Captivating Chitwan

The stifling heat of the savannahs and the distant call of the wild elephants was our warm welcome to Nepal’s Royal Chitwan National Park.

A winding dirt road past vast green pastures, lead us through a small village to our hotel. It seemed absurd to Deep and I at first that we were situated in the very heart of this renowned wildlife sanctuary, buffalo grazing outside our hotel window and yet daily life continued as per usual for the town's people, who would dodge a herd of elephants walking down the main street and not blink an eyelid.

Our four-day wildlife adventure allowed us to get up close and personal with many animals, you normally only get the opportunity to see behind a glass wall at Australia Zoo. So to experience a real jungle safari, with our vantage point from the top of an elephant was a dream come true for both of us. Walking through the national park on this enormous creature, our eyes remained peeled for any sign of wildlife, in the hopes of spotting a rare Asian Tiger or rhino. After a few minutes walking through the dense jungle we were soon surrounded by the calls of nature and the faint squeals of excitement from foreign tourists who didn’t quite grasp the concept that to see a wild rhino, you needed to remain silent, otherwise the only one they would see was on a mural in the hotel reception. Silence has been a godsend for us after two months travelling through the hustle and bustle of India.

Thousands of tourists from all over the globe flock to this part of the world in an endeavour of getting a glimpse at a wild beast though as we soon learnt it really is a game of luck and being in the right place at the right time. On our second day in the national park we began our day by paddling down a fresh water river in a traditionally made canoe, spotting the odd freshwater crocodile sunning itself on the bank. After our canoe ride we ventured into the jungle as wild deer bounded past as at record speed. Everywhere you looked, the jungle consisted of some form of wildlife or rare species to be marvelled at.

One of the highlights of this trip was our visit to the elephant breeding centre, the second biggest of its kind in the world. We were fortunate enough to see two curious baby elephants who walked right over to Deep and I, demanding a good old back scratch. They walked up and down the fence that separated us from them, lapping up every bit of attention they could get.

By the afternoon, the jungle heat had taken its toll on us and we were led to the river bank where fully grown elephants waited for us to join them for bath time. This was an extremely unique and exhilarating opportunity, climbing on to their backs as they splashed us with cold spurts of water from their trunks. It was the perfect way to cool down after a day trekking through the jungle.

By day four, we had walked, cycled and rode an elephant around the entire national park and were even lucky enough to see a rare glimpse of a wild rhino bathing in the river. One of my fears when venturing into the national park was coming in contact with a hairy jungle spider. I made Deep check our room from top to toe, making sure there wasn’t one hiding in the bathroom. Luckily it wasn’t until we were leaving the national park that I saw one in the hotel restaurant, I guess he just came out to bid us farewell.

By Kerryn Anker