Today we explored Chitwan national park! I also reached a peak level of sweat for this trip so far. How cute. We woke up at 6 ready to have breakfast and set off for our walking safari. Armed with some questionable packed lunches we followed our two guides into the national park.
We soon got on some very long canoes to cross the river into the park. This was one of my favourite parts of the day as there was a nice breeze and it was amazing seeing the crocodiles on the river bed so close to us! Once we reached dry land we were given instructions on what to do if faced with a tiger, rhino, wilx elephant or sloth bear. Slightly terrifying!!! We were told about the different species in the park and then our walk began.
Walking in the jungle was soooo hot. The further in we got the less strong the breeze became, and I started to hope we wouldn't see any animals as I'd be too tired to run away! We saw lots of claw marks and animal tracks, and at several points heard them nearby in the undergrowth. It was a bit of a strange safari experience as whilst I really wanted to see an animal I was also terrified to! Our guides were armed only with long poles which I don't think would have been much use fighting off any of the wild animals!
A couple of times we had near misses seeing rhinos which was super disappointing; we'd arrive somewhere just after they'd gone. But hey ho! We also took a very bizarre 1.5 hour lunch break, during which our guides slept. Fortunately we were on a raised platform, so less chance of animal attack.
After lunch it was about 1.45 and as our tour was advertised as 8 hours I thought it was nearly over. How wrong I was. Our walk continued, and we saw a wild tortoise which looked just like Andy. Our guide demonstrated quite how strong their shells are in the slightly bizarre way of standing on it?? Not sure the RSPCA would approve, but the tortoise was absolutely fine thank god!
The paths we were taking became more more and obscure, and we were walking through trees and really long grass. Paired with a few leeches this was not ideal walking conditions and I was quite ready to go back to the hostel! We made another long stop at a platform, and here the monsoon rains hit. We waited until the worst of them were over before walking on.
By now it was around 4pm, and we saw a couple we had met on the canoe and chatted to them. They'd been lucky enough to see rhinos so we were pretty jealous! We parted and came across a wild boar, which the guides explained had become somewhat domesticated after being fed by the national park staff. It was hilarious watching the pig as it was so unsure whether or not it trusted us; running towards us and away whilst squeaking. It was almost like a dog!
We finally reached the edge of the national park and took a quick canoe back across to the entrance. Was the trek over? Nope. But this time I wasn't complaining, as a baby rhino was out eating! It had been separated by its mother due to heavy floods the previous year so was very tame, and loads of people gathered to watch it eating. It was soooo cute and amazing to see one in real life! Especially with the reduced danger of an adult.
We then did a long loop through the back of the national park to our hostel, past a lot of elephants. Initially this looked okay but they were all chained up :( One was clearly distressed, rocking around and knocking things which was so sad to see. The guide said that they're used by the government in Nepal which seems a bit odd, but I was glad at least that the majority are not used for rides.
We finally arrived back at the hostel around 6 hours, so definitely got our money's worth! Although I was a bit sad not to see more animals, a slightly alarming number of people have been killed by tigers in the park, and sloth bears are one of the most aggressive animals in the world, so it's actually probably a good thing that we didn't. We ordered some dinner at the hostel restaurant and then went to shower whilst it was cooking. We booked a bus back to Kathmandu for the following morning and then haad a very quiet evening in. After seeing a huge pile of fresh rhino dung outside our hostel that morning we weren't very willing to go for a nighttime wander this time!
Laura x
We soon got on some very long canoes to cross the river into the park. This was one of my favourite parts of the day as there was a nice breeze and it was amazing seeing the crocodiles on the river bed so close to us! Once we reached dry land we were given instructions on what to do if faced with a tiger, rhino, wilx elephant or sloth bear. Slightly terrifying!!! We were told about the different species in the park and then our walk began.
Walking in the jungle was soooo hot. The further in we got the less strong the breeze became, and I started to hope we wouldn't see any animals as I'd be too tired to run away! We saw lots of claw marks and animal tracks, and at several points heard them nearby in the undergrowth. It was a bit of a strange safari experience as whilst I really wanted to see an animal I was also terrified to! Our guides were armed only with long poles which I don't think would have been much use fighting off any of the wild animals!
A couple of times we had near misses seeing rhinos which was super disappointing; we'd arrive somewhere just after they'd gone. But hey ho! We also took a very bizarre 1.5 hour lunch break, during which our guides slept. Fortunately we were on a raised platform, so less chance of animal attack.
After lunch it was about 1.45 and as our tour was advertised as 8 hours I thought it was nearly over. How wrong I was. Our walk continued, and we saw a wild tortoise which looked just like Andy. Our guide demonstrated quite how strong their shells are in the slightly bizarre way of standing on it?? Not sure the RSPCA would approve, but the tortoise was absolutely fine thank god!
The paths we were taking became more more and obscure, and we were walking through trees and really long grass. Paired with a few leeches this was not ideal walking conditions and I was quite ready to go back to the hostel! We made another long stop at a platform, and here the monsoon rains hit. We waited until the worst of them were over before walking on.
By now it was around 4pm, and we saw a couple we had met on the canoe and chatted to them. They'd been lucky enough to see rhinos so we were pretty jealous! We parted and came across a wild boar, which the guides explained had become somewhat domesticated after being fed by the national park staff. It was hilarious watching the pig as it was so unsure whether or not it trusted us; running towards us and away whilst squeaking. It was almost like a dog!
We finally reached the edge of the national park and took a quick canoe back across to the entrance. Was the trek over? Nope. But this time I wasn't complaining, as a baby rhino was out eating! It had been separated by its mother due to heavy floods the previous year so was very tame, and loads of people gathered to watch it eating. It was soooo cute and amazing to see one in real life! Especially with the reduced danger of an adult.
We then did a long loop through the back of the national park to our hostel, past a lot of elephants. Initially this looked okay but they were all chained up :( One was clearly distressed, rocking around and knocking things which was so sad to see. The guide said that they're used by the government in Nepal which seems a bit odd, but I was glad at least that the majority are not used for rides.
We finally arrived back at the hostel around 6 hours, so definitely got our money's worth! Although I was a bit sad not to see more animals, a slightly alarming number of people have been killed by tigers in the park, and sloth bears are one of the most aggressive animals in the world, so it's actually probably a good thing that we didn't. We ordered some dinner at the hostel restaurant and then went to shower whilst it was cooking. We booked a bus back to Kathmandu for the following morning and then haad a very quiet evening in. After seeing a huge pile of fresh rhino dung outside our hostel that morning we weren't very willing to go for a nighttime wander this time!
Laura x
No comments:
Post a Comment
:-)