[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Superb pic and superb travelogue. Some of the pics are wall paper worthy. Good to know that you could capture the Tiger in the lens and in a fantastic way.

How was the road condition till Nagpur? Suggest you to update the same here and the Mega Road updates thread, will be useful for fellow BHPians planning to use the route. Details of your stay at Tadoba would also help.

Thanks buddy. Glad you liked the pics and the narrative.

Road conditions were as below

1) Mumbai - Talegoan :Expressway however it started raining and progress was painful due to heavy spray from the truck traffic.

2) Talegoan - Chakan- Shikrapur : No signage after the turnoff towards Chakan from expressway Talegaon exit or maybe I missed due to the rain. The 2 lane road snakes through town and its plain progress till Shikrapur where the 4 lane highway starts till Aurangabad.

3) Aurangabad - Jalna- Sindhkhed Raja- Mehkar- Karanja : One of the worst bypass roads is the Aurangabad Bypass. Took me ages to cross this 18-20 kms stretch but once out its a sort of smooth ride all the way to Karanja on a 2 lane highway.

4) Karjana - Wardha - Nagpur : As mentioned in the travelogue above, I went against HVK's advise and took the Wardha routs. Its a smooth albeit 2 lane highway all the way till Butibori after which I had to cross the entire Nagpur city to get to my destination.

Pls give me the link for mega-road updates and I will post this there too.

Thanks.

[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by Tushar

Fantastic travelogue nix1976in! I spent a good 10 minutes just staring at the first image. Cant imagine what it feels like to look at one in the muscle. I saw a lion up close, but the poor thing at SGNP looked malnourished. Even the image of the sun had me cleaning my screen before i read the caption.

Amazing images that genuinely brought a smile to my face. After reading your post all I can say is "I have to go to Tadoba NOW!". Tadoba's website should have a "visitors speak" section because this will definitely tempt many others like me to take the trip. Also, is there any chance you mapped your trip?

Thanks for the kind words, Tushar. I think you are right that the Tadoba website should have a visitor's section for reviews. I have mentioned the route details in the log above and can share a detailed excel if you need it.

Thanks.

[Seventhgear]

Great pics and writeup Nix.Though i am not an expert on tigers,I can say for sure that nothing compares to the sight of the tiger in flesh and blood.Royal and majestic are two words that come to mind when we comes across one of these magnificent creatures.I will never understand how people can kill such an animal just for its pelt .How can there be any beauty in death.

The waghoba tiger sure looked huge and if not for the surroundings might have passed for a Siberian tiger.

As for the route you took ,the Aurangabad-Jalna-Mehkar-Karanja Lad-Amravati byepass -Nagpur is the preferred one.Except for the Jalna -Karanja Lad section you will encounter four lanes.The road via Wardha is good but it is a two lane one hence one has to be more careful and might be time consuming.

[adimicra]

Excellent travelogue....I have been in Hyderabad for many years but still not visited the Chowmallah palace. After seeing the pics here, I am going to visit it very soon.

I have one more query - I am planning a drive to Tadoba soon. I see that you have taken the karimnagar route to tadoba. Will you recommend this route over the NH7? How long should I budget for the driv from Hyderabad to Tadoba (Moharli gate) ?

[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by shifu

Awesome pictures! Keep them coming...
It says "Kalpana Family Hotel".

Thanks Shifu, This was our lunch stop sometime after entering Rajeev Rahadari. Seemed like a bar joint inside but had sitting outside and given the dearth of eating joints we settled in but were pleasantly suprised with the delicious stuff dished out to us. Its debatable but IMHO the biryani here rivaled the Paradise biryani

[shifu]

Your travelogue makes me wonder what have I been doing all these years. The last time I visited SJ museum was about 15-20 years back, when I went there through my school! I should probably take my kid now

Originally Posted by nix1976in

Its debatable but IMHO the biryani here rivaled the Paradise biryani

I agree. I find Paradise to be highly overrated.

[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by adimicra

I have one more query - I am planning a drive to Tadoba soon. I see that you have taken the karimnagar route to tadoba. Will you recommend this route over the NH7? How long should I budget for the drive from Hyderabad to Tadoba (Moharli gate) ?

Hi Adimicra,
Actually we took the Rajeev Rahadari route in error as we were supposed to take the NH9 route but it turned out to be a decent drive totalling 455 kms till our hotel in Hitech city. The Rajeev Rahadari for the reverse route should start somewhere in Secunderabad and end before Mancheriyal after which its a 2 lane highway all the way to Chandrapur from where its 30 kms to Moharli gate. The route (in reverse) should read Tadoba - Chandrapur- Rajura- Asifabad –Mancherial – Godavarikhani – Pedapalli-(Rajeev Raharadari)- Secunderabad -Hitech City.

We started from Moharli around 10am and were in Hyderabad by 5pm with breakfast, lunch and a few other breaks thrown in.

Thanks

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by nix1976in

Hi Adimicra,
Actually we took the Rajeev Rahadari route in error as we were supposed to take the NH9 route but it turned out to be a decent drive totalling 455 kms till our hotel in Hitech city. The Rajeev Rahadari for the reverse route should start somewhere in Secunderabad and end before Mancheriyal after which its a 2 lane highway all the way to Chandrapur from where its 30 kms to Moharli gate. The route (in reverse) should read Tadoba - Chandrapur- Rajura- Asifabad –Mancherial – Godavarikhani – Pedapalli-(Rajeev Raharadari)- Secunderabad -Hitech City.

We started from Moharli around 10am and were in Hyderabad by 5pm with breakfast, lunch and a few other breaks thrown in.

Thanks

Thanks for your reply.I guess you meant the NH7.
7 hours is a very good time including 2 breaks.
I think it's unlikely to cover that distance in 7 hours if you go through the NH7 unless you drive like a maniac (going by what I have read in other threads).

I am tempted to take this route to Tadoba.

[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by Nick_Wanderlust

This shot was really clever taken! i thought that the male statue was holding her hand or she was following him. When i saw the next photo! it blew my mind. it was actually mirror which has reflected her statue!

Nice Travelogue!

Thanks Nick. It is quite an unique piece and is displayed very well showing it off neatly. IMHO, it rivals the veiled Rebbecca anyday.

[just4wheels]

That's quite a trip nix1976in, doing 2350kms. Great shots. I lived for a year and half in Hyderabad in 2005-2006 and had not visited any of these museums. Just as Nick_Wanderlust mentioned, the dual faced statue is truly awesome. So is the Veiled Rebecca. Amazing craftsmanship. Museums weren’t my thing back then. I guess like the saying goes, you don't appreciate what's in your garden until someone else does. I shall remember to visit Salarjung should I ever land in Hyderabad.

[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by PVPal

What a treasure trove you have hit upon. Beautiful sightings: birds, reptiles, mammals, and the Tiger himself.

At Salarjung, did you manage to see Rebecca. For me she has always been its biggest highlight. I could not believe she was not alive!

Hey PVPal, Thanks and am glad you liked the pics. Yes, we did have a field day of sightings and could see most of the big species out there except for the bear though we saw a caged leopard.

The veiled Rebecca is a mesmerizing work of art and is perfect in every sense but the mystique of the dual faced statue was more intriguing for me.

Thanks,

[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by Ajitsingh208

Awesome pictures, can you please share the cost of the Safari and the MTDC resort and how did you manage a booking?

Hi Ajit,
We had booked a package for the stay and safaris through Atul Dhamankar who is a naturalist and was referred to me by a member here. If you need I can PM you the contact so that you can talk to him directly.

Thanks.

[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by Seventhgear

Great pics and writeup Nix.Though i am not an expert on tigers,I can say for sure that nothing compares to the sight of the tiger in flesh and blood.Royal and majestic are two words that come to mind when we comes across one of these magnificent creatures.I will never understand how people can kill such an animal just for its pelt .How can there be any beauty in death.

The waghoba tiger sure looked huge and if not for the surroundings might have passed for a Siberian tiger.

As for the route you took ,the Aurangabad-Jalna-Mehkar-Karanja Lad-Amravati byepass -Nagpur is the preferred one.Except for the Jalna -Karanja Lad section you will encounter four lanes.The road via Wardha is good but it is a two lane one hence one has to be more careful and might be time consuming.

Hey Seventhgear (is there one?)....thanks for the kind words. You are right in saying that seeing a tiger up close is beyond comparison. The wagdoh male sure was enormous and looked regal except for his battle scarred face!

About the route, as I mentioned the Wardha route was taken in error due to local guidance hence we ended up on the wrong side of Nagpur however thats the beauty of a roadtrip ain't it?

[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by just4wheels

That's quite a trip nix1976in, doing 2350kms. Great shots. I lived for a year and half in Hyderabad in 2005-2006 and had not visited any of these museums. Just as Nick_Wanderlust mentioned, the dual faced statue is truly awesome. So is the Veiled Rebecca. Amazing craftsmanship. Museums weren’t my thing back then. I guess like the saying goes, you don't appreciate what's in your garden until someone else does. I shall remember to visit Salarjung should I ever land in Hyderabad.

Thanks buddy, like they say (like we say when we don't know who said it but it gives some credence ) "Ghar ki murgi dal barabar"...I have been born and brought up in Mumbai but haven't been to Elephanta Caves yet ...

Some exhibits at Salarjung are neat but the dazzling collection at Nizam's museum and the car collection at Chowmahallah palace are awesome to say the least.

Thanks

[nix1976in]

Continuing with some birding pics.

Had to make a short trip to Nashik to attend a marriage, so decided to club it with some bird watching at the Nadur -Madhyameshwar bird sanctuary which is about 40kms from Nashik near Niphad. Just follow the NH3 off the elevated road towards Niphad and around 5kms of village roads will throw you out at the sanctuary gates.

Let the pics do the talking...pls correct me if I am wrong in naming any species as am trying to recollect whatever the guide told us.

Green Bee Eater


Guys pls help in identifying this guy


Godavari meandering across the countryside




Painted Storks and Spoon bills


Grey Heron


Flamingo...this was the main reason I wanted to visit this place. There were around 15 of them here as per the guide and we could capture these thanks to the 60x zoom on my Nikon P600


Painted Storks




Serpent Eagle (I doubt it as the one we saw at Tadoba was fluffier and of a different hue maybe he was obese). This guy was really far out and it required real calm nerves to use the full range of the lens at 1440mm to capture him




Purple Heron


One of the many watch towers at the sanctuary


Common Cranes


Painted storks


Thousand of ducks dunking all around


This one had a fancy name for a duck which I seem to have forgotten...


Common Cranes


Grey Heron minding some ducks


Birds in flight


Some more...






Some raptor...pls help identify


Nandur Landscape


Watch tower


Sula Vineyards