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Olifont Fun
Leaving GP in the capable hands of Rosie and Claire, Guy, Ling, Annie and myself headed off to the national park in search of the famed Nepali Tiger...................and anything else we might find lurking in the bushes.
We stayed inside the park in a pair of delightful cottages (Barbet 1 & 2) set on an island in the middle of the glacial fed river, accessible only by small canoe, and aptly named "Island Jungle Resort" Meals were laid on canteen style, and tea and coffee flowed freely, so we were able to relax thoroughly in between nature walks, elephant rides and canoe trips.
We were amongst just a handful of other tourists, in our jungle hideaway, most notably young Daisy and her parents who entertained and delighted us on many little adventures together. They too had just spent several months in India and we shared plenty of stories over a beer or two. (Daisy, thanks for making our stay so special)
The resort housed 5 adult Asian elephants, which were to become our friends, transport and entertainment for the next few days...................
The atmosphere was extremely laid back and after a morning ride
atop the elephant hunting for the elusive Tiger in the dense, noisy jungle our driver was more than happy to relax on the seat and let Guy and I take control of the beast!! Luckily we were both naturals, Guy managed to get the Elephant into a trot!, and I hung on as he felled a tree effortlessly with his trunk.
Although no Tigers were spotted, (I blame the ridiculously long grass) we can happily report that we did see Rhino, Wild Boar, Owls, Eagle, Red Deer, Crocodile, Mongoose, Snakes and some stunning bird life, my favorite being the amazing Bird of Paradise ( and plenty of Peacocks).
Off on the next elephant ride, and we were thrilled to cross the river on the back of our lumbering beast, the waters rose higher and higher and threatened to soak our feet as we crossed the deepest part, but Ram our trusty stead kept us safe, the crocodiles would have to wait for another day to munch their tourist snack!!!.
With a fabulous lack of interest for health and safety we clambered about the elephants at bath time in the river for what seemed like hours. The elephants (and
their trainers) delighted in watching us get soaked as they sprayed us with their trunks, and then tried all sorts of sit down and roll tricks to throw us into the river....Guy and I both fell in love with these majestic, enormous beasts.
The fun wasn't only centered around the Elephants, we also went on a fab nature walk and an evening jeep safari, sadly we didn't spot much wildlife using 'human' transportation, but the scenery, and stunning sunsets more than made up for it.
No sooner than we'd mastered our elephant riding and it was time to leave, after one last morning ride on our favorite Ram, we once again canoed our way back to civilization and the bus journey to our next destination, Kathmandu ......... In true Nepal style we were only a few hours away, when we ground to a shuddering HALT!, Another strike had closed the road...something to do with farmers and fertilizer....it allowed us a few hours to stretch our legs and meet plenty of other travelers, before the road finally cleared and we reached Kathmandu by nightfall.....WE headed for the most amazing Pizza to date, Paul if you need to know where
to find one let me know.
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Jillian
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Brilliant ........ wow!