It was our first visit to India and as well as
seeing the highlights of the usual tourist golden triangle route we also wanted
to see some of the wildlife this part of India had to offer. Rajasthan and the places surrounding it
looked awesome in the guide book and on the TV programme we had been watching,
a colourful array of sights, sounds, smell and other assaults on the senses, so
when we got the chance to visit we jumped at the chance.
Our first stop was to try and spot some of India's
beautiful birds. We travelled to Bharatpur
in order to stay in a maharajas palace, yes really, and visit the Keoladeo National
Park. Although I like birds I have never
been good at spotting them let alone identifying them, but this trip changed
that. It was so easy they were
everywhere! At the entrance to the NP we
got a guide and a cycle rickshaw. The
next two hours were spent cycling along one trail directly into the sanctuary. Here the park and its animals were protected
from locals who used to use this area for collecting firewood.
It was
quiet in the park apart from the sound of birds, it was good to leave all the
noise of Delhi and Agra behind and see another side to this vast sub
continent. Many stops on the rickshaw
followed as birds and other wildlife were pointed out in all directions. Mynah birds, parakeets, herons, storks and
even an owl were easy to spot, not to mention numerous other species of native
and migrating birds that looked cool, but with complicated names, some small
some decidedly large despite the view through the handy telescope the guide had
thoughtfully brought. Other animals
popping up in the park included several species of deer as well as wild boar and
even jackals. An interesting couple of
hours passed quickly and was a great introduction to what was to come.
From Bharatpur we travelled the best way we
could, on the Indian railway Shatabdi Express to our next destination of Ranthambore. That journey is another story. Ranthambore was a small Indian town that is
famous for one thing and that one thing is Tigers. The 1300km sq national park is home to
approximately 58 of them and a large tourist industry has grown up around them
serving the people that journey here outside monsoon season.
The place
was busy, we wondered whether the experience of trying to see tigers would be
spoilt with so many people jostling for position in their jeeps and
'Contours'. But we were reassured by the
guide that all tourist vehicles were well controlled and numbers limited. We had three game drives to look forward
to. As we made our way into zone 6 the
excitement began to build. On this first
journey along very bumpy and well worn tracks the first thing we stopped to see
was a 'tiger paw print'. Now this surely
had to be a good sign. Photos taken we
were off again. Many a time the truck
pulled to a halt for us the snap pictures of varieties of deer, antelope,
birds, monkeys and even crocodiles.
However the tigers proved elusive.
The second game drive, the same mounting sense
of excitement, no one wanted to take photos of deer any more. Then this was it, within 15 minutes our guide
heard of a tiger sighting, and we were off, tearing through the park in zone one
waved on by the park rangers sat in their look out. Any hopes of having the tiger to ourselves
were dashed as we pulled around a sharp bend and came to an abrupt halt along
with at least 6 other vehicles. As we
jostled for position more trucks appeared trapping us in. Edging our way forward it was finally time to
take a look, and there at least 1 km away up the side of a steep mountain side
was what we had come to see, a small outline but definitely identifiable as a
tiger. It was just lying about, the
thing that stuck me was that it had a large head, a weird thought when faced
with such as magnificent creature. After
20 minutes it got up and walked off. We
tried to see it again, but who knows from the pictures it could easily have
been a rock the second time of viewing.
That was it for the tiger viewing, the third
drive proved unsuccessful in providing any more sightings. But we were happy. We had come on the 'tale of the tiger tour'
and with a sense of achievement not really our own making we had seen one. Yes it may have been far away, the pictures
we took may just show a fussy spot as the camera focused in on the nearby tree
instead of the tiger, but we know it was there, and despite seeing photos taken
on the guides mobile phone of a tiger a few feet away lying on the track just 3
days ago we were not disappointed. At
least our experience proved the tigers were still the elusive creatures we
wanted them to be, and despite the crowds not everyone was treated to a
viewing. Yes we were very satisfied and in
the way it's only possible to do on holiday I brought a safari hat to celebrate. I felt I deserved it.
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