Chitwan National Park, Nepal 7th November 2022

After a day in Kathmandu following our trek, we made the 25 minute flight down to Bharatpur and staying 3 nights at Green Park Lodge in Chitwan National Park where we started our safari.  We arrived on Saturday afternoon and took a canoe safari for an hour.  What better way of spending an afternoon than floating down the river in a dug out canoe listening to the sounds of the forest and admiring the abundant bird life.  We also got to see deer on the bank and crocodiles in and out of the water.

Yesterday we had our first full day jeep safari and we're lucky to see five rhinos (this is what people come to Chitwan for), a black bear, spotted deer and sambar deer, and we had a close encounter with a male elephant.  The track through the forest is single track and bumpy.  We were driving back yesterday afternoon and as we turned a bend we were faced with this big male elephant walking towards us on the track.  The driver slammed on the brakes and threw the jeep into reverse and put his foot down.  We had to go over half a mile in reverse with the elephant bearing down on us before we had the chance to turn round, by which time the elephant headed off into the forest.  Exciting stuff but the guide was concerned for our safety so lucky we had a driver who reacted intuitively.  We are back out for another full day jeep safari today but thought we'd share a few photos now.