On Safari

Being in Chitwan National Park was an awesome wildlife experience. We did a safari, taking a day to walk into the park starting with taking a dugout canoe down the river for a couple of hours going past the odd crocodile and lots of wading birds. We stopped to watch from a distance 4 rhinos taking a bath in a small pond then carried on to start our 6 hour walk in. Within 10 minutes of silent walking we were charged through the long grass by a sloth bear - quite scary at the time. (In India and Burma, sloth bears are more feared than tigers, due to their more unpredictable temperament, said to be the most aggressive and least predictable of Asian bears) Then we found 5 mins old tiger footprints, then later had a close encounter with a rhino which although it saw us, decided not to charge (after a few tense moments). After an overnight stay in the park we visited a crocodile breeding centre and a man-eating tiger, carrying out a life sentence - still a beautiful animal. The next day some of us did an elephant trek into the park. Rhinos are totally unbothered by the elephants so we could get up very close to them. On return to the village (while still on the elephants) we were called in to use the elephants to flush out a wild leopard that was attacking people in the village. The attacks on the elephants (while we were on them) from the leopard, the noise of the elephants and the shouting and chaotic activity of the villagers made for my most memorable travel experience ever! The leopard was killed by the villagers soon after. Washing the elephants in the river was an unforgettable chance to get close and have fun with these beautiful animals.