[.anshuman]

If you are looking for some Tiger pics, you are in the wrong thread.

The plan for the trip started with a phone call from my Sister a few weeks back. She was planning to visit Ranthambore with Kids and wanted us to come along. A quick discussion with Wifey and i said 'Yes'.

Now the plan was- They were planning a train ride, the most comfortable way to get to Ranthambore. I absolutely hate to use any other mode of transportation than cars, but since i have never travelled in a train before(except short distances in my school days) i agreed for a change. Tickets were booked in Golden Temple Mail till Sawai Madhopur, around 4.5 hours ride.

A distant relative owns a decent resort at Ranthambore named Tiger Den. He was more than happy to book some rooms and get us safari rides.

Day 1
Boarded Train from Hazrat Nizammudin station at 7:45 and got off at 1:30. It was a comfortable ride with me napping most of the time. Checked in to the resort and had lunch. With only half the day left we were advised to check out the Ranthambore fort situated in the reserve.

Here are a few random pics from the first day. Missed the Tiger by a few minutes as it had crossed to Zone 1 and had spent some time on the road leading to Ranthambore fort. Bad luck!


^ Tiger Den resort when we arrived. Weather was cloudy but we could see the sun in a few minutes. We arrived on 2nd Jan and most of the tourists were leaving.


^ Gypsy waiting to give us a ride to Ranthambore fort.


^ The spot where Tiger was sighted a few minutes later, almost all returning Safari tourists had a good long sighting until the Tiger decided to move into Zone 1.


^ They love to pose for the camera!


^ Partridge??


^ ?? Please identify this Bird.


^ Ranthambore National Park has beautiful landscape at sunset, which i could not click because i had Telephoto lens mounted all of the time, i regret not carrying my P&S camera with me.




^ They change their facial expressions every few seconds.


^ At Ranthambore Fort.


^ At Ranthambore Fort.


^ At Ranthambore Fort.

[.anshuman]

Day 2
Being aware of the fact that the chances of spotting a Tiger at time of year is lower than peak summers, i decided to take all the Safari trips possible during our stay with others in Family joining only for select trips. Day 2 the manager of the resort got us rides for Zone 1 and Zone 3. A few pics from the day-


^ Loved this Matte shade on Gypsy.


^ First sighting of Spotted Deer on this slightly foggy morning.






^ Please Identify this bird.


^ This bird would sit on your hand if you offer him something to eat, something not recommended but nobody follows.


^ Please Identify this Bird.


^ Spotted Deer.

[.anshuman]

Day 2 continued.......



^ First shot of the Peacock, better shots coming on following days.


^ Clicked at resort.


^ At the Entrance.


^ Here is one more pose.


^ First sight of a Crocodile. There are plenty in Zone 3.




^ This one was unique with a Golden shade.








^ They all go dry in summers.




^ Sambar






^ Spotted Deer. Heard a loud call by Sambar around here but Bad luck!


^ Hunt is on.


^ A few days old Pugmarks.


^ Find this place on your GPS. This is in Zone 3.

[.anshuman]

Day 2 continued...........


^ Old Jungle buildings used by Maharajas.


^ Waiting for the hunt.




^ Motherly love.


^ Ranthambore Fort at Sunset seen from Zone 3.


^ Crocodile just ate a huge white bird.






^ Fort again, observe the cloud formation it's in the same shape as the fort outline.


^ Time to head back.


^ The board at the resort. Zone 4 had sightings 2 days in a row. Praying we get Zone 4 for the next day.


ISO 6400 with some NR. I love this sensor!

Day 2 there was no trace of Tiger, just spotted a few days old pugmarks. But saw a Crocodile hunting a big white bird(the pic with just the bubbles).

Will update the thread with some more pics soon. Hope you like the pics!

[.anshuman]

Thread moved here from Assembly line.

[airguitar]

Nice pictures of the crocs and the birds! Is that a Rufous Treepie on the hand ?

[.anshuman]

Yes, that's a Rufous Treepie, local guides refer to it as Tiger bird.

[ampere]

Nice one there Anshuman. So which one got to hit the road?
Italian or the Czech?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by ampere

Nice one there Anshuman. So which one got to hit the road?
Italian or the Czech?

.
Indian Railways

[ampere]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

.
Indian Railways

What an anticlimax!
The bird snaps have come out very nice. So which lens did you use?
(I thought I read you saying you had a 1000D from which you had shifted to Nikon Right?)

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by ampere

What an anticlimax!
The bird snaps have come out very nice. So which lens did you use?
(I thought I read you saying you had a 1000D from which you had shifted to Nikon Right?)

Nikon D5100 with 55-300 VR

[parsh]

Hey those are some really nice catches. It is so difficult to catch on any tigers these days as I remember our endeavours in winter season. Nevertheless, the Jungle is at its best and that is good enough for a Jungle fanatic. Loved your pics. However, in the beginnning, I started thinking this was goinng to be a Monkey-log as saw quite a few at the start only. But then the picture got clear. Loved your compositions, espcially the crane praying for the kill and the sunspot on the waters.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

If you are looking for some Tiger pics, you are in the wrong thread.
Missed the Tiger by a few minutes as it had crossed to Zone 1 and had spent some time on the road leading to Ranthambore fort. Bad luck!

@.anshuman: Love that disclaimer on the first line!!

Looks like Ranthambhore was the flavour of the season over the New Year weekend! No wonder we found it so extremely crowded when we were there on 30th & 31st December (we left on the 1st Jan for Sariska, though we planned to stay till the 2nd Jan).

Isn't it a little funny that pretty much everyone misses tigers by a few minutes? We couldn't even manage to get a Gypsy, had to make do with a single Canter ride (that too at much higher charges) into Zone 2 (we refused to take any further trips on Canters). A diesel truck growling along in the jungle (and there were dozens of them entering the forest) must be the best way to scare off any tiger!

And it rained so hard on the evening of the 31st, we needed 4wd to get back to our hotel from the one where the New Year's party was organized - the Jungle View Resort. Needless to say, the party was a complete washout.

The friends we travelled with spoke highly of Tiger Den Resort (they had stayed there earlier too), but since you were visiting, that explains the reason we couldn't get bookings!

Till I get some time to write my own travelogue, let me enjoy yours...

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

If you are looking for some Tiger pics, you are in the wrong thread.

Lol, nice way to set the expectations to begin with.

Lovely pictures of the resort and the jungles. Is that orange bird sitting on your hand, if yes its got to be a very human friendly bird to sit on a unknown persons hand?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

@.anshuman: Love that disclaimer on the first line!!

Thank me for not making you wait for 3 days before saying 'there will be no tiger in this thread!'

Looks like Ranthambhore was the flavour of the season over the New Year weekend! No wonder we found it so extremely crowded when we were there on 30th & 31st December (we left on the 1st Jan for Sariska, though we planned to stay till the 2nd Jan).

Most of the tourists were leaving when we arrived on 2nd Jan.

Isn't it a little funny that pretty much everyone misses tigers by a few minutes? We couldn't even manage to get a Gypsy, had to make do with a single Canter ride (that too at much higher charges) into Zone 2 (we refused to take any further trips on Canters). A diesel truck growling along in the jungle (and there were dozens of them entering the forest) must be the best way to scare off any tiger!

Agreed that Canter is absolutely avoidable. It makes so much noise, even if it does not scare the animals and birds away it spoils the whole experience, it constantly makes squeaking noise apart from the DI engine clatter plus so many human beings in the same vehicle with kids screaming, couples arguing, some sneezing, others coughing... and what not. Canter ride feels like a ride in DTC bus(old ones).

I was lucky to get Gypsy rides most of the times, but still i had to take the super annoying canter rides.

And it rained so hard on the evening of the 31st, we needed 4wd to get back to our hotel from the one where the New Year's party was organized - the Jungle View Resort. Needless to say, the party was a complete washout.

The friends we travelled with spoke highly of Tiger Den Resort (they had stayed there earlier too), but since you were visiting, that explains the reason we couldn't get bookings!

Till I get some time to write my own travelogue, let me enjoy yours...

Tiger Den is a good place to stay with good clean rooms and nice staff but i did not like the buffet included with the stay.

Waiting for your travelogue!