Monday 24th February - A Grand Day Out

Apologies for late publication. The North East is not the place to go for 4G.

We seize the moral high ground by being at reception five minutes before five. Sahil is not very late and we head off through the darkness to the gate where the elephant safaris operate. A crowd has already started to assemble and soon we are waved forward to the Elephant Riding Point. This is easy to identify on account of the multiplicity of elephants around it. Soon it is our turn to clamber aboard a large elephant called Pravan where we are joined by an Indian man in the third seat. His wife and daughters are allocated their own elephant. He must have a cold as he keeps saying "Achar, Achar".

The elephants stay together in a loose group as we head out across the rather boggy grassland. Soon we are right up close with a couple of rhinos although taking good photos from a moving elephant is not that easy.

Every so often the elephant pilot will give us some interesting fact, such us pointing out a rhino latrine. The rhinos in a group will only poop here until it is deemed full and they move to another place. A particularly pretty pink flower with vicious looking thorns grows profusely on the site of redundant rhino khazis.

Our elephant makes stately progress across the flat country, taking the stands of elephant grass in their stride. This is about 2 metres high and quite dense but viewed as a feeding opportunity rather than an obstacle by the jumbo. We also see wild buffalo, wild boar, hog deer and swamp deer as well as a few birds. The pilot informs us that a bird perched on a piece of grass is a weaver bird. D thinks that it looks familiar and later finds out from the book that it is a common stonechat.

The safari lasts about an hour and that is probably long enough. Elephants are not as uncomfortable to ride on as camels but it is close. Sahil drives us on to the Kaziranga National Orchid Park, where we arrive just at opening time. He is a local and seems to know everybody. The hotel has provided packed breakfasts, which are accompanied by small cups of black tea from the snack stall. Then we get down to the serious tourism. The welcome board lists 20 different attractions on this one site, although we are inclined to avoid the Children Park and the Boating Facility. 

First up is the Orchid House. A very knowledgeable young man improves our knowledge of orchids immensely. Assam and the North East of India provide ideal conditions for a huge range of these plants, which come in all shapes and sizes. Did you know that the vanilla plant is an orchid? We are a bit  early in the year to see the full range of flowers but here are a few.

We move on to the 'Ethnic Museum with Live Handloom Practices' where another enthusiastic guide shows us their wide range of artefacts, collected from the 97 tribes of Assam and from tribes in the other North Eastern States. The things that the local people have made with cane are really impressive as is the still used for making rice liquor. One part of the museum contains handlooms, including a very simple waist loom, on which a tribal lady was creating cotton cloth with quite an intricate pattern.

We spend over an hour here and Sahil brings in a buddy to up the pace. He is also knowledgeable but very fast talking and he whips us round the Medicinal Garden in double quick time. Another cup of tea is enjoyed while we watch part of the Cultural Dance Performance and then it is on to the Bamboo Garden, where they keep numerous different varieties of this plant. Next up is the Vegetable Garden, where they claim to have 101 different vegetables, although some of them would be considered weeds at home.

 By now we are beginning to flag and call a time out for tea. One of the twenty attractions is an enormous lunchtime thali. We couldn't eat a big meal in the heat but D is keen to see what the biggest thali in Assam looks like. Sixteen (count them) veg side dishes, a huge mound of rice and then a choice of meat including chicken, mutton, duck or pigeon.

It is time to move on to Safari number two, conducted in a familiar gypsy. The set up at the gate is quite relaxed and we get under way with a minimum of fuss. Within minutes we have seen a dozen rhinos, buffaloes with gigantic horns and a good few birds. Then the gypsy stalls and won't start again. Luckily we are not too far from a Watchtower and our driver goes to summon assistance. He returns with a chap built like a second row forward who, without breaking into a sweat, push starts the gypsy containing the two of us and the driver.

At the Watchtower we get a great view out over a stretch of water. On the far bank there are more rhinos, while on an island a colony of snakebirds (Darters) are drying their wings. On a branch of a dead tree in the water a small turtle sunbathes. There is a glint out on the water and we watch a darter wrestling with quite a large fish. The bird wins and swallows it whole. 

We drive back along the track seeing spectacularly coloured birds including, a Black Necked Stork, Indian Rollers and the beautiful Yellow Footed Green Pigeon, seen below in one of the many spectacular red flowering Indian cotton trees that dot the landscape.

Next we head north skirting two large lakes and losing count of how many rhinos we see. Crested Serpent Eagles, various varieties of parakeet and a large squirrel are spotted in the trees, as well as numerous epiphite orchids, that use trees for support, but otherwise rely on what they draw out of the air. 

As we head back to base in a small convoy we come to a halt as a large elephant is occupying the track ahead. When a gypsy approaches from the other side he disappears into the tall grass and our journey resumes.

Ahead we see a section of grassland on fire, part of a controlled burning program, our driver assures us. We stop for photos and realise that the stiffish breeze is moving the flames towards the track. Our man puts his foot down and we race by just in time.

By now the sun is sinking and time is up. Sahil has done a deal with the gypsy driver to deliver us back to the hotel who seems surprised at how far it is. By the the we get there it is dark. We manage a beer and supper then we turn in exhausted.