From Corbett, back home

Jaime woke with tummy troubles and Jeff with a chest cold, so we decided to leave the park a day early and break up the long drive to Mussoorie into two days. A long drive to Haridwar found us the surprisingly comfortable and affordable Ginger Hotel, a new chain of budget hotels in India. After checking email for the first time in many days, as well as showers for all with unlimited hot water, we enjoyed TV before bed.

Tori was up early to enjoy not one but two lattes from the coffee shop in the lobby, and Chris and Barb worked out in the small gym. Jaime and Jeff were feeling worse, so we packed up quickly and sped back to Dehra Dun in time to pick up lunch to go from McDonalds and begin the drive up the mountain to our home. Barb called the nurse on duty at Woodstock School and relayed Jaime’s symptoms; she recommended we go directly to Landour Community Hospital to have Jaime checked out by a doctor, which we did. Doctor Elizabeth determined that Jaime had “a very bad infection -- where did you get it?!”, was dehydrated and needed to stay overnight for an IV drip of multiple antibiotics, hydration fluids and observation. Tori stayed with her, and although neither got much sleep, they remarked on the good care Jaime got from the nursing staff. Full of antibiotics and hydration liquid, she was dismissed this morning and both came home to rest up.

Corbett Park Tiger!

The next morning after a quick breakfast, we began the long drive into Corbett Park. Mr. Singh knew the places to stop and showed us crocodiles and gharials basking in the sun on the rocky river banks. He pointed out two trees covered with huge beehives that looked like they were dripping from the tree branches. We eventually arrived at the entrance to the center area of the park called Dhikala, known to be a good area for spotting tigers. After getting settled in our rooms, we met our guide (required on all forays into the jungle) who showed us wild elephants bathing in the river, as well as many chittal or spotted deer, wild boar and many birds. Unfortunately, Tori twisted her knee while in the backseat of the Toyota Qualis, which laid her up for the rest of the night and the next morning.

From 200902CorbettPark

While Tori rested her knee, the rest of the group got up before dawn the next morning to take an elephant safari – five of us balanced on the platform on the back of a large elephant. We went slowly through the dense forest for a long time, finally crossing the river to the grasslands on the opposite shore. It was there that Coleman spotted a large male tiger appearing out of the tall grass. Shocked, he pointed at the tiger as he yelled, propelling Aunt Tori’s camera off his wrist into the grass. Unable to dismount to get it, he noted where it fell as we moved on to follow the tiger as he led us on a merry chase with one more good sighting and a few more photos on the other camera. Cole was able to direct the mahout to the spot where the camera was last seen. Chris spotted the camera and the elephant was commanded to pick it up with his trunk. It was miraculously returned to Coleman, snot-covered, but none the worse for wear! Tori, disappointed that she did not see the tiger, was thrilled with the story and photos we brought back to her.

Over two days, we took three more guided rides in the Qualis, seeing jackals, monkeys – rhesus and langurs, elephants, deer – spotted, hog and barking varieties, eagles, and trees filled with birds, large turtles and several kinds of big fish – trout, catfish and mahseer in the sparkling waters of the Ramganga River. We were very satisfied with the nature experience, but we were less so with the accommodations and food. The electrical power was so low on both evenings that the camp was unable to show the nature movie on Corbett Park, so we went to bed early.