Day 2 -- Corbett National Park

Dec. 9 --

6:00 a.m. found us bundled up in a jeep, bouncing over the pavement en route to start our jeep safari. Yes, it was chilly -- no windows and a good morning breeze as our driver tore off down the road. We did pass a few joggers and bicyclists, otherwise it was pretty quiet; Ava was convinced it was the middle of the night. Certainly felt like it!

After 20 minutes of crisp wind whipping at us we arrived at a small safari jeep consortium. Our driver angled the jeep as close to the gate as possible, just as the other drivers were doing. Then all drivers hopped out to do what Indian drivers do when waiting for Corbett to open, I guess, whatever that might be.

All of us tourists sat tight and I tried to remember how warm I'd been when I walked out the cottage door w/ cup of nescafe in hand.

(Note: I suck at cold, and with Delhi being so termperate in winter I feel like I'm back in Texas December weather. No complaints. I did bring lots of layers for this excursion and had kids bundled up w/ hats, mittens, 4 layers and blanket. They seemed toasty, I, of course, was cold. Suffice it to say climbing Mt. Everest and snow skiing aren't on my list of hobbies.)

Anyway, as we waited for the safari to begin we were accosted by binocular renters so each child had a pair.

As the gate opened drivers flew to their cars, each jeep jockeying into position Indian style (not much attention to any kind of line).

Once inside we again stopped for paperwork then hit the dirt roads leading into the safari zone and immediately spotted India's largest species of deer, most favored by the tiger (can't recall the name) and monkeys.

After a final paperwork stop we picked up our guide who, like everyone else we'd encountered since checking in, was intent on finding a tiger to observe. This isn't easy given their propensity to spy, the fact that they have so much cover in which to hide and that they blend into their surroundings.

But 6:00 a.m. is supposed to be the best time for this effort, hence our crack of dawn departure. (BTW I'd asked for a 5:20 wake up call, instead got one at 4:40, then a 5:20 knock at the door. More help than necessary.)

The forest was gorgeous at sunrise, a few scattered clouds turning peach and pink, a light golden haze with a bit of fog blended in to cast a lovely warm glow on the trees and hills.

Our jeep hustled us over a windy, rocky dirt road, around bends and through shallow rivers. We slowed down to pueruse for widlife, saw dozens of spotted deer grazing, most just giving us a glance and continuing with their morning munching.

The barking deer we saw here and there, too -- so small and dark brown. Birds were more active as the sun became more established in the sky.

The driver stopped a few times after spying tiger pawprints and a spot in the road where one had been sitting, all recent.

Around a bend we stopped with a group ahead of us; they had spied a tigress and 3 cubs so we stopped to look. Claire caught a glimpse of one of them but the rest of us were unlucky.

Our guide showed us where wild elephants water, though we didn't see any. We certainly saw our fill of monkeys! And we kept stopping to quietly peruse grassy areas but didn't spot the cats. Our guide said time and patience are the keys to tiger observation. He recommended we come back for several days so we could plant ourselves for hours at a time in the same location until a tiger turned up. While I'm sure the sighting would be fascinating, I'm a bit too Type A for laying in grass for hours so will hit the zoo. (Plus I could see myself falling asleep as tiger emerged, therin missing the whole thing.)

Incidentally, Corbett has 160+ Bengal tigers, the largest of the tiger species. (They count animals by using camers that are triggered when an animal steps nearby.)

While our animal ante from the excursion wasn't what we'd hoped, we certainly enjoyed the beauty of the adventure and the opportunity to get outside in such a beautiful place, careening around in a jeep. The smells of the plants were fabulous.

Interestingly, Corbett's tree leaves don't change color for the most part, though some do turn brown from the heat/dryness of summer and fall off prior to monsoon.

The salt (sp?) tree is most prevalent here -- a hardwood that spends 100 years growing and 200 decaying. It was used by the railway to make sleeper cars because of its durability.

Teak trees are also in the forest, with big transparent leaves, as were banyan trees, with vines for swinging hanging off. We saw parasite plants wrapped around some trees. Apparently they take nutrients from the host tree, making it hollow over time.

Back at the park entrance we said good-bye to our guide and headed back down to the hotel, enjoying the scenery we could actually see this time. Villagers were going about their day and we saw an elephant getting a bath. It was also much warmer, though at this point I had no plans to toss any layers yet.

Breakfast tasted great and afterword we parked next to the pool to absorb the sun. Several monkeys were playing in a tree near the pool, dropping their discards onto the ground.

We also checked out the spa; I decided the steam room was on my agenda (and why pass up an opportunity for a head and foot massage. Let's face it; after being bounced around, stiff and cold, in a jeep, massage was absolutely critical).

The ladies at the spa said they would watch Claire and Ava while I got pampered -- fabulous deal. Claire played w/ a puppy and another young girl vacationing w/ her family, Ava supervised my head and foot massage.

For the steam experience, I was placed in the cold room sans steam. At first I wondered if it worked but the attendant told me to wait, steam would come. Sure enough it started blasting out -- wet heat infiltrated the room and me. Fabulous.

Ava, at this point, was done with spa services so joined Claire in spoiling the puppy.

We enjoyed lunch on the veranda overlooking the rover; someone was standing in the middle of the river, fishing w/ a net.

At 4:00 we boarded our elephant for the elephant safari. Her Indian name escapes me but it means garland. (BTW I'm told all elephants used for riding are female as makes are too aggressive.)

Off we went, again with a guide from the hotel, across the road into the forest. The area was very thick with brush so it was a good excrusion by elephant. Our guide told us a tigress had been spotted there the previous day, in fact she followed the group on elephant so they hightailed it out of the park.

No such excitement for us. We did enjoy the ride, lovely setting, canopy, tons of lantana (which was introduced as a garden plant, takes over, nothing eats it and they struggle to get rid of it).

We did see plenty of monkeys; one tree had both brown and black faced ones living together. And we saw lots of very cool, big black and orange spiders with immense webs.

Ava fell asleep on the elephant, apparently that happens frequently as they slowly rock back and forth.

Our elephant wanted to stop for snacks along the way and at one point tried to lay down. Probably over worked and underfed.

After 1 1/2 hours of sauuntering around the forest we returned to the hotel, enjoyed folk dancing by the fire (bagpipes, drums, dancers from the area). Ava danced quite happily by the fire and we three got coaxed into joining in the finale.

What a long, wonderful day!