My elephant safari was great fun, and I had the company of a trio of Irish folk as company, and with their sense of humour, our ride was always going to be a laugh…!!
"All aboard...!! Elephant safari into Chitwan National Park...!! Last Elephant leaves in five minutes...!!"
Once Deborah, Luke, Paul and I had squeezed ourselves into the tiny wooden frame on the elephants back, we set off across the river and into the park…
Crossing the Rapti River into Chitwan...
It was not the most comfortable modes of transport I have experienced, but we soon got into the “sway” of things, and enjoyable the silent padding through the forest… That is, as long as we were able to avoid a party of eight Chinese aboard a pair of elephants, who whenever they were separated, bellowed loudly to each other, presumably to be kept abreast of what the other party were seeing… Even our mahout became irritated with them and called for them to be quiet… This made little impression on the Chinese, so we urged the mahout to steer clear of them for the rest of our safari…
We were able to sneak up on a pair of sleeping wild boar...
And a resting Samber Deer, the largest deer in Nepal...
While trying to urge our elephant through a particularly thick part of the bush, our mahout leaned forward and gave the elephant a mighty whack on the head with the stick he was carrying…!! Paul and I exchanged glances, and as gently as I could, I explained to the mahout what I would do with the stick if he hit the elephant again…
Knowing that the nearest proctologist was probably miles away in Kathmandu, he refrained from beating the elephant for the remainder of our safari…
Single file through the marshland close to the river...
It was whilst on the elephant safari that my trusty camera began “acting the goat”… I guess after almost 20 000 photos, it is getting a little “tired”…!! I had to use my video camera to take photos, but the quality of these is extremely poor compared to that of the Canon D10 I have been using…
My first Indian Rhino, wearing a pair of baggy trousers...!!
Indian Rhino and her calf... Great sighting...!!
"This pole ain't good for the jewelry box, Dudes...!!" Not to mention that it feels like I've left my legs back in the forest...!!
And then the Ellies went home to rest...!!
On our ride back to the hotel, we came across the elusive animal that we had all wanted so badly to see…!!
Finally, in the dying light of a Nepali afternoon, we saw our Tiger...!!
Interesting menu... Wouldn't give fish a go in these parts though...!!
I am considering surprising the Big Fella with a new luggage system...!! Then again, maybe not...!!
With that, my short stay in Sauraha had come to an end…
The highlight of my stay was without question the interaction with elephants, and I would gladly return here if only for this purpose…!!
Sauraha itself is an interesting little village which at this time of the year was not nearly as bust as it is in October and November, the height of the tourist season…
Apart from the annoying lack of power, I enjoyed my stay at the River Side Hotel where the management and staff were always on hand to give advice and make any form of travel and booking arrangements a breeze…
s you can see, there is plenty to do here...!!
The River Side Hotel as seen from the southern bank of the Rapti River... A great place to kick back and relax...!!
And a "Heartly goodbye" to Sauraha from the Gypsy Biker...!!
The following morning I would be on my way to the mythical Kathmandu…
©GBWT 2011
Indian Rhino ? Never heard of them. Seems to have a great deal of loose skin ?
How lucky you are to see the Indian Rhino !
Have you tasted yak cheese ?
What a question…!! I buy about 250 grams every day from a little shop near my hotel…!! The guy starts cutting a slice as soon as he sees me coming…!! It’s great stuff…!! Miss you guys…. R.
You did well to warn the mahout. One wonders how they are treated when noone is around.
What an amazing time you have had.