Day 125. Pokhara - Sausara

The  weather did not let up so we set off for Sausara in light rain. Heavy traffic but the road was good. 

Once we turned off the Pokhara-Kathmandu road there was less traffic and the road was excellent. Also the rain stoped and road dried out. A real treat for about 40km. It was a neat motorcycling road with beautiful scenery. A green steep sided gorge with terraced gardens and rice paddies. 

In the early afternoon we arrived at out hotel which is nice, we will be here for 3 nights. 

Sausara is a tourist gateway to the Chitwan National Park. Home to a variety of wildlife including Elephants, Deer, Rhinos, crocodiles and Tigers. 

The Park is located in a flat basin and is ringed by hills all around. To the south is India, to the north is the foothills of the Himalaya and rising up behind is the Annapurna range. 

Mosquitoes are a big deal here, especially at this time of the year so we need to be extra careful. Malaria and Dengue fever are rife. 

The indigenous people here are the Tharu, one of five indigenous peoples of Nepal. They have developed a natural immunity to Malaria which has been studied extensively. 

The hotel arranged a guide for us this afternoon and also for tomorrow. This afternoon we visited a traditional dwelling which is still in use and part of a larger community. We then visited a museum of the area, it has had an interesting history. Originally this area was inhabited by the Tharu people who lived a subsistence style life and it was also a major hunting reserve, its heyday seems to have been around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. It was a popular place for well to do Indians and celebrities from all over including King George. The animals were hunted to the point of extinction and then a forward thinking leader after a visit to the Yellowstone National Park decided this is where the future lay. 

After this we went for a walk beside the river, we saw tied up elephants which are owned by the army and are used for patrols in the park. They appear to be well looked after but still a bit sad to see. We were offered a tourist elephant ride which we politely declined. 

We carried on along the river bank and on the other side of the river partly obscured by the long grasses we saw our first Rhino. Easily identified by the birds sitting on its back. We also saw a crocodile on the opposite river bank. 

We then came to an area popular with tourists and we sat with beer and watched the sunset. Very beautiful. In the distance for a very brief time we saw the Annapurna range which has been eluding us for the past few days.

As the sun set a herd of deer came down to the river to drink. 

We then returned to our hotel and had dinner. 

As part of our guided tour we then went into town to see a cultural show. The cultural dancers kept us entertained for an hour.