A misty dawn filtered through the bamboo slats of our hut door and, grateful for the day, I got up for breakfast. We lingered in the central hut reading for a while before sauntering down to the park entrance where we looked around the display stands giving information about the wildlife to be found in the park. George was feeling weak and opted out of further exploration and returned to his bed in hut 101.
In the park the typical vegetation of the Inner Terai is Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests with predominantly sal trees covering about 70% of the national park area. The wide range of vegetation types in the Chitwan National Park is the haunt of more than 700 species of wildlife and a not yet fully surveyed number of butterflies, moth and insect species. Apart from king cobra and rock python, 17 other species of snakes, starred tortoise and monitor lizards occur. The Narayani-Rapti river system, their small tributaries and myriads of oxbow lakes is habitat for 113 recorded species of fish and mugger crocodiles.
The display stands promised that Chitwan National Park is famous for being the best wildlife-viewing national parks in Asia, where we would have an excellent chance of spotting endangered One-horned Rhinos, Royal Bengal Tiger, Deer, Monkeys, Wild Boar and up to 544 species of birds.
Leaving George to recuperate in bed I set off westwards on the north bank of the river to suss out the “free” bit of jungle that stood outside the park boundaries. The East Rapti River flows from east to west through the Chitwan Valley in Nepal, forming the northern border of the Chitwan National Park. It joins the Narayani River inside the protected area.
Entrance to the park cost 65 Nepalese Rupees so it was worth investigating all of the cheap or free alternatives. I followed the riverbank until the path was cut off by a tributary river. It looked deep and fast, but I watched a local native wade totteringly across it and it did not pass his mid-thigh.
I took off my boots and trousers and waded across. On the other side I was acutely studied by a boy and three girls as I sat in the sun to dry before dressing. In the jungle now I crept about on small trails without seeing a thing, save for several grazing wild water buffalo. The air was alive with insects, especially dragonflies and butterflies, and birds honked, quacked and cackled from the river.
I settled in the blazing sun on the riverbank to write my logbook and stare across at the wilder-looking national park savannah. The return journey sapped my energy as I plodded along through the jungle trying to follow the trail as it weaved about and often came to a dead end.
At one stage I was confronted with a solid wall of vegetation and rather than go back the way I came, I plunged onwards. The huge crackling and rustling that my incursion caused disturbed a large animal of some description. I stood still with my heart thumping as a rapid commotion disrupted the foliage to my right and then the unidentified beast rustled away, lumbering through the brush.
I continued along the riverbank with waning strength and arrived back at 15:00 hrs. George was awake and reading his book when I slumped down on the bed and crashed out into an exhausted slumber. Later I joined him in the dining hut and at 18:00 hrs. I dined on omelette and rice pudding. We sipped hot lemon and read as two soapy girls carried on a naïve and gleeful exchange.
Eventually we pilfered two lamps and retired to our hut. I wrote a letter home and then, fully dressed, we dozed off.
No comments:
Post a Comment