[Dieselritzer]

you folks are lucky. Nice sighting there. I wish to congratulate you for exposing the kids to these experiences. They will grow up to appreciate nature, the rawness, the feeling of that cold air in the woods, something that cannot be replicated in any mall of the world ! Amazing stuff guys..

[varunanb]

You must be really lucky to spot tigers thrice in a day. Im yet to see one in their natural habitat.

Hopefully I will see one or two this year.

Open top Gypsy, a tiger few yards away and kids on board. Must have been an amazing feeling.

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP

..... the naturalist exclaimed - "Hey ! Watch Out !". Sighted a Female Tiger walking on the driveway of the jungle right in front of us. We just could not believe our luck and simply calmly followed it. It escorted us for good 20 Minutes into the jungle before disappearing into the greens.

It's quite fascinating to be able to see a big cat in the wild! Overall it's a great travelogue, AJ!

I am just curious, what was the closest distance between you and the tiger?

Thanks,
Golam

[AJ-got-BHP]

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

you folks are lucky. Nice sighting there. I wish to congratulate you for exposing the kids to these experiences. They will grow up to appreciate nature, the rawness, the feeling of that cold air in the woods, something that cannot be replicated in any mall of the world ! Amazing stuff guys..

We really wanted the kids to experience this. I guess the kids are the chosen lucky ones to experience the wild and the animals in their natural habitat at such a tender age. All Kids were under the age of 4 years !!

A mix of everything is required for the kids to get a proper exposure. My daughter has had a few experiences at the beach and atleast 3-4 of being on the mountains; her first mountain experience was when she was 3 months old when we drove from Kolkata to Darjeeling !!

Originally Posted by varunanb

You must be really lucky to spot tigers thrice in a day. Im yet to see one in their natural habitat.

Hopefully I will see one or two this year.

Open top Gypsy, a tiger few yards away and kids on board. Must have been an amazing feeling.

I would say we were extremely lucky !! Our timing coincided with that of the Tiger quite nicely

We were unsure of how we would be able to manage the excitement of the kids while being on the Safari. But, we had to tune them up a lot beforehand as the wild animals do not like much noise around them. But, the kids absorbed well into the situation very well and were very well behaved all throughout. I guess they had more fun than we did for sure !!

Originally Posted by gmhossain

It's quite fascinating to be able to see a big cat in the wild! Overall it's a great travelogue, AJ!

I am just curious, what was the closest distance between you and the tiger?

Thanks,
Golam

Thanks there !!

The closest we were to the tiger was around 10-15 Feets where we were parked on the pathway in the Pench National Park and the tiger looked into our eyes from the bushes beside us.

Initially it was hell scary, but later on it was fascinating to admire this God's beautiful creation in it's natural habitat.

[varunanb]

Thanks AJ. I think its time I take my daughter on a Safari. Want to see her reaction in the presence of a wild animal.

But I believe in some of the safari's they do not allow kids in. Need to check that while planning with kids.

[sdp1975]

Great travelogue and photos there .

Need some information on visiting Pench for the first time. I've booked at Kiplings court on April 17th. Also booked evening safari for a registered vehicle from the Turia gate on the mponline.gov.in site. Morning slots were full.

What do I need to do for hiring a registered gypsy ? Do I just walk in at the Turia gate and will Gypsy's be available there ? Or do I need to contact any of the registered owners at http://www.penchtiger.co.in/pdf/Regi...pench%20MP.pdf beforehand ? Or will the hotel help me out in this ?

What are the usual rates for hiring a gypsy and a guide ? Thanks for your inputs.

[AJ-got-BHP]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Great travelogue and photos there .

Need some information on visiting Pench for the first time. I've booked at Kiplings court on April 17th. Also booked evening safari for a registered vehicle from the Turia gate on the mponline.gov.in site. Morning slots were full.

What do I need to do for hiring a registered gypsy ? Do I just walk in at the Turia gate and will Gypsy's be available there ? Or do I need to contact any of the registered owners at http://www.penchtiger.co.in/pdf/Regi...pench%20MP.pdf beforehand ? Or will the hotel help me out in this ?

What are the usual rates for hiring a gypsy and a guide ? Thanks for your inputs.

What we had done was that we had given the Total Responsibility to our Hotel (Tathastu) to arrange for the Entry and the Gypsy for the Jungle Safari.

We had gone in 2014 i.e.- at that time for the Jungle Safari from Touria Gate @ Pench National Park we paid our Hotel Rs.4,000/= All Inclusive which included the following :

• Official Entry Fee to the National Park for 4 Adults + 2 Kids = Rs.1,250/=
• Gypsy from the Hotel driven by their In House Naturalist
• The Guide from the Forest Department who was with us on Safari
• Breakfast/ Meal from the part of our Hotel

As per my knowledge, you will not get gypsy(s) available at the Touria Gate readily and that you will have to ensure a pre-booking to be on the safer side.

In my opinion it is best to Update your Hotel with the Scanned Copy of your Safari Tickets and request them to arrange and do the needful from their part. Check on the charges with reference to the pointers mentioned above.

Hope this helps

[earthian]

AJ:
That was a beautiful travelogue.

We were prepared to experience the wild and not just drive through the jungle in the quest of the Tiger. There is much more to it than that. The quest for sighting the Tiger makes you overlook or neglect the other natural beauty around you. My suggestion to everyone going for a Jungle Safari would be to go with an open mind and just enjoy the surroundings and the habitat of the wild animals.

Congratulations!! You understood this though on your first safari. How i wish others too would understand this. Secondly, would like to place on record my appreciation that you have started exposing your daughter to the wonders of nature. She will grow up into a fine human being with great values.