Day 28: Kaziranga

Had a bit of a lie in today... woke up at 6am, as we were off to Panbari Forest Reserve, the home of the hoolock gibbon (a rare primate) and other wildlife. Entering the forest is out of bounds at the moment, but as the forest guards hadn't turned up as yet, our enthusiastic guide sneaked us in. The forest floor was decked with leaves of all colours, the air thick with humidity and the sound of birds was overwhelming at times. However, before long we caught a glimspe of the gibbon. A female gibbon had recently been introduced to the forest to help boost the dwindling gibbon population. We didn't get to hear their peculiar cry, but nonetheless there was a thrilling moment when it hung from the tree and stared down at us for a few seconds. Our excellent guide tried in vain to show us some other monkeys, so after 4 hours of walking we headed back to the hotel where we had a much needed 'brunch.

Since we were so pleased with the guide we headed on with him to the Western Range of Kaziranga in the afternoon. The terrain was mainly grassland and soon we saw herds of deer drinking from the vast pond along with wild elephants and buffalos. The highlight was the rhino stand off we witnessed. One rhino appeared to taunt another rhino which was partially submerged in the water. He suddenly emerged from the water and both rhinos then engaged in a heated stand off. Initially they growled at each other, stared at each other in silence and then the male chased the female into the thick bush. After ten minutes we were about to head off, and then they suddenly re-emerged running out of the bushes. Believe it or not, this was part of their mating ritual! Finally the male conceded defeat (for the time being) and returned to the comfort of the water. There was also a heartstopping moment when we thought we could see a tiger perched on its haunches by the roadside, but that proved to be a false alarm, and turned out to be some grass! The jungle can play tricks on your eyes at times (honest)!

We returned to the excellent Jupuri Ghar, enjoyed a superb Assamese meal fit for 6 people and then lumbered off to bed... tomorrow is another early start for the next Northeast state, Megahalaya, dubbed the 'Scotland of the East'... so maybe haggis on the menu, or maybe not!

- Rahul