The next morning we awoke early and grabbed some quick breakfast before being taken to Sapana Village Lodge. At Sapana Village Lodge we met the elephants and assisted in feeding and bathing one of them. I was so super excited about seeing an elephant in real life that when it came around the corner I froze, completely overwhelmed by the size and beauty of the magnificent animal. However, I quickly snapped out of it and just started grinning like a crazed loon as the elephants carer showed me how to feed the elephant. It was amazing. Henny was brave enough to put the food straight into the elephants mouth but I preferred to just hold it out in my hand for the elephant to take with its trunk. Having fed it we then tried to clamber on so that we could ride the elephant down to the river. Hesitant at first, because we didn’t want to hurt the elephant, we climbed on in a very inelegant but gentle way. For some ridiculous reason I opted to see at the back and not sandwiched between the carer and Henny and so every time the elephant had to go up a small slope I clung to Henny for dear life! After the short walk which lasted less than 5 minutes we reached the river where the elephant sat down, promptly causing Henny and I too fall off into the river with a pretty big splash.
Next came washing the elephant. Taking it in turns we sat on the elephants back and shouted ‘chhop’ whilst the elephant sprayed us with water. After a few minutes of fun, trying to stay on the elephant whilst it stood up and sat down, it was time to properly wash the elephant which the carer showed us how to do. It was lots of fun and before we knew it a whole hour had passed and it was time to ride the elephant back.
With our feet on solid ground we made our way to where they kept the baby elephants. Unfortunately, it was here that our fears were confirmed, the baby elephant was chained up so that it couldn’t walk far and couldn’t reach its mother. Whilst there were some practical reasons for this, the elephant seemed distressed and it made both Henny and I uneasy so we quickly left.
Returning to Sauraha we quickly changed and grabbed some dry instant noodles for lunch before starting our jungle walk. The two guides looked at our colourful clothes in despair, a stark contrast to their green camouflage clothing!
After a very precarious and genuinely terrifying boat crossing we entered the jungle and were told by one of the guides that we shouldn’t expect to see much other than monkeys, deer and lots of bugs. Two seconds later the other guide whispered to us to tell us that there was a rhino! On the other side of the river we could see the rhino entering the water and we rushed off behind the excited guides to a place where we could get a better view of the creature. Having taken lots of photos (on Henny’s camera!) we moved along and made our way through the jungle. Spotting the odd deer or monkey here and there we continued to various viewing platforms and just as the heavens opened we were trudging in the open to another platform. We were soaked. There was thunder and lightening and torrential rain for about 20 minutes and just as we reached the next viewing platform it all went away, excellent timing..! Heading back we saw a few more deer and monkeys before having to cross over the river on the pecarious canoes again.
Back on land we said goodbye to our helpful guides and made our way back to the hostel for a hot shower before eating an early supper and getting into bed.
The next morning we grabbed some quick food for breakfast before being given a ride to the airport by the hostel owner. The flight back was easy and as soon as we got back to the embassy it was time for a proper shower and a repack of all of our things in preparation for our flights the following day. Having a more chilled out day we did some shopping and then went out with Freya in the evening.
Henny is leaving tomorrow for England and I’m heading off back to Pokhara. It’s going to be strange without her!!
The Wanderers x
For those who wonder where we wander 