All around Jorhat

We leave behind the plains of kazaranga for a short journey to Jorhat, a town that has expanded rapidly in the last 10 years.  En route we pass lots of little villages where everyone is getting on with life

Pop up veg market

We stop at Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary but it isn't quite as we expected. Set in a 3 square mile of lush forest surrounded by tea plantations, the sanctuary keeps a small group of wild animals from damaging local crops and tea plants.

We pay a camera fee but these primates are hard to spot

There are gibbons in here somewhere

We collect a guide and an armed ranger ready for the wild elephants who also live in this forest. Within minutes the guide and the ranger disappear into the dense forest and we stand around wondering what is happening. 

The Three Amigos lead the way

They reappear and indicate for us to follow. We are led off the path into the forest where we indeed catch sight of monkeys but no gibbons . 

Crested Langurs

Have you seen any gibbons?

We are then led through the forest until we reach a railway line. Not surprisingly we see no gibbons, probably because they got fed up waiting for the train. The walk back to the entrance along the railway line with no shade and no wild life other than cows grazing on rubbish discarded from the train is disappointing and unfortunately this excursion didn’t  live up to our expectations.

Waiting for the train that never comes

 Our sanctuary Thengal Manor lies a little way out of Jorhat and is set in a heritage tea plantation owners cottage.  With just 5 bedrooms and a comfortable sitting room with lots of lovely ornaments and other treasured possessions including a wind up HMV gramophone we feel right at home. We stroll around the well kept lawns and visit a lake where migrating birds stop off to stretch their wings.  We watch the whistling ducks which don’t appear to move (or whistle), kingfishers and cormorants.

The Lord of the Manor

At home with the Greens

I give you The Whistling Ducks

After a refreshed  night we are up early to head for Majuli, the largest river island in the world.  We head for the first ferry at 8 am. travelling through a dense fog.  in Jorhat the wholesale market is underway with the heavy trucks unloading sacks of potatoes, cauliflowers and assorted veg.  This work has to be completed by 10am as after that time the trucks are banned from the town.

Wholesalers selling their produce

The mist hangs around but fails to hide the  port which is not what we expected.  We leave the road behind and continue along the sandy bank to a spot that resembles a Normandy Beach landing. People and vehicles are jostling for position as we are ushered onto the crowded ferry as it was  leaving. We clamber under a rail at the back and are lucky enough to find somewhere to stand although it is next to the toilet and the noisy diesel engine.

You do not want to know what horrors lurk behind this door

The ferry is heavily loaded with bikes and cars closely parked together and it is standing room only for the 90 minute journey.

The walk down to board the ferry

Don't rock the boat!

The pilot navigates his way between the enormous sand banks and moves faster than I was expecting.  On deck the passengers push to the back to spit over the side in that Indian way. As the mist and fog lifts we see other ferries smaller than ours coming the other way.  When you see how many vehicles and passengers are aboard it does make you wonder if life vests are on this vessel.  We spot four in the engine room so I guess that’s one between 50 then.

When we dock there is another melee as car drivers, motor-bikes and foot passengers all compete to be first off. We make out way to the small town of Kamalabri which is reached along a 3km drive across the sandbanks along a track strewn with hay. In the car it is as we are in the Sahara.  Other cars leave clouds of dust as they overtake.  Obviously, the size of the island changes depending on the season. When the monsoon comes the ferry port gets nearer to Kamalabari  and it takes the ferry over two and a half hours navigating the treacherous currents.

Looks like the start of the Dakar Rally

Our first stop is the Sri Sri Utlar Kamalabar Satra Temple. There are more than 20 stars on Majuli all practicing a Hindu religion based closely around Krishna.  It looks like a no frills religion and the temples are not photogenic but there is a relaxed atmosphere and we stroll around.

John gets chatting to a Indian family who have come to visit their son who is a novice at the temple. The priests bring out food and John is given rice and bananas. He is also given a blob of yellowy white paste which he put on his forehead like a bindi dot.  The priests here do not touch you and manage to pass all items without touching.

John joins in

We notice a small colony of lesser adjutant birds nesting in the tree above they look almost prehistoric

Who's a pretty boy then?

Marty Feldmann Stork - A face only a mother could love

We set of back to the ferry as the last ferry is 3 pm this ferry is much smaller than the one this morning with all motorbikes going on the roof, it only takes 3 vehicles but ours also managed to sneak on a tuk tuk.  The fares for the ferry are interesting - check out item13

I'm not sure I'd like to share a ferry with an elephant

Safely back on dry land we head back to our hotel as we have an early start and another long journey to Nagaland and Kohima

And for the  brave hearted - don't say I didn't warn you............. although you don't get the pungent aroma which accompanied the visit

In the interests of photo journalism!