The beauty of Kaziranga and it's rhinoes....
This was one of the best experiences i have had till todayy...
I can still remember the trip to ASSAM... the land of real beauty...
The beauty is not just in the limited to the jungles and the wildlife but also it's people...
Travelling through the endless hills and woods and then some vast stretches of grassland we reached Kaziranga - Home to the indian rhinoes...
It was late in the evening, a light fog and mist covered the roads... Even through the mist we could see things pretty clearly.... The vast greens of the Kaziranga reserve and the cooollll air made us all feel fresh even after the long journey....
As night fell and the cold descended, we were treated to some hot rotis and tasty curry... All this, sitting by the calm stream which flowed through out hotel lawn...
The dim lights gave the feeling of a true village, in the midst of the wilderness...
Sitting with our hotel manager we decided that we would take the early morning Elephant Safari which would start at 6:00 in the morning. and so we had to leave the hotel at 5:30. It was soo cold and dark outside, with only the chirp of crickets and some birds breaking the monotonous sound of our jeep's engine.
Finally we reached the starting point of the safari where we mounted the jumbos...
Fortunately we got the leader elephant. So we were right ahead of the lot... The 1st to spot any movement.
Though we were on elephant back, the grass (rightly called the Elephant Grass) was reaching our chests. The elephant was crushing it mercilessly under it's feet and sometimes eating it when making the way.
Suddenly,,,, with a jolt the elephant came to a stand still.... Rocking us on our seats...
Then came the thrilling moment,,, Suddenly two Rhinos charged out of the tall grass, their calf in tow. The sudden surprise made even the mighty elephant stop in it's tracks, you must have guessed what would we have felt like....
But it was a greatt experience - Early morning, faint fog drifting through the air, cool tall grass around us and those beautiful rhinos in front... Suddenly cameras clicked and the animals rushed into the swampy grass nearby...
Being on the lead elephant was thrilling and we could enjoyy these surprises more than the others. The mahout then started telling stories of how they had seen rhinoes, deer, an occasional tiger spotting. His colourful stories made us yearn for more and made us even more alert.
Throughout the entire ride, we spooted some more rhinoes. But none of the other experiences were as thrilling as the first one...
