Nearly two months ago, waiting for a delayed flight from Delhi to Kathmandu, we met a friendly young South Indian called Bobby Antony. Bobby first came to Nepal two years ago, and quickly fell in love with the country and it's people. Since then our friend has been working in a school in the outskirts of Chitwan National Park. It didn't take much to like this guy, and we kept in contact ever since. Having finished our volunteering experience in Bhujung, and eager for the chance to spot some of Nepal's wildlife in this world heritage park, we decided to pay Bobby a visit.

The school were he worked was aptly named Navodaya School, meaning 'New Rising'. It is run by a group of Catholic missionary priests and nuns from Kerala in southern India, and provides free education and boarding to Chepang children. The Chepang are officially the second least fortunate ethnic group in Nepal, and only make up a tiny percentage of the population. Bobby and a couple of the priests routinely visit the poorest Chepang communities living in remote areas of Nepal. After assessing their needs, each family is offered the chance of sending one of their children to school. To manage this effectively, and with a good reputation growing fast, entrance examinations and interviews are held, of which only thirty children are selected each year.

We were a bit wary of the general reputation of Christian groups to have a conversion agenda in these sorts of areas, potentially destroying the traditional culture. Thankfully, we could not fault the school or the priests and nuns at all. The children were overwhelmingly happy, healthy and appreciative of their educational opportunity. Their Chepang traditions were encouraged and supported in an open-minded environment and we were really impressed by their positive attitudes and enthusiasm to learn. We only intended on staying a day or two, but it was difficult to leave and we ended up sleeping in one of the empty classrooms for four days!

We spent our time hanging out with the children, practicing English, playing football, singing songs and flipping into their long-jump sand pit. A few of the older kids even taught Aidan a catchy folk song in their native Chepang tongue. While the kids were in class we helped to type up some of the teachers English exams, and for one day we helped a group of European trainee nurses administer Hepatitis B shots for everyone. They offered to jab us too, but we politely declined.

Being funded by the Catholic Church and managed by strict nuns, the school was impressively well equipped. They had a computer lab, sewing machines, a football field and a whole marching band, tuba and all! The opportunities that these kids are given is beyond the imagination of their families. In only the few days we stayed, we met some incredibly smart and talented kids and you can see that they are grateful. When they return home every few months to their villages, they are respected by all.

Although it still would have been great, we didn't come here just for the kids. Navodaya school was only a 15 minute drive away from the famous Chitwan National Park! Chitwan is home to the worlds second largest population of one-horned rhinoceros and we couldn't miss the opportunity to see the these beautiful prehistoric creatures up close in the wild. Apparently on-elephant is the best way to spot a rhino as the elephants scent masks ours, giving us a better chance for a stealthy approach.

We boarded a healthy looking elephant and managed to spot monkeys, deer, and lots of birds amongst the dense riverside jungle. These were soon overshadowed when our mahout managed to track a mother and calf rhino sleeping peacefully in some low scrub. Before they knew it, four elephants loaded up with curious snap-happy tourists had them surrounded! The beasts were enormous and one glance at their horns and thick armor made us glad we were high up on elephant back. It was definitely an amazing experience for us, although possibly not so much for the rhinos. After they were well and truly awake and disturbed, and everybody had enough photos, we carried on our way and out of the park.

After the safari, we showed our appreciation for these hard working elephants (and treated ourselves to more adventure) by giving them a good wash in the river. Together with Bobby, we lumbered bareback past all the local school kids, out into the middle of the river. We laughed, squealed and clung on tightly as our elephant proceeded to scoop water up over her back and saturate us! Still not satisfied, she sat down in the water and rolled over, tipping us straight into the river! We jumped back on and were thrown off several times, before rewarding our new friend with a good back scrub and bath. We knew Jess's massage training was a good idea, and our big eared friend definitely appreciated it. We have never been so close and personal with an elephant before and it was phenomenal to see her enjoying herself so much!

We also found time to visit the elephant breeding centre. Here, female elephants are kept and allowed to roam out into the jungle to mate with wild males. The mothers and calves are nurtured and eventually sold to resorts for tourism. Compared to some other places we've travelled, we were happy to notice that all the elephants looked relatively healthy and happy. Despite the poverty and generally low standard of education, Nepal seems to be a step ahead of most of the world in regards to environmental and cultural conservation. Although there is still room for improvement, this seems to have trickled down to their treatment of animals.

To thank everyone at Navodaya School for the warm welcome and showing us such a good time, we bought a light lunch for all 170-odd of the kids before we left. It wasn't much but they were all very grateful. So, after a much less drawn out farewell than the one we had in Bhujung, we are now on our way to India for Aidan's cousins wedding, but not before a quick pit stop on the border at Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha!