Wow - our last stop in India is here. The last three weeks have gone by so quickly, but we might have saved the best until last. There was only one reason to be in Ranthambhore, and that was to see some tigers. Only the lucky do these days though, as sadly many of the tigers have been killed by poachers. It's not clear how many still roam the huge jungle which is now protected, but it's likely to be as few as around 30. It means the chances of seeing a tiger during a tiger safari is very limited - something like 10 percent. Thanks to Jo and Steve's Christmas present, we were able to book ourselves on to two tours. We still had little hope of spotting a tiger but we wanted to go for the experience anyway.

The tours were for the day after we arrived so we spent an afternoon chilling out and recharging. Our hotel was just a short drive away from the park entrance, and there was a nice village atmosphere to the area which is called Sawai Madhopur. During dinner at the hotel we spoke to some of the other guests who'd done a few safaris and no one had spotted the elusive tiger so we wondered if the whole thing was the biggest scam in India!

Anyway, next day we were up at 5am (these early mornings are killing us!) and set out in our six-seater open top jeep huddled under blankets. There is a limit on how many jeeps are allowed into the park each day, and each is only allowed to enter a designated zone which is decided at the ticket office. It's clear some zones come with a better chance of seeing a tiger, but no one has any say in which zone they're allocated. We headed to zone four with a couple from Cambridge and another couple from Canada - it was their first safari too so we were all super excited as we entered the jungle. That's when we realised it didn't matter if we caught a glimpse of a tiger or not. The scenery was stunning and we felt like we were in Jungle Book - with monkeys happily swinging around in the trees above us and the occasional temple relic. We drove around for a couple of hours - and every now and again our guide would stop suddenly… listen… look… and then carry on again. Then we heard the warning call… the animals were signalling a tiger was near and tiger prints in the ground below seemed to prove it. The excitement was actually quite ridiculous, but the idea of spotting a tiger out here in the wild suddenly became the most precious thing. After much manoeuvring, and reversing from one spot to another though, we were heading back out on to the road. No tiger for us, but we'd had the most amazing time. And we did spot countless spotted and samba deer, antelope, - including the largest in India - rare birds, crocodiles, and a jackal.

After some lunch we were back out again - this time to zone 2. This wasn't a good zone, so we just sat back and enjoyed all the other wildlife. By pure coincidence we were joined again by the same couple from Cambridge as this morning, but this time there was a Scottish couple with us too. They were really keen on birds, so they were able to help us understand just how special it was to spot a long billed kingfisher, two regular kingfishers, a serpent crested eagle - and lots of others. Our driver and guide were much better this time too, pointing out some of the trees - including gum trees -and other wildlife as we travelled around. They seemed so much more determined to spot a tiger and we actually thought our luck might be in when they said they heard a roar and then we followed some tiger tracks. We were so far into the jungle though and the drivers had to get us out within a specific time period otherwise they'd be fined, so after three hours of driving we had no choice but to head back. It was a shame, but we'd had the most amazing time and were just excited to have known there was a tiger out there somewhere.

Just as we were about to leave the inner gate to the zone, Nat was layering up ready for the drive down the windy road to our hotel when suddenly the driver hit the brakes, and we were all told: "quiet, tiger is there..."

It seemed unlikely as we were right on the edge of the reserve by this point, but as we were near the exit we'd stumbled across other vehicles and the people in the one ahead were sure there was a tiger heading towards us through the trees on our right. Suddenly we were bombing it down the track in reverse and told to "look, look, look" - and there it was… a dark silhouette of a tiger working its way through the trees. Everyone in our open top jeep jumped up to get a closer look and we literally cheered, thinking that was it - we'd seen one in the nick of time. But then our driver left us clinging to the sides as it reversed some more and told us to look again. The bright orange tiger had emerged out of the trees and was walking straight towards us down the track in full view… It was literally feet away as the driver kept reversing with the tiger gracefully walking towards us undeterred. We were all completely stunned. Suddenly loads more vehicles appeared and everyone was jostling for a look, so we left them to it and made our way back out - over the moon for seeing one, and not wanting the drivers to be fined.

Everyone was beaming in the jeep, including the driver and guide who were just as excited as us to see a tiger. Then, as we drove out of the gate, there was a blockage in the road with cars piled up and people pointing up at the trees. We all looked at each other - surely not another one!?

Our amazing driver managed it again though - bombing it down the track while we watched another tiger silhouette race through the trees next to us. We weaved around all the other tourists to find the best spot so that when the tiger appeared it emerged from the trees walking straight towards us. It was so close it was almost terrifying. Our driver explained this one was a female (so we'd seen one of each) as it walked ahead of us and into the trees on the other side of the track.

To see one tiger is special, and very rare - but two? It was up there with the best experiences of India.

Back in the hotel no one else had seen a tiger that day, so we felt very smug indeed when we collapsed in bed -after some curried potatoes and cauliflower with chapatti - around 8pm.

Thanks Jo and Steve for the most amazing Christmas present. We'll remember that day for the rest of our lives, and it's made us realise how lucky we are to be here doing amazing things like this.