Monday, 25 June 2012

Birthday Blogging!

Since we set of back in April, a curious thought of mine has been wondering where I would be on my birthday and what I would be able to do. I was delighted to learn a few weeks ago, that should things go to schedule, the big day would fall shortly after we were due to arrive in Nepal.

So here we are on my Birthday in Chitwan, Nepal! Today has been a fantastic day as I got to spend the day with elephants :)

We started the day with a trek through the jungle in Chitwan National Park on elephant back. With four of us to a elephant we set off into the jungle for a 2 hour trek to see what wildlife we could find. Riding the elephants was a strange feeling, with their slow and lumbering action being comparable to being on a boat.

Toby attempting to get seated as some of the group prepare to set off

The first wildlife that we encountered were a few spotted deer in a clearing not too far into the jungle. It was amazing to see them stand their ground, and that they were not scared into fleeing by the presence of the giant elephants. I guess that the two are used to encountering each other as treks through the national park here are so common.

Spotted deer

As our ride continued we came across a fairly impressive sight; a wild rhino just waking from his morning sleep. To the untrained eye I thought I was looking at a bird standing on a rock, but the elephant "driver" was adamant that there was something more to be seen. As the elephant got closer, sure enough my "rock" began to move and it raised it's head out of the tuft of grass on which it was sleeping. On foot I'm sure I would have felt a lot more intimidated by the creature in front of us, but on the back of the elephant the rhino felt comparatively small and nonthreatening. 

The rhino, having been woken form his sleep

Leaving the now woken rhino behind, the elephants headed off down toward a couple of small rivers which we were able to wade through, spotting a few more people along the way. It was as we were climbing out of the second river that the eagle eyed driver spotted a crocodile basking near the far bank. Unfortunately I was not able to get a photo of it though as the elephant would not keep still enough!

During the rest of our ride we saw a few more deer, along with a couple of monkeys swinging their way through the treetops. The experience was fantastic, and certainly something I would like to do again in the future. Hopefully next time we will see one of the elusive tigers (one had been seen on the same ride 2 days earlier).

After a short rest we headed back down to the river at it's closest point to our hotel to wash the elephants. At first we were able to ride the elephants into the water (this time without a saddle) where they took great enjoyment in firing water over their heads at us, and soaking us to the skin. On command of the elephant guide she then knelt down in the water before tipping us off of her back and straight into the river! 

The elephant has a laugh at our expense. Great fun though!

We were able to do this a couple of times with different elephants, before the elephant laid down in the water and we were encouraged to go and throw water over it and rub it down with our hands. The elephants clearly love being in the water, which is considerably cooler than the air temperature, and they are very playful, returning the water we threw over them with a wave created by slamming their trunk down through the water. 

Washing the camel, although Jay looks like he's trying to hold it's head under!

The whole experience of the day was incredible, as you were really able to get up close and personal with these incredible creatures and really learn how smart they are and how graceful that they can be for their size. 

As birthdays go, I would have to say that this one was pretty special and one that I (and as the saying goes; the elephants) will never forget!

4 comments:

  1. Errr Dan your photo says washing a camel...... i think you might have your animals confused! Glad you had such a great birthday :) x

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  2. Dan as Kristina has already pointed out the "CAMEL" was really an ELEPHANT in disguise or could it have been something to do with "shotgunning the beer" or the "chocolate cake and cocktails" consumed before writing this blog. Really happy that it was a really special day for you and we shared "Rory the Lion" with Ray, Pat and Nan in a toast to you. xxxxxx

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  3. YAY! Im glad you had a good birthday! am defo veryyy jelous. :)
    Looks like you had a shave tho ;)

    Looks like lots of funnnn :)
    Mat & Sas.

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  4. Well spotted people, I had just noticed it myself and was wondering if I had gotten away with it!! I was sat watching 2 camels on the hotel lawn as I was typing the blog, so obviously just said what I saw!
    Yes I have had a shave as well Mat, it was going to prompt a facebook status of it's own but I couldn't get facebook to work for a couple of days.

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