes the same feeling in everyone who sees it, but for me it was a sheer magical moment looking at that zebra standing at the end of a rainbow. A pot of gold!