Accommodation is mostly found in rental homes that are ideally perched overlooking the water.

BBC: A wild river valley outside of Sydney

Or water-based safaris in small guide boats that dip in close to the riverbank to observe dinosaur-like monitor lizards sunning themselves on logs, kingfisher eagles perched in trees, and elephants playfully spraying water on their young.

BBC: Safari by water in southern Africa

The San Onofre nuclear power plant is perched right on the San Diego beach and the reactor is cooled by ocean water.

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The prevalence of water in the north, however, spreads out the game: you will often find big cats perched dramatically atop red rock outcrops, the better to spot prey.

BBC: The Serengeti in the off-season

The citizens of El Alto, a poor, sprawling city perched above La Paz, the capital, are engaged in a like-minded campaign to throw out a French water company, which they blame for high prices and for failing to supply water to hundreds of thousands of people.

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