Annapurna Sanctuary Trek...

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Today finally heralded the start of our trekking proper - well after a 2hr drive to Birethanti!. It was good to get going with the walking after just doing tourist things for the last couple of weeks.

The weather was dry and fairly warm, which was a welcome change from Kathmandu as the rain brings the leeches out - with the aussies tales of Kangaroo leeches and Drop Bears it was all we needed!

Had our first interaction with the Maoists when we had to pay a "tourist toll" to use the park (politics in action!!). Beckie did not believe they were Maoists and the trek leader is a bit of a clown so she asked to see their guns - and nearly fell over when he lifted his shirt and showed her a pistol. (Apparently the tax is 100Rs per tourist per Day - 1000 Rs total - about 10 GBP each.)

The first days walk is not too long - 4hrs - we stayed at a tea house in Tikedhunga. It's real basic accomodation with cold shower by candle light, hardboard walls and sporadic electricity. Started using our sleeping bags properly, which was a bit of a relief as we have dragged them all the way through India and were wondering if we would ever use them!

Introduced the rest of the group to Uno and quickly found out that all are quite competitive, but it was a lot of fun and a good bonding session. Off to bed early without beer - the hard work starts in the morning!

Up at 7am for day two of the trek. It starts with a kick as there are 3500 steps up from the teahouse and we started gaining height immediately. We crossed several rivers on hung bridges and saw come cool waterfalls. Paul was really hanging from the cold and found the going really hard - had to share some of the load carrying of the heavy bag with Beckie. Both of us were really glad to stop for lunch - discovered the delights of Garlic Soup and Tibetan bread - brilliant!.

We caught the first glimpses of Annapurna South and Machapuchre (Fish Tail) during the day and they looked high and beautiful - cannot believe that its going to take a week to get to the base camps - they look so close!. Stayed at the "See You" guesthouse in Gorepani. It was much better quality and they had a fire in the centre of the dining room to dry all the clothes. The uno playing today included some of the guides. They picked it up quickly and managed to master cheating without breaking a stride - I think we have some card sharks in our midst!.

Up at a really painfull 4am (ouch!!) to see the sunrise at Poon Hill. It was about an hours walk up to a great viewing location where the whole of the Annapurna range can be seen. It really is a cool thing to do, despite the very early start. We wandered down to the tea house for a welcome breakfast before starting the days walk to Tadapani. The trekking was easier today if long with the early start. We encountered our first leech attach going through some of the forest. These slipperly little suckers just wait on the ground for an unsuspecting boot and then will creep their way into your socks to drink some blood - best avoided if possible.

Beckie was not at all keen on the bridges we are now coming across - they are just logs across the river with some cross members loosely tied on. But we all made it across - if with a little freaking out from some!. The 'TrailView' Guest house at Tadapani has a good location but is pretty basic. The rooms are simple and its fairly cold - December here must be real nippy!. Shower was again by candle light and the power only works after 5pm. We have both succumed to wearing socks and sandles as its the only footwear apart from walking boots we have. Fasion critics be damned!. Paul bought a new hat and its come in userful already; the woman selling it started out at 1350 rs which was taking the mickey - but she soon came down - the real price in Kathmandu is probable still about 1/2 what we paid!.

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Photos

Eh up duck!.
Feeding the locals....

Stopping for lunch on the second day
The mule train just keeps on going though!

Washing the smalls....
Bring back the washing machine!