Gir National Park

Today we had two tickets for visits to the Gir National Park (early in the morning and in the evening). It is excellently organised and we saw practically only local visitors. You are then allocated a jeep with a guide/driver by the park management and one of the set routes. 

We set off at 5 o'clock in the morning to arrive at the meeting point on time and complete all the formalities. We were able to drive into the park at 6 o'clock on the dot (still in the dark) and - hard to believe - 15 minutes later a lion came towards us on the dirt track in the dark. It walked past our open jeep at a distance of about 2 metres. Ufff... even our guide was amazed.

A little later we saw even more lions, but also a surprising number of other animals (all pictures taken with the iPhone).

The second trip in the afternoon was different. Fewer large animals, but a great team of guides/drivers who explained a lot and also spotted well-camouflaged animals, e.g. the two owls in the extra. The route travelled with the landscapes and the soft sun was also almost more beautiful than in the morning.

Today is also the end of our guided tour. We said goodbye to the driver who had accompanied us safely through Gujarat for the last two weeks. We will stay on site for a few more days and then travel back home on Friday/Saturday.