Royal Chitwan National Park
The Terai is an area of hot subtropical
plains and some of the most fascinating attractions in Nepal.
Foremost among them is the magnificent Royal Chitwan National
Park, once the hunting ground for British and Nepalese aristocrats.
We crossed a river to get to Chitwan. Normally, there are a lot
of crocodiles in this river but at this time of the year, it was
so hot that the crocodiles were in a cooler area.
Today, the animals - elephant, rhinoceros,
tiger, leopard and deer - are protected, not shot. We were fortunate
enough to scout for wildlife on the back of an elephant. We also
examined the jungle by canoe and went jungle walking with experienced
guides.
As Pam pushed me towards the elephants,
they started to back away. They were a little shy of someone
in a wheelchair.
Our guide, Tsering, watched over Devin
everywhere we went. Tsering spends most of his time in the mountains
there, he is fearless. The jungle was a different story.
Once, on a trail in the jungle, a rhino had Tsering running up
a tree.
After working all day, the elephants
are given a bath. Campers are invited to help. Devin, the little
guy in the picture above, knew how to instruct the elephants to
spray water. He gave the command several times while on the back
of one of these portly pachyderms.
