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2nd March 2007
We rickshawed from the red fort to a nearby Islamic mosque. The rickshaw ride was fun as we negotiated narrow streets with dangling electric wires, humourless traffic cops and each other’s rickshaws. The mosque security wanted an extortionate fee for bringing my camera through so I decided they could get stuffed. Mayette and Dave couldn’t be bothered either so we three terminal temple malady patients sat outside. Our lunch stop was three time zones away for reasons that were very unclear. After lunch we were dropped back at the hotel. Those of us that could readily make decisions (Dave, Max, Mayette and I) walked to the Khan Markets. It was pleasant but hardly a bargain hunter’s paradise. The late afternoon de-briefing session was held in the Jimmies’ room. Mr Joy joined us for dinner. The restaurant was the same one we lunched at the day before and the menu was identical. 3rd March 2007 Holi Day and everything was closed for a holiday. After stopping at a hotel that did not appear to be trading for a tea stop that nobody wanted we arrived at Corbett National Park by mid-morning.
Our last accommodation outside of Delhi was with the Fawlty Towers chain Corbett Wild Camp. This rather ordinary and poorly managed facility was a late replacement for the more expensive and probably much better Corbett Jungle Lodge. The reasons for the change were not well explained to us. Lunch was surprisingly nice. We then walked along the nearby river looking for ibisbill or anything else we could find. Apparently the ibisbill left the week before. We found a few birds and generally enjoyed being out of vehicles and away from temples and their kin. 4th March 2007 Located in the foothills of the Himalayas is the majestic CORBETT NATIONAL PARK. It is famous for its wild population of tigers, leopards and elephants. In 1858 the first step towards protection of Corbett National Park forest was initiated when farming and cattle were banned in the lower Patlidun Valley. The Forest Department took control of the area and declared it as a reserve forest in 1879 under the Forest Act. In 1934 Governor Malcolm Hailey declared the reserve forest as a sanctuary. Soon after Governor Hailey and Sir Smythies proposed the upgrading of the sanctuary to a national park. During this period Major James E Corbett was getting famous for his man eating tiger shoots. Corbett, who was well versed with the area, was consulted and helped in marking the boundaries for the proposed national park. The Wildlife Protection Act was enacted in 1972 and Corbett National Park was one of the first national parks to launch “Project Tiger”, a government sponsored program for the conservation of the tiger and its habitat. In 1991 the area of the reserve was further increased with the inclusion of the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary. Today Corbett National Park stands as one of the best protected tiger reserves in the world. There are around 140 tigers in Corbett.
Birdwatching Day or “Sir Giles Management Day”. The six of us crowded into a jeep with a driver and guide. We speared off in the direction of the nearest forest that would give us no real chance of being trodden on or eaten. This was so that we could walk about and look at birds. The guide was skilled and personable and didn’t get the shits with Sir Giles like the rest of us did. At one point Sir Giles fell over while shouldering others out of the way in trying to look at a bird. As we walked along a quiet lightly trafficked sealed road an adult female tiger appeared on the road about 40 metres ahead of us. It calmly trotted across it and down an embankment. The guide prevented me from approaching it and the driver, some distance behind, wanted his mum. The tiger had descended a steep washaway and had we been further along the road it would have been doubtful that it could have stopped before it landed on us. By late morning Sir Giles was buggered but that didn’t stop him complaining about the wonderful lunch site nor about umpteen other things that I have forgotten. We then searched for owls fruitlessly before returning to camp. We dumped our beer in the river to cool it down. I forget what happened after that. 5th March 2007 Basil’s Indian protégé woke us at 0455. This was for the 0530 wake-up call. A small error, but the damp Torquay-like air of Corbett breeds that sort of mistake. It was lucky we got up early because we had to wait for an hour at the park entry gate before our rattly truck arrived to take us into the park. The forest in Corbett is superb and if it wasn’t for the numbers of vehicles along its roads it would have been quite productive for mammals methinks. Never mind, we managed a troupe of Indian smooth-coated otters, gharials and a wonderful concentration of various freshwater fish. We caught up with David Bishop again and quickly swapped notes. He had more to swap than I did. We ventured as far as the end of a dam where I picked up white-tailed eagle, which was to be the only new bird for me at Corbett. The return shakedown was via a small herd of nine elephant, then two more to add to one that Dave had seen for us earlier in the day. The morning safari lasted until 1330 so we hardly had time for lunch before the afternoon one commenced. This was exciting as we entered the park from its rain-shadow side. The best sightings were dozens of kalij pheasants, junglefowl and emerald doves and the chance to fool about with some tame spotted deer and blackbuck at a guards’ outpost. The return journey was freezing, arriving well after sunset. Guess what happened next? 6th March 2007 Our last jeep safari was into the well-tigered part of Corbett. Multiple sets of spoor ran in all directions along the tracks. Sharp-eyed Dave found us a pair of yellow-throated martens but that was about it. Back to the ranch and showered before walking along the road for an hour or so. The return journey to Delhi could not have been in greater contrast than the outward one. Of note was the spectacle of the black kites. These were not kites being flown by kiddies but tens of thousands or more (I am not exaggerating) live black kites on the Delhi rubbish tip and occupying about 25% of all air space within sight of it in every direction. I could imagine that the kite factor would be a component of daily weather forecasting. By the time we reached The Claridges I barely had time to gulp down two longnecks before our farewell dinner. The dinner was predictable but we were quite surprised when Mr Joy and Ankur produced some very thoughtful farewell gifts for each of us. There were books, clothes and wooden wall hangings. I have never received a gift from a travel agency before! On behalf of our group, Dave asked Mr Joy about our payment for three domestic airfares when the last minute rescheduling meant that there were only two. Mr Joy agreed that this was an error and said he would provide a refund. Poor Rakesh took us to the hotel. We gave him a very generous tip for his services, given the nature of his day. I gave him a written reference. 7th March 2007 After breakfast we took tuk-tuks to a government run department store (“Cottage Industries”) we had visited before going to Corbett. We learnt that there were 16 different “Cottage Industries” stores. We had gone to the wrong one. There was “Cottage Industries Market”, “The Cottage Industries”, “Cottage Industries”, “Cottage Craft Industries” and the “Peoples’ Front of Judea”, to name but a few. We climbed back into the tuk-tuks and we found the “right one”. Rakesh was there for our lunch pick-up. Those of a suspicious nature started to develop conspiracy theories regarding tour agents, payments of money and catching cabs to airports. Lunch was wonderful and so was the walk back through the quiet, leafy and culturally interesting Lodi Gardens – a real gem for any big city, let alone one in India. We showered at the hotel’s health club and packed our bags. Dinner was perhaps the best and tastiest meal of the holiday. Unfortunately it was a tad rushed as we were on our way to the airport. Mr Joy delivered us a large wad of money, thus clearly establishing his business credibility. The Delhi Airport baggage scan, check-in and immigration were fast and hassle-free. Our Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore was full, but before I could even scan the delightful cabin crew I was fast asleep. At Singapore it was interesting to note the difference in the attitudes of government workers at the airport versus those in India. They smiled; they were not sour and cranky. Here was a country that was interested in tourism. ADDRESS
Steve Anyon-Smith
67 Wattle Road
Jannali 2226
NSW Australia
steveas@tpg.com.au
23rd March 2007
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A Wildlife, Culture An Lifestyle Experience Trip
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