6th - 9th September
An early morning start, a six hour journey, rain, a leaky bus (rained almost as much inside as out), then the rural village of Sauraha and Chitwan National Park in the central Terai.
I fell in love with the area immediately! The lowlands/plains of Nepal - rice fields, grasslands and peaceful Tharu villages.
We were met at the bus stop by our guide and companion for the next four days, Laxman. Once settled and fed at the Eden Jungle Resort we went for a late afternoon stroll through the government Elephant stables and down to the river. After a heavy shower of rain the sun quickly re-emerged and we had a gorgeous rainbow.
Our bungalow and the gardens at the Eden Jungle Resort
Our first glimpse of the Nepali Himalayan Peaks
- seen from the roof of our resort
- thought I was looking at clouds but realised they were mountains. Such a clever girl!
Missing our hounds at home very much.
This gorgeous girl adopted us. She was our surrogate hound for four days.
Government Elephants used by army for jungle patrol
- keeping the National Park safe from poachers
This non-tusker lost his temper one day
and destroyed his shelter
Food for the animals at home
Across the river the elephant grasses swayed in the late afternoon breeze.
A very lucky stroll. We hadn't walked far when we spotted our first Rhino - beeeauuuutifuuul - followed by sightings of a wild elephant in the grasses on the jungle side (just visible), wild boar, deer and a peacock. And to complete this wonderful afternoon - an amazing sunset. Welcome to Chitwan! Thank you!
Our first rhino. We were spell bound for at least fifteen minutes. Is that a smile for the tourists?
Aaahhhh, bliss!!!
No it is not a rock. Look closer!
An elephant in the wild - the elephant grass is almost taller.
The float down the river was exactly that. We glided gently across the mirrored waters of the river, relaxed and watched as the jungle awoke. The bird life along the banks was plentiful and Laxman had an eagle eye when it came to locating them. He could imitate their calls and name them all. We were only able to locate one crocodile but they are difficult to spot on the riverbanks.
Seats for our dugout
Once we disembarked from our canoe we walked through the jungle on the village side back to our jeep. We drove west of
Sauraha to another river, across that in another dugout canoe and a short walk to the Elephant Breeding Centre. The breeding centre supplies and trains the elephants for the elephant safaris so that the wild population numbers can be left alone and allowed to grow. We needed to be at the centre before 10:30am as they spend most of the day grazing and eating their fill in the jungle. When we arrived the incredibly cute babies were still sleeping. The centre also has an an information gallery which was well worth the time taken to read our way around the walls.
Twins under the watchful eye of one of mum's friends
A juvenile
From here we entered the jungle ourselves, not to graze, but in search of wild life. Laxman's instructions should we spook a rhino and it heads in our direction - climb at least 9 feet up the closest tree. Yeah, right! And our next option is? Apparently the 2nd option is to stand behind the closest large tree. Luckily we did not have to choose either option!
Laxman on the lookout for wildlife
We managed to spy deer down near the water but they were the only wild animals we came close to during our walk. We did, however, become experts at identifying tracks as there were many fresh ones in the mud. I can now correctly identify deer, boar and rhino tracks. Well, not such a great achievement considering that they are so vastly different but I was getting fully into safari mode.
Last stop for the morning was the elephant bathing. It looked that the elephants actually were having fun drenching the tourists and when it was their turn for a personal scrub down they were in ecstasy.
Cop this lot!
This elephant sounded to be sighing in deep content as he was being scrubbed and rubbed. Like our children, he did not like to have the area behind his ears washed. 
After lunch we had the highlight of our amazing Chitwan experience - an elephant safari. Prior to our safari I had always been dead against elephant rides. I considered them to be a demeaning task for such a noble animal and a totally tourist activity I could easily do without. I think that I am still against the half hour round the park ride but I am so glad that I did not miss out on the safari. The safari taught both of us a lot about the highly intelligent creature that is the elephant.
Waiting for the tourists! The box on top is our 'comfy seat' for the next four hours - legs straddling a corner post!
All aboard!
And off we go!
It was a four hours plus safari with a group of perhaps five elephants. Yes, they had a handler sitting on them but the elephants were in charge of the hunt. Their long trunks carefully sniffed the air. When one picked up the scent he/she would trumpet to alert the others. Our elephant, Lucky, would vibrate when she sensed the proximity of her quarry. Was it excitement? Once she had located the correct direction to move in she was off. Sitting on a hard seat on top of a running elephant is an interesting experience. So glad I was not a soldier in the days of old charging into battle on the back of one! We were fortunate enough to spy a mother rhino and her very small baby. Unfortunately taking a decent photo from the top of a moving elephant is not a skill that I have mastered. I always seemed to be just that little bit too slow to get the perfect shot. Another problem was manoeuvring your body in the chair to get that shot - being a contortionist would have been a distinct advantage.
First glimpse of our rhino. Baby in undergrowth at the bottom of the photo
Leading us a merry chase out of the grasslands back into the jungle. Mum was not perturbed - this was obviously a routine afternoon for her.
We also spotted barking deer and spotted deer. It is very difficult as the jungle is very thick and the grasses on the plains are very high at this time of year.
Lucky also has a favourite friend. When they came together on the safari they nuzzled each other's head. Lucky vibrated once again. It had to be an excitement thing, I guess.
At the end of the safari I bought our beautiful girl a large bunch of bananas. She watched me closely as I bought them. She knew they were hers and no-one else was going to get a single one!
One of the elephants on our group
Best Friends! Trunks were touching. Couldn't capture it - an ear got in the way.
Those bananas are mine, all mine!
Day 3 - bird watching and river walk after another early breakfast, a nanna nap in the middle of the day after lunch, a walk through a local Tharu village late afternoon and a Tharu cultural show that night.
Elephant treats!
Cow and goat manure is put into the well along with human excrement to decompose. The bi-product is methane gas. Piped to the house in the hose coming out of the well.
Free gas for cooking!!!!
The compere's oh so proper diction had to be heard to be believed!
All dancers were male, even the pretty young filly in the black skirt.
On the 9th September we were on the move once again. Had we realised that Chitwan was going to be such a lovely place we would have arranged to stay there longer - not to do more organised activities (we had done enough of those) but to relax, enjoy the area and wander around on our own a bit. There were a lot of villages closeby that we could have easily explored. We had, however, planned otherwise so we farewelled Laxman at the bus stop and after 6 hours arrived in Pokara to prepare ourselves for our trek.
No comments:
Post a Comment