Jeep safari

After the visit to the breeding centre, we returned to the hotel for lunch. It was very similar to yesterday. It was tasty, but I'm not sure it all belonged on the same plate 😀.

Following lunch, Laxman took me to the starting point for the jeep safari. He bought my permit and gave me some words of advice before sending me on my way. I would meet up with him and his arrivals for today when my safari was over. I met up with my group, which included a mum and her two adult children from Western Australia. I thought we were going straight in a jeep, but first we had to walk to the river, cross it by rowing boat, and walk across the beach to a jungle clearing where the jeeps were waiting for us.

We drove through forest and jungle for over four hours. It was enjoyable, but sadly, we didn't see very much. The weather was closing in, so visibility wasn't good. We saw plenty of peacocks, some spotted deer, and a few monkeys, as well as a wide variety of birds. The only rhinos we saw were just specks in the distance, and tigers inevitably proved elusive! At one point, we stopped to visit a crocodile breeding centre, which was interesting.

As we approached the point where we had got on the jeeps, it started to rain. It was just drizzling at first, so I didn't put my waterproof on as we set off to walk back along the beach. Suddenly, the heavens opened! It was bouncing down! I managed to get my jacket on, so my top half was dry, but the rest of me was soaked. Nobody else had any sort of protection at all! When we reached the jetty, the boat was still on the other side of the river, so we had to wait while the boatman rowed across to pick us up. We all then had to climb into a very slippery, wet boat and sit down in pools of water! As we rowed back across to the far bank, there were sheets of lightning and claps of thunder all around us. It was apocalyptic! When we reached shore, I made my way as fast as I could to the meeting point with Laxman. He was waiting, along with his six new guests, none of whom seemed very impressed with the weather 😂.

Laxman arranged for a car to come and pick us up. Back at the hotel, we went straight for dinner. It was Dal Bhat again. A bit predictable, but very tasty. After the meal, I went to my room to pack, ready to leave in the morning.Læs mere