On Safari in the Terai

Have spent the last 3 days on safari, staying at Tiger Lodge, Sauraha, a small town on the edge of the Royal Chitwan National Park. Its much more humid here but the climate is still very pleasant and it cools down somewhat in the evenings, feels very relaxed here.

The lodge has a great location right on the river, the park begins on the other side, across the water. Within the first hour, I spot numerous elephants, a gharial crocodile and plenty of bird life. The next day, I head into the park proper for a walking safari with a few other tourists and some local guides. We head downstream by canoe, spotting some more crocs, a few deer on the river banks and many different bird species, kingfishers, egrets, sandpipers, martins, storks and herons. The morning is spent walking around the forested areas and we catch sight of two different species of deer, a wild boar and some langurs watching us from high in the trees. We also see and hear woodpeckers, tropical bird species such as orioles and parakeets but the rhino eludes us. There are some risks to walking through the jungle - although we could possibly see rhinos, wild elephants, sloth bear and maybe even a tiger or leopard, the reality is, all pose a very serious danger. As the day gets hotter the wildlife becomes more scarce and we spend most of the afternoon walking deeper in the jungle via some three metre tall elephant grass. Its overgrown and very hard work, cutting my neck and arms, because of the tall grass at this time of year its difficult to spot much wildlife. I feel exhausted by the time we return to the lodge, its been a long very hot and humid day.

On the final day, I take a 3 hour elephant safari into the community forest. Its a much more enjoyable way to see the wildlife and we see some more deer who are much less afraid of us atop the elephant. As we near the end of the tour, we finally track down a pair of rhino in the undergrowth. Although the male is not pleased to see us and grunts at our elephant, warning him not to get too close. Its a great moment to be so close to such a wild beast. Feeling satisfied with my rhino sighting, I head back to Kathmandu, its been a fantastic three weeks.

Back in the capital people are enjoying the last few days of Dashain festival, the most important Hindu festival of the year. The holiday has brought some respite to the civil war. The Maoists unilateral ceasefire is still in place, although the army have already shown they refuse to play the same game and have continued to hunt down the terrorists. Meanwhile the Maoists continue to abduct civilians in areas under their control. As I leave the country, the king passes some legislation to tighten his control of the media, effectively banning the press from directly criticising him, without incurring sever penalties. With the assistance of the army, the King retains control of the country and has promised elections for 2007 and a return to democracy, a proposal roundly snubbed by the politicians who remain opposed to the king. In the face of increasing isolation and opposition, it remains to be seen if King Gyanendra can retain his position as the autocratic ruler of this beautiful country.