DAY 223 (Monday 12 March 2012)

Well this week is the start of Exercise BHUKAMAP AYO, which basically means Earthquake.  After the earthquake that we had last September the top knobs had decided it would be best if we did a mini exercise to see how we would actually cope in the event of a bigger quake.  The main part of the exercise will start tomorrow as we had to wait for the personnel to arrive from DHARAN and POKHARA.

Other than that it was mainly a normal working day for most of us.

DAY 222 (Sunday 11 March 2012)

All today consisted on was getting the washing done from our holiday clothes and chilling out.  Poor washing machine didn’t know what had hit it as it normally has Sundays off.

DAY 221 (Saturday 10 March 2012)

Today was our last morning as we head back to camp after breakfast; we didn’t have anything down on the itinerary for the morning so we had a bit of lie in, I still got up early though so that I could go to the watering hole to see if there was anything there.  I was stood there for a short while when I took a photo of what I thought was the Jackal heading back out for the day but when I looked at the picture that I had taken it was actually a Jungle Cat that I saw the other day but didn’t stick around long enough for me to get a picture, but this time I had been able to without realising it.

Jungle Cat

After breakfast it was time to pack up and head back to KATHMANDU, it took just about 6 hours with a stop for lunch at RIVERSIDE to get back and this time going back didn’t feel like I was on a theme park ride that I wanted to get off because as the roads had been laid with tarmac making the journey a little bit more pleasant.

DAY 220 (Friday 09 March 2012)

The morning was really misty, but I got up and after our drink of coffee and tea, we headed out for a nature walk, but first I went to the watering hole to see if there was anything there and this is what I saw.

Our guide took both me and Charlie all around the jungle, but we didn’t get to see much other than the spotted deer, monkey’s and the ever present peacock.

Spotted Deer

After we got back it was time for breakfast then, later that morning it was out again to do a bit of bird watching, unfortunately as it was late morning it was quite hot so other than the smaller birds there weren’t that many to see, however I did get to take a picture of a BLACK DONGLE that stayed sat in a tree long enough.

Black Dongle

We did get to see a couple of different varieties of Woodpecker, Peacocks and the oh so brightly coloured Kingfisher.  Not only did I see a Jackal heading out in the morning I actually saw it coming back in from its day out as it crossed over the bridge by the watering hole.

Jackal

As the program at MACHAN is rotated every 2 days our evening consisted of the Local Farmers Dance followed by a BBQ again consisting of pork and chicken.

DAY 219 (Thursday 08 March 2012)

Well we were up at 0600 hrs this morning and were giving a drink of tea and coffee before we headed out on our Elephant Safari.

Our Elephant for the Safari

We saw plenty of deer, a jungle cat (no not a tiger), not only did we hear but we also saw plenty of peacocks, but also no rhino or tiger this morning, however we did get to see a tiger pawprint in the mud down at the side of a bank where the rider of the elephant believes it was passing through.

Tiger Paw Print

As we were out so early when we got back it was time for breakfast before our briefing on the elephant which was at 1030 hrs.  The briefing was good even though it was hard to understand the briefer at times, however, Charlie and I were the only ones in the group that wanted to get on the elephant by the way of using their trunk.

 

Charlie getting on the elephant

Getting on the elephant by the means of the trunk was quite an experience because as soon as you had your foot on the trunk the elephant literally threw you up onto its head before you even had a time to think about it.  After doing this and feeding the elephant its morning snack of sandwiches which were made up of leaves and other stuff that was inside the leaves that they normally eat it was time to head down to the river to bathe the elephant.

There were 3 other people that were in our group but they didn’t go in the water with the elephant so it was just me and Charlie.  I was actually quite surprised as to how warm and clear the river was and with the clarity of the water I was happy with as crocodiles swim in the river that we went to.

I even had the chance to ride the elephant out of the river back onto the bank before getting dried off and footwear changed prior to heading back to MACHAN for our lunch.

After lunch we were doing a village walk, but to be honest with you that wasn’t really my cup of tea, I was more interested in seeing animals not people.

The evening consisted of a slide show presentation of the Park and Animals and there was an amazing picture of a tiger splashing into the river that another visitor took when they were here.

Again after our evening meal which consisted of their local curry, it was time for bed as we were up early again in the morning, but this time it will be to do a nature walk.

DAY 218 (Wednesday 07 March 2012)

Today we left camp at 0500 hrs and managed to get out of the valley with ease and as it was HOLI DAY here in NEPAL we were not even covered in powdered paint which apparently is tradition here.  We arrived at MACHAN at 1030 hrs which was good as our first itinerary of the day was lunch at 1300hrs, we were greeted by a porter who took our bags from the car and led us to the garden where we were welcomed with a refreshing drink of lemon squash (it was well received), we were then briefed on what we would be doing that first afternoon.  After our briefing we went to the room to settle in before lunch, so it was a quick freshen up and then headed down to the water hole to see if we could see any animals. 

Our Accommodation

In the distance at the watering hole you could see a Rhino that was heading our way, it looked like he was going to come down to the watering hole, but when he reached the track he headed back up and away from us.  There was also a crocodile that was known as a MARSH MUGGER, they have a tendency to come away from the water during the evening and hunt deer.

Marsh Mugger Crocodile

After we had lunch we went to the crocodile sanctuary before heading out on the Jeep Safari, it was a lot of bumping around the jungle, but it was good to see the different animals that were out an about in the afternoon, even if some of them were hiding in the shade.  There was one place that we stopped to have a look because we could see in the river a Rhino, all you could see was his horn, ears and eyes, it was funny to as the Rhino kept blowing bubbles in the water.

Rhinoceros

After the jeep safari we then were put into a boat that was actually quite low in the water especially when it had plenty of people in it and in this case there were 8 people including the oars man.

The boat

It was such a relaxing time just riding down the river watching all the different birds at the side of the bank and also watching the beautiful sun set.  I could quite happily have just done that all of the time.

Evening Sunset on the River Ride

When we got back to MACHAN we had some time before our evening meal which was to be a BBQ consisting of pork and chicken, but before the BBQ we had a cultural dance that was put on by the local farmers.

Local Farmers Dance

There were 4 dances in total that they did and each one told of a story, but the forth dance all of us were invited to get up and join them, it was fun to do.  After the dance that is when our BBQ dinner was to be served and to be honest, it wasn’t long after that that Charlie and me headed off to bed as we had been up since 0400 hrs that day and we have to be up at 0600 hrs for our Elephant Safari Ride.

So far so good.

DAY 217 (Tuesday 06 March 2012)

Gave my money and bits and pieces to Karnasher Tamang today with regards to mine and Charlie’s trek to Everest Base Camp so I am now all paid up on that front, I have just got my flights to LUKLA to pay for and then we are set to go, well except for a few bits and pieces that we have to get to take with us.  I am so looking forward to it, it will be nearly 3 weeks away from work and it will be well worth it.