Phoenix Canoe Club Expedition Part 4 Back to our Blog»
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Posted: Thursday 01st January 1970
Categories: Trip Report
More death defying driving took us through open countryside and small towns and villages. We dropped off Johann and Caleb at Kathgodam on the way, who were catching a train back to Delhi and then flying home to the UK and US. We arrived in a muddy lay-by in the dark and decanted from the 4x4’s into some open top jeeps to ferry us up to Camp Forktail Creek.
One of the huts at Camp Forktail Creek.
The track was so steep and rough, the jeeps struggled for traction (a bit of tread on the tyres would have helped), but eventually delivered us at a gap in the bushes. We then walked through a dark path in the jungle until we came to the camp. The first group had already settled in around an open wood fire next to the bar with a drink in hand. I was more interested in finding the loo and to my relief, opened the door of a small mud hut to find a pristine, white china loo with seat, fresh towels, smelly soaps, clean tiled floor and a mirror. After 6 days of squatting over a hole in the sand in a toilet tent, this was absolute luxury. The buildings were constructed from stone pillars and opensided timber frames with thatched roofs for the bar, dining and lounge area with mud huts and fixed tents for the sleeping accommodation. The site was set up as an eco-tourism centre and the only luxury missing was electricity which added to the charm of the place. A generator ran during the day to charge batteries and power their computer, but at night paraffin lamps and battery powered lights were all that was used.
Enjoying the Jeep Safari.
We had dinner and then straight to bed as half the group were being woken up at 4.45 am for a jeep safari leaving at 5.15am and some were off on an elephant back safari at 5.30am. The rest of the group had elephant safaris later in the day and could relax. We arrived at the park as dawn was breaking, 5-up plus driver and guide in four open-topped jeeps and had a drive around looking for fresh tiger tracks. This was the best time to see wildlife and tigers and we soon found fresh tiger footprints on the tracks. After an hour we headed back to the entrance where the drivers and guides prepared breakfast. Another couple of hours and all we saw were a few species of deer and monkey. At lunch some of the group decided to head off home early and two jeeps remained looking for a tiger. We were quickly onto the trail and after sitting still for 30 minutes, it strolled down through the undergrowth and laid down about 30 metres away. It was not long before half the parks jeeps had joined us to see the tiger. We had stayed so quiet waiting for the tiger to appear and were now surrounded by the noisiest Indian tourists you could imagine.
On board the Elephant.
We backed off and drove home elated. The next day was our turn to relax at the camp whilst the other group went on the jeep safari and it was the first time we saw the place in daylight. The camp was wonderful, set deep in the jungle and after a nice breakfast, I spent a couple of hours laid out in a hammock reading my book interrupted by noisy birds and parakeets flocking around me. After lunch we had a wander around the camp trails and saw the rest of the accommodation and washed out some clothes. We left a bit later for our 2 hour elephant-back safari which was a bit disappointing as it took 1 hour 50 minutes to see any wildlife – 3 deer. The other jeep safari group had two more sightings of the tiger. We all met up for dinner that evening where we celebrated Jo’s 18th and Georges’16th birthday with cakes for each. After dinner at the camp, we loaded up into the 7 jeeps for a journey to the local train station (a lot nicer than Delhi!) and boarded our sleeper train. Due to a late change in arrangements following a train crash during the summer, Jam had not been able to rebook onto the A2 Class sleeper and we were now on 3 Class which didn’t have airconditioning, blankets, sheets or curtains. We got out our sleeping bags and settled down for the night with our Indian neighbours staring at us and eating curry from a tiffin box.
The Elusive Tiger.