7th October 2018
You would think that a honeymoon would be all lie-ins and relaxation... Not when Rory is organising it. Instead we were up at 5.30am and waiting patiently for our jeep (that didn’t arrive until 6.30). Ranthambore National Park is 1334 sq kilometres of wild jungle and the best place in Rajasthan to spot wild tigers. It was a maharaja hunting ground until 1970 and is hemmed in by rocky ridges with the 10th century Ranthambore Fort taking pride of place at the centre.
The national park is divided in to zones and there are two safari options – a six seater jeep (called a Gypsy) or a canter, a large truck which seats around 20. Our first safari was organised through the hotel and we ended up in zone eight. Rory has done his homework and knew that this wasn’t the best zone but as last minute bookings are randomly assigned we had no choice but to take a chance. Our driver picked us up from the hotel and sped through the town towards the park. As we got closer the crowds and card disappeared and after about thirty minute we began our search for the elusive tiger.
There are around 70 tigers spread across the 1334 square kilometres so we knew our chances weren’t great but we still kept our eyes open and by doing so managed to spot a monitor lizard, antelope, spotted deer, samba deer and a number of birds including an eagle. The safari went on for a few hours and the terrain was genuinely spectacular but alas, no tigers. The driver dropped us back off at the hotel and we had a quick nap before our next safari!
This time we were in a canter in zone three. We booked the remainder of our safaris ourselves online so we were able to choose the zone but the gypsys were all full so we had to make do with a canter. It’s not something I would recommend as there’s a lot of waiting around for the canter to fill up and to go and it is a lot slower and bumpier than the jeeps but it was that or no safari so we made do. This zone was completely different to zone eight – where zone eight was more barren and almost how I would imagine an African safari to be terrain wise, zone three was lush and quite literally a scene from the Jungle Book.
On the way in we passed the Ranthambore Fort and drove deeper in to the forest through a number of old gates. It was genuinely like a scene from Jurassic Park (so much so that I kept expecting a T-Rex to start chasing the canter). One of the most striking differences between the two zones was the amount of wildlife! Everywhere you looked there was wildlife and in huge numbers. We even saw two crocodiles – one from a distance and another sitting by the edge of the lake. Two large samba deer were a few meters away, drinking and eating the algae but as soon as the crocodile made a move towards the water the leapt back on to dry land! One little character wasn’t afraid of the crocodile – a little turtle pressed on, crossing in front of the canter and heading back to the lake without a care in the world!
We spent a few amazing hours in the park, leaving when the sun began to set which gave us some spectacular views across the lake. While we didn’t see a tiger today, we saw so much wildlife and had such a varied experience that we didn’t even mind!
You would think that a honeymoon would be all lie-ins and relaxation... Not when Rory is organising it. Instead we were up at 5.30am and waiting patiently for our jeep (that didn’t arrive until 6.30). Ranthambore National Park is 1334 sq kilometres of wild jungle and the best place in Rajasthan to spot wild tigers. It was a maharaja hunting ground until 1970 and is hemmed in by rocky ridges with the 10th century Ranthambore Fort taking pride of place at the centre.
The national park is divided in to zones and there are two safari options – a six seater jeep (called a Gypsy) or a canter, a large truck which seats around 20. Our first safari was organised through the hotel and we ended up in zone eight. Rory has done his homework and knew that this wasn’t the best zone but as last minute bookings are randomly assigned we had no choice but to take a chance. Our driver picked us up from the hotel and sped through the town towards the park. As we got closer the crowds and card disappeared and after about thirty minute we began our search for the elusive tiger.
There are around 70 tigers spread across the 1334 square kilometres so we knew our chances weren’t great but we still kept our eyes open and by doing so managed to spot a monitor lizard, antelope, spotted deer, samba deer and a number of birds including an eagle. The safari went on for a few hours and the terrain was genuinely spectacular but alas, no tigers. The driver dropped us back off at the hotel and we had a quick nap before our next safari!
This time we were in a canter in zone three. We booked the remainder of our safaris ourselves online so we were able to choose the zone but the gypsys were all full so we had to make do with a canter. It’s not something I would recommend as there’s a lot of waiting around for the canter to fill up and to go and it is a lot slower and bumpier than the jeeps but it was that or no safari so we made do. This zone was completely different to zone eight – where zone eight was more barren and almost how I would imagine an African safari to be terrain wise, zone three was lush and quite literally a scene from the Jungle Book.
On the way in we passed the Ranthambore Fort and drove deeper in to the forest through a number of old gates. It was genuinely like a scene from Jurassic Park (so much so that I kept expecting a T-Rex to start chasing the canter). One of the most striking differences between the two zones was the amount of wildlife! Everywhere you looked there was wildlife and in huge numbers. We even saw two crocodiles – one from a distance and another sitting by the edge of the lake. Two large samba deer were a few meters away, drinking and eating the algae but as soon as the crocodile made a move towards the water the leapt back on to dry land! One little character wasn’t afraid of the crocodile – a little turtle pressed on, crossing in front of the canter and heading back to the lake without a care in the world!
We spent a few amazing hours in the park, leaving when the sun began to set which gave us some spectacular views across the lake. While we didn’t see a tiger today, we saw so much wildlife and had such a varied experience that we didn’t even mind!
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