Diary: Sunday 27 February 2000

Sunday 27 February 2000

Very early start after almost sleepless night (a Canadian kid was very sick throughout the whole night – poor thing). We shared a guide and Gypsy 4x4 with Agnes Montanari, her daughters and a friend. They live in Delhi and had come up for a weekend break. Our safari commenced at 6:45am as there is more chance of spotting animals at dawn and dusk.

We had two hours or driving through the open grassland and densejungle of the park, keeping our eyes peeled for tigers and wild elephants – both were elusive. We did, however, see many types of deer, birds (including a beautiful kingfisher) and also wild boar and monkeys. By the end of the trip, we were quite glad to be back at the camp to defrost and enjoy breakfast.

The remainder of the day was spent relaxing at various lookout points with a pair of binoculars. We took an elephant ride into the jungle for our ‘evening safari’. It was magical in the ‘deep forest’ away from the roads. Still no elephants or tigers. We shared the elephant with Adriana (Mexican) and Ofer (Israeli) who are travelling India together. We spent an amusing evening talking with them.