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Tiger Trekking and a houseboat for three
After an interesting propeller plane journey down to Cochin, Kerala, we started our Tiger persuit. The Periyar national park is home to around 44 Tigers and it was here that we went on a 3 day/2 night Tiger Trekk. We camped out in the jungle with the sounds of Monkeys and even a Tiger roaring early one morning which was an unbelievable experience. Our five guides who used to be poachers were brilliant. They not only cooked us incredible meals but they took us out into the vast jungle, protecting and showing us the amazing wildlife that was around. We saw alot of Bison, a sort of cross between a large deer and bull, they are extremely dangerous if they are alone, charging at you at any given time. Our gunman Sabu, or Mr Clumsy as we renamed him, was great at pointing out animals and different animal tracks but always managed to scare them off with his heavy, clumsy feet cracking twigs and constantly stumbling. We quitely watched a group of Bison on the second day and as Sabu loaded his gun as precaution, he accidentally fired a bullet, inches from Joe's feet! We admired his saftey skills! From our other guides reaction, we doubted this was a rare occurance. Unfortunately we didn't get to see a Tiger, the last sighting was a month earlier but we did get to see much of jungle life that is fantastic and beautiful. We had an amazing time getting back to nature and meeting the Tribes men and women of the jungle and would highly recommend it. It did mean that Lauren couldn't shower for three days and hasn't worn make-up in over a week, it's a first!
After our hardcore Tiger trekking we thought we deserved a bit of down time so we organised a day and a night on the Backwaters in Alleppey on a houseboat. It was great to relax and take in the scenery but we have to say, it's very hard to beat our Tiger trekking experience but it's definately worth doing.
Well, we're off to barter with a rikshaw driver to take us to Verkala, where the beach is suppossed to be gorgeous. Then on Sunday we're parting company with Joe and heading to Sri Lanka for one night and then on to Thailand. We can't wait.
Until next time....... Loz
Having spent a few days after the wedding at the marriot recuperating, Tom and Angie went home and Jezza, Loz and I got a plane south to Kerela. This place is pretty spectacular. We first headed to a national park called Periyar where we camped for two nights in the middle of the jungle. It was epic. There was no one for miles apart from a few local tribepeople. We trecked everyday looking for any wildlife including the elusive Tiger. The guides we had were great. There were five of them, including one forest guard- Sabu- the man with the gun. What a character. Considering he was the clumsiest guy we had ever met, he was not the man you wanted as your protection for three days in the heart of the jungle surrounded by plenty of animals that could kill you whithout thinking if they wanted to. We saw evidence of tigers and elephants everday however unfortunately never caught a glimpse of any of them. We did, however, hear tigers calling out for a mate one morning, a couple of hundred meters from us. The most atmospheric noise in the jungle has to be that of the black monkey- an amazing sound. On another trek, we were very close to another tiger and being extremely quiet trying to track it down when Sabu trod on a branch which made a whole herd of bison scarper- just one of his many instances of Sabu proving a dab hand at subtelty.
The food the guys cooked up was fantastic, especially considering the basics they wew using. The first morning we bought some fish off a local tribesman on his bamboo raft. Ten fish which would feed all of us including the guys for two pounds fifty. They were difinitely fresh because a few of them were still wriggling when we paid. It was Loz's first time camping and she took to the whole experience brilliantly. Going to the toilet alfresco without a care. On the second day, Sabu managed to get a shot off, unfortunately it almost hit Joe in the foot. Completely unexpected for all of us including Sabu. I think it might have been the first time he'd ever shot that thing. The other guys were far more experienced with jungle life and although they didn't have guns, we all felt very safe with them around. They all joked about Sabu being 'a good shooter'.
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