Published by The Australian, Australia

In darkest, pre-dawn India, a mod- ern-day maharaja’s hunting party departs in a dozen shiny people movers. Forty foreign explorers rumbling along the roads of rural Assam in the country’s remote northeast. Only foxes and rabbits are awake to witness the spectacle.

Our destination is Kaziranga, one of India’s most re- markable national parks, where we are disgorged from the 12 vehicles on to 12 elephants. Three or four people per pachyderm, perched behind a mahout on steel- framed howdahs cushioned with blankets…