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Published: January 10th 2007
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After some re planning and some insistance on my part we decided that the most southern tip in India actually souded pretty boring so we didn't go there as we had periviously planned to. Instead we headed for the Kerilan hills to the Periya wild life sactury. This turned out to be a very good move. It was lovely and cool up in the hills, the coldest we have been since we left home! Very exciting. We installed our selves at Coffee Inn a few hundered meters from the Sactuary gates. This turned out to be an equally good move. Apart from having lovely rooms they also serve up proper brown bread, tomatoe soup and pasta suace that actually tasted italian. Home anway from home.
Our first day in the park started off well with a sighting of a giant Indian squirle. This was about 2-three feet long not including the tail, fluffy and black but with a little white face. Very cool too see. We had to wlak about 3km to the information center through lovley woods with fresh air. There we booked ourselves on to a boat trip up the river. This was really good. Appart from being
beautiful we also saw some ottas, lots of big piggywigs, deer and big deer things, lots of birds in nests and water buffalow. We didn't see any of the tigers or elephants that live in the park but it wa really good anyway.
On our walk back we saw some barking deer. It was so beautiful, a mother and baby in the evening light and the baby was feeding. They are lovley little deer, so quiet and peaceful.
For our seconf day we got up at 6 and headed into the park for an early morning guided walk. I'm sure this was good but i can't say as upon arrival to the park I threw up into the hedge for no apparent reason and had to go back to our room. No cuase for concern. India just dosen't agree with anyones stomach and we all have times of feeling sick and tummy ache. None of it serious. Sam and Rach said they had a good time though and saw tiger paw prints and elepahnt poo. Later on Sam and I walked back into the park just for a walk and ended up seeing lots of things and having
a great time even though you have to stick to the road.
We where sitting by the info center adrimring the view and the butterflies when I saw a movement in the grass about 3 feet below us. I realised that i was a wopping great snake and suprised myslef by pointing and saying 'look! it's a really big snake, how cool'. I must have momenterily forgotten that i am scared of snakes. However, this fact did sink in after a while but i stayed calrm. A few minutes later I saw another movment. This time the snake was heading straight at us and I could see all six foot of the bugger. I sware it looked me in the eye. At this point I insisted that Sam pull his legges up, which were daggling over the wall as the snake was clearly coming for us. However, the snake got to the wall and disappeared into a hole. We wtahed all six feet of it disapear beneath our feet. I did actually stay pretty carlm ...considering.
On our way back we saw two different types of monkey, (they were ok as they were wild and don't bother humans)more
deer ans chipmonk things. It was all very exciting and fun.
The last day we went on a tour of a spice plantation. This turned out to be really good and it was just us and the tuk tuk driver/guide. He turned out to be very knowlagable and showed us loads of plants. We saw coffee, pepper- the same plant makes black, white, red and green pepper depending on how you dry/treat it, turmiric root, ginger root, henna plant, rubber tree - they milk the trees then dillute the rubber and roll it out into sheets, chilli, cloves, cardomon, cinamon, pineapple - never know it didn't grew on trees, beatle nuts, coco - had no idea what that looked like before, vanilla...and i'm sure several other things. It was really good seeing how the spices actaully grow as i really didn't know where many of them came from.
Unfortunatly we lef the next day, however we headed for a beach which was also great. So far am loving Kerela. Did you know that Kerela is a communist state and has a nearly 100% literacy rate. I can actually understand peoples english here and people actaully qued in the
train station! All very civilised. I will put up many boring photos of plants just as soon as i have time. We're off to get hugged tomorrow by a woman guru who hugs peopele. Will blog about the beach as soon as possible. BB
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Helen
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kerela
Glad you love Kerela, even on a budget, and that it wasn't just the way we did it that made it so special. We did the morning walk thing and the lake boat trip, and stayed right on the Lake aat the hunting lodge you must have seen. periyar was really my favourite place of all, because we were so close to nature. Sounds like you saw more than us, of small wildlife - though we were lucky enough to see elephants. In fact we had just arrived at the Park and were taking the boat over to the Hotel and there they were drinking bu the Lake - we assumed they would be a common sight after that but of course they weren't and those were the last we saw close up. No tigers though. they are even rarer, although they had been seen from the hotel only the week before, again but people who didn't realise this was special so didn't tell anyone til they had gone! I think your squirrel is like that too. we did't see them. I did wonder about trying to book the Lake palace for Christmas and meeting up with you there - but it really would have been extortionate at that time of year! Anyway hope you continue to enhoy the place and the people as much as we did. Love to you all helen