Going on a rhino hunt

It was wild animal safari day. We started off by punting down the river bird watching and crocodile hunting. Saw a few of both. It was magical first in the mist and then the sunlight bought other colors to the water and trees. In the afternoon we punted over to the other side of the river and clambered into jeeps. An apt description as I was at the back which was tiered for a good view and led to quite a bumpy ride. Instructions were no red or white clothing and stay in the Jeep at all times. We saw deer (cute with little white spots but the novelty wore off after a while), some water hogs, peahens and various varieties of ducks but no rhinos or tigers. We went over swamps, under trees and around holes. The park ranger said it was the first time in 200 trips that he had not seen a rhino. Interestingly the other people in our group in the other  jeep saw a rhino and fleetingly saw a tiger as it raced across the road.  The saddest thing we saw were two elephants shackled to a post. There task is to transport the park rangers around Chitwan National Park every day. A wild elephant came towards them as we sat in the Jeep obviously encouraging them to go with him but they couldn't and he wandered away with his trunk lowered. Although a very sad sight we were grateful to the park rangers and his elephants the next day. As we hadn't seen a rhino the ranger took us for an early morning walk. 6.00 rise can you  believe it.  Walking along croc invested banks half asleep was an adventure in itself until we saw a rhino in the distance first one in the water and then mum and baby on the shore. The elephants stopped and then began to turn and run just as the rhino began to charge. Run, run yelled the ranger and we all took off forgetting all the advice  about  zig zagging to slow the rhino down.  Thankfully the rhino mum realized we were no threat and after the elephants calmed down we walked the rest of the way. Funny as the panic died down all I could think of was the story we tell Connie 'we are going on a bear hunt ...uh oh there's a bear'.

The other amazing thing about the jungle was the fig vine and the left hand strangler plant. They were climbing trees intent on getting their parasitic claws into the tree.  What I had not seen before was termite mounds built around the base of the tree and the climbers. These domes were not rounded like in Australia but hsd many peaks similar to a craggy mountain range.

Back to last night. We sat in front of a bonfire at the rivers edge  (crocodiles sleep in the river at night I am told) and watched Nepalese dancing and singing while eating tapas. Lovely music, colorful dress and very nimble dancing.

Morning dawned and after  a hearty breakfast required after the rhino chase we piled into the bus for a long drive back the way we came over the bumpy and dusty road construction. After a few wrong turns and a huge truck jam (can't believe how many trucks there are on Nepalese roads) we arrived 15 minutes before the road closure. Well done driver.  We made our way back and then over the bridge and up the other side of the gorge. Dust covered trees and banana palms turned into green foliage as roads returned to tarmac. The valley had a magnificent back drop of the mountains  (Anapurna 1,2,3,4,5) some mountain sides too steep for snow to hang on to.  Out hotel in Pokhara is up to the usual high standard but bigger and inner city.  We had a wander around the city that sits beside a lake, had soup and momos for dinner, browsed in a few shops and arr now lying on the bed thinking of sleep and it is only 8.30.