India. Given the elusive nature of the striped beastie, I set my sights a little lower and was just looking forward to a weekend outside of the city and the possibility of an elephant safari.The jumping off point for Corbett is Ramnagar, which is about 250km from Delhi. Although there is an overnight train, we decided to take a car in order to maximize our time in the park. The drive can take anywhere from 5 to 8 hours, depending upon traffic. We were fortunate to get Divendar, the most trustworthy of drivers, to take us there and back. Even so, the drive up was pretty nerve-wracking, once it got dark. Most of the roads are two lanes, with no dividers, and due to the heavy (and slow) truck traffic, there is a lot of passing going on, in both directions. As best as I can tell, whomever flicks their headlights first and takes off, gets the right of way, but I'm sure you can appreciate the potential flaws in this system. Tim had the front seat on the way up and steadfastly refused to take that seat on the way back. Me, I employed the same strategy I use for scary movies - just watched it all through my fingers. I have complete faith in Divendar, so it wasn't too bad and we made it home safe and sound, with nary a scratch on us. Though, I will say that, somewhere along the way, Divendar learned how to say "holy shit," in both American and Irish voicing.
Our adventures continued once we got into Ramnagar. Tim had made reservations at what Lonely Planet called "the best hotel in town." 1) NOT true. 2) Said hotel required all of our passports and visas, and Tim only had a photocopy. Despite a shouting match, the hotel manager wouldn't budge, and we headed down the road to the Hotel Corbett Kingdom, which in addition to being infinitely cleaner, having rooms with two beds, and no large hairy spiders, also would take the reservation with just the passport and visa numbers. Tim was pretty bitter about the whole thing, but I was convinced that we were far better off. After a good night's rest and a leisurely breakfast of aloo parata, chai, and porridge, we headed over to the park office to arrange for a driver to take us into the park. Only certain drivers are authorized to drive in Corbett, so we had sent Divendar back to Delhi. In short order, we finalized arrangements and were heading out in an open jeep. It was so nice to be out of the city on a sunny day, that alone may have made the trip worth it.
Our first night inside the park, we stayed at Gairal camp, right on the banks of the Ramganga river. The accommodations were pretty basic and the bathroom approaching scary, but it was perfectly adequate - it reminded me a little of sixth-grade science camp. We got settled into our room and enjoyed a pot of hot chai, before heading out on our first jeep safari. Over the course of the next few hours we saw spotted deer, barking deer, monkeys, a woodpecker, a jungle fowl, partridges, and a fishing eagle. We even came close to seeing a tiger, waiting with a pack of jeeps at the side of the road in total silence for 20 minutes, before giving up and heading back to camp. Throughout the park, thick underbrush comes right up to the road, so it's difficult to spot tigers. You have to listen for the monkeys and birds giving warning calls, and then wait in the hopes that the tiger will cross the proverbial road. Still hopeful, we tucked into a simple but delicious dinner back at camp, and after a bit of bs and storytelling under the stars, headed to bed early so that we could be up and at em' for a 6am safari.
We started our Sunday morning with steaming cups of chai and a dawn safari. I love being woken up by someone with a pot of hot chai; it really can't be beat, and seems a huge luxury out in the middle of a wilderness. The woods of Corbett are misty in the mornings, and you have the sense that you might find a tiger around just the next bend in the road, but still we had no luck. After several hours touring through the park, we headed back to Gairal for a late breakfast of egg sandwiches, referred to as "toast omelette," and more chai. We packed up our things and headed out for Dhikala camp, which is the hub of activity inside the park. Accommodations here were a big improvement from Gairal - 24 hour power, constant hot water, and clean bathrooms. Our hutment overlooked the grass lands at the edge of the Ramganga reservoir. From the edge of the yard, you have a birds-eye view of the river, and all of the wildlife that come to its banks. We spent a fair bit of time sunning ourselves in the yard and watching the animals come and go on the plain below us. We were able to arrange for an elephant safari that afternoon, so I was pretty excited.
The mahout took us down the bank of the river and out into the grasslands. We saw a bunch more deer, a kingfisher, a black crane, and some huge colorful birds that I couldn't identify. Still no tigers. The grass and weeds were literally 'as high as an elephant's eye' and you quickly realize that you are trespassing on the tigers' good graces. We moseyed along at the elephants' rambling pace through wallows that clearly contained the remains of a tigers' recent kills. Fresh tiger paw prints, or pug marks, were scattered along the river banks. All auspicious signs, but still no tigers. Back at camp, we had another good dinner and headed to bed early again to be up at 6am. This time, our morning jeep safari took us out into the grasslands around Dhikala, where the tigers hunt. Our guide from Dhikala seemed to have a much better sense of where to go and how to approach the safari. We spent a fair bit of time at the edge of the forest, peering through the mists to catch the tigers as they left the forest to hunt the deer that abound in the grasslands. We were oh so patient, but still no luck. You kind-of have to enjoy it for the rest of the experience. The tigers may or may not join the party, but the mornings are beautiful in Corbett. The sun rises orange through the mist, and the woods are filled with birds. We saw more peacocks and deer, and tons of tiger tracks. Toward the end of the safari, we got really lucky and caught a glimpse of a 'tusker' along side the road. These male elephants are supposedly fairly rare in the park - our guide claimed that there
are only 25 total in Corbett. Somehow, our guide managed to perfectly position our jeep and get rid of two other jeeps while we waited for the elephant to come out of the brush. He complied by wandering across the road and hanging out for a bit. Again, you realize that you remain in the park on the animals' good graces. The elephant easily outweighed the jeep with all of us in it, and there was a moment where he clearly seemed to be saying 'are you messin' with me?' Luckily, he decided that the snacks alongside the road were more interesting than us tourists, and busied himself with munching, rather than charging.Back at Dhikala, we had a hearty breakfast of masala omelette, fresh chapati, poha, and chai, and proceeded to enjoy the sunshine in the yard for a couple of hours before we had to checkout. There was still some hope that we'd see a tiger on the way out of the park. The drive from Dhikala to Ramnagar takes over two hours. Along the way, Mahmud, our driver, did his best, but still no tigers. We were oh so close. . . One of the supply truck drivers on his way into Dhikala stopped and told Mahmud that he'd just seen a pair of tigers at one of the river crossings just ahead of us. We hurried up to get there and camped out for a while, but weren't able to spot the tigers ourselves. Darn it - so close. I will have to go back again and see if I have better luck. With or without tigers, it was a good experience and really nice to have a weekend away from it all - no cell phones, no TV, electronics of any kind. And, because I was silly and left my book at home, lots of contemplative time. We met Divendar in Ramnagar and he lead-footed us back to Delhi. The drive was far less scary in the daytime, but even still there were some close calls. Because we drove through the countryside around Ramnagar in the dark, I didn't really get a chance to appreciate it until the drive home on Monday. For the first 50kms or so back to Delhi, we drove through fields and fields of mustard; the waves of golden flowers made me fell like I was back at home. It is so strange to be halfway around the world and find the same flowers and plants that we have at home. It makes for a beautiful drive. As we approached Delhi, we blew a tire. Divendar did a great job of changing the flat quickly, but even so, we attracted a crowd. At first it was three or four kids, and it very quickly became a bunch of 20 or more people, 'helping,' chattering, and offering advice. The traffic into Delhi was horrible, so we were later than we'd hoped getting back, but even with that, it was good to be home.
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| Corbett - Feb |
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