We woke this morning to a lovely sunrise which we could view from our room balconies. Some of the tour team managed to see deer graising nearby….I had no such luck but the view was still lovely - I watched the little sparrows jump around the railings.
We ate another lovely breakfast and then met for a village tour with Rajesh. A small bus took us to the village and then we walked before returning by bus again. We were so fortunate to be able to talk to (through Rajesh) one of the families. They were a relatively elderly couple - they didn’t know how old they were, nor when they got married! They had been relocated from the National Park where they had once lived some 53 years ago - claiming the land they are now on and building their house - or more aptly ‘house compound’. They have a number of seperate buildings, all made of straw with a mud render. The Rooves are made of thatch. Everything is spotless, although it is earth floor. Apparently every morning the women polish the floor with a mud wash to seal the dust and provide and clean finish!
The couple lived in the compound with their sone and daughter-in-law - grandchildren had already left to live elsewhere. The DIL looked nearly as hold as the MIL and life looked hard (not so bad for the FIL who seemed to hover in the background!).
We returned for a morning tea refreshment, some down time and then lunch before heading across the river to a jeep for our safari. I was quite excited while talking to Judy and Lucy just before lunch we spotted a crocodile in the river, so I was hopeful of seeing more.
Our large jeep took us from the river through some river plains to more wooded areas that were definitely jungle like - with various layers of foliage. We spent 5 hours driving various trails through dense wood, open grassland and bushy areas around waterholes looking for animals. The search started well with the spotting of a tiger footprint on the path next to our jeep. Over the 5+ hours I think we counted 15 Indian Rhinos (Greater one horn Rhinoceros); probably a few hundred spotted deer; some hog deer; some herds of Gaur (an Indian Bison like beast); Peacocks and pea hens; Northern Plains grey Languors (Hanuman Monkeys); and a variety of birds including three Great Hornbills who are endangered!!
We searched and waited for tigers but none showed their faces. A huge highlight towards the end of the safari was a large Rhino who was initially about 50 metres from the jeep walked towards us to be may be 15 metres away….the size and scale is amazing…such tiny eyes for such a large beast!
Returning covered in a fine layer of dust, we showered and got ready for the second culture dancing showcasing Tharu dancing. It was another lovely authentic show that showed great skill and tremendous choreography with long stick dancing, short stick dancing.
A special ‘bush dinner’ was prepared for us and we sat laughing and talking in a jungle bush setting surrounded by kerosene lamps to finish the day.
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