[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Stryker

Also distracting me were a group a very PYTs in another van next to us, scantily clad and showing a lot of leg. I was not able to make a rational decision about where to look.

That's one serious dilemma you were in. Luckily you had it prioritized.

Awesome pics mate. One hell of a lucky guy. I will definitely add Kabini in my list of wildlfe spots, have been planning for some while now for my son's interests.

[Torque123]

Originally Posted by Stryker

I hear the sightings are good right now. Haven't been there myself for over a couple of months now and the itch is becoming hard to ignore. Soon..

Was in Kabini last Friday & Saturday. Did 4 safaris & got cats in all 4. To be precise got 3 different tigers in 5 sightings & 1 Leopard. Its rocking out there. Do visit Kabini ASAP Will post a travelogue this week.

[AVR]

Going to Kabini end of the month and saw this post! Staying at Red Earth so need to figure out some way of getting as many Safaris possible in the 2 day trip! Any guidance on the same will be highly appreciated.

I think Kabini's prized possession is the Black Panther. What a sight that would be!

[Torque123]

Originally Posted by AVR

Going to Kabini end of the month and saw this post! Staying at Red Earth so need to figure out some way of getting as many Safaris possible in the 2 day trip! Any guidance on the same will be highly appreciated.

I think Kabini's prized possession is the Black Panther. What a sight that would be!

If you have booked your accomodation at Red Earth then you will not be able to do safaris through JLR as they do not have a tie up with JLR. You can ask the Red Earth guys to help you in organising safari through the Dhammanakatte government safari. They take all their guests on safari using this option. They have only 1 bus for the safari which usually does 2 rounds of 1 and a half hours each in the morning & the same schedule in the evening. If you are going on a weekend then getting bookings for 2 rounds in morning & 2 rounds in evening is difficult. So talk to Red Earth guys well in advance about the safari. By the way the drivers of that safari bus are moody & impatient. For them showing wildlife to tourists is not a priority. For them just finishing the 2 rounds ASAP is priority. Have done few safaris using this option & just letting you know my experience. Cannot complain as the safari fee is way lesser than what JLR charges. Hope this helps.

If you dont mind can you tell what is the package & tariff that Red Earth is offering you.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by King_pin09

Let me congratulate you Stryker, for the wonderful images as they are.

Thanks, King_pin09. Yes, the 200-400 is a bit short, but here's where cropping comes to your rescue. Of course, there's nothing like getting the full frame, but cropping is better than moaning about the lack of length.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Awesome pics mate. One hell of a lucky guy. I will definitely add Kabini in my list of wildlfe spots, have been planning for some while now for my son's interests.

Thanks, ghodlur. Kabini is a kind of bucket list spot. Must do, you won't regret it unless you are very unlucky and not get a decent sighting. That has happened to me a couple of times, but when you visit one place many times, some of them will be wasted anyway.

Originally Posted by Torque123

By the way the drivers of that safari bus are moody & impatient. For them showing wildlife to tourists is not a priority. For them just finishing the 2 rounds ASAP is priority.

You are absolutely correct. Those govt drivers rush thru the safari like they are driving in a race! Thankfully, I have never been in one of them yet as I always stay at JLR. But obviously I've seen them inside the forest where they zip by raising a lot of dust.

[AVR]

Originally Posted by Torque123

If you have booked your accomodation at Red Earth then you will not be able to do safaris through JLR as they do not have a tie up with JLR. You can ask the Red Earth guys to help you in organising safari through the Dhammanakatte government safari. They take all their guests on safari using this option. They have only 1 bus for the safari which usually does 2 rounds of 1 and a half hours each in the morning & the same schedule in the evening. If you are going on a weekend then getting bookings for 2 rounds in morning & 2 rounds in evening is difficult. So talk to Red Earth guys well in advance about the safari. By the way the drivers of that safari bus are moody & impatient. For them showing wildlife to tourists is not a priority. For them just finishing the 2 rounds ASAP is priority. Have done few safaris using this option & just letting you know my experience. Cannot complain as the safari fee is way lesser than what JLR charges. Hope this helps.

If you dont mind can you tell what is the package & tariff that Red Earth is offering you.

Hey man,

Have been in touch with Red Earth guys so lets see how this works out. I got the rooms off a Makemytrip package for ~25k for 2 nights

[nitinbose]

Great pics, i guess you must have been really lucky to spot such wildlife. People normally see some boars, deers or buffalos.

[Stryker]

Well, that's generally true if you visit Kabini once, not once a month! But of late the sightings have been good for various reasons, so this would be the right time to go there.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by AVR

Have been in touch with Red Earth guys so lets see how this works out. I got the rooms off a Makemytrip package for ~25k for 2 nights

I am heading to Kabini this month end and I have a 1 night booking with Red Earth and an additional night at Kabini Lake View Resort. Could you share how was your experience at Red Earth and if they managed to arrange a Safari for you?

Originally Posted by Stryker

Well, that's generally true if you visit Kabini once, not once a month! But of late the sightings have been good for various reasons, so this would be the right time to go there.

This would be my first trip to Kabini - any other tips for Kabini ? - you seem to be the experienced one. How are the roads beyond Mysore?

[vsathyap]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

This would be my first trip to Kabini - any other tips for Kabini ? - you seem to be the experienced one. How are the roads beyond Mysore?

I cannot answer about RedEarth or the other resorts since I've stayed with JLR exclusively and their safari experiences have been the best.

However, the roads beyond Mysore, all the way to Kabini are pretty smooth and will give you an easy drive all the way. If you're starting from Bangalore and have no reason to go through Mysore City (for breakfast or for other requirements), take the left onto the Mysore Ring Road at the Columbia Asia Signal. The road will take you around the City on mostly deserted roads (across crazy gaps in dividers where 2 and 3 wheelers make sudden turns) and you will eventually circumambulate almost the entire City, including Chamundi hills, and you will arrive at the signal where you take a left to Kabini. After this left turn, be careful about small villages and people unmindful of traffic on the 'highway'. You will then cross 'HandPost' which is a chaotic intersection and beyond that it's smooth sailing. The best part of the drive is the last few miles - the vehicle will rise and fall with the contours of the gentle hills and the backwaters play hide-and-seek with you. Watch out for Gas Cylinders kept on the edge of the road in this stretch

Just explaining this makes me want to go to Kabini again!

[Amyth Prabhakar]

Your pics inspired me a lot ! I posted Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary pics just a few days ago and was planning for a kabini visit. I have been waiting to click a tiger in the wild. I was at Bandipur last year and had taken a 3 hour early morning safari in an open Maruti Gypsy. I did not come across any wild cats for almost 2 hours or even more. However, we did see a lot of deers,Sambars, Wild bisons, elephants, peacocks, wild boards and a few more birds and tons of monkeys. I have lot pics from that visit and it does deserve a post.

It was close to 3 hours and it was time for us to get back to jungle lodge and I switched off my camera thinking it was all over. We began our journey back to the lodge and as we finally approached the main road form the jungle trails, we spotted a tiger. It ran away into the bushes and disappeared. I did not have the time to turn the camera on and click. Missed it by inches. We waited there for some time,thinking it would return.
The driver even took us back into the jungle to see if we could spot it again in nearby surroundings. But it was nowhere to be seen. All that was left there for us to capture was only the pug marks !!

Will surely plan to visit Kabini

[AVR]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

I am heading to Kabini this month end and I have a 1 night booking with Red Earth and an additional night at Kabini Lake View Resort. Could you share how was your experience at Red Earth and if they managed to arrange a Safari for you?




This would be my first trip to Kabini - any other tips for Kabini ? - you seem to be the experienced one. How are the roads beyond Mysore?

Red Earth will be able to arrange canter safari seats. Call them
I had a swift from zoom car and it worked out fine
Happy spotting!

[vsrivatsa]

Thanks everyone for the information and guidance I went ahead and cancelled my booking with Red Earth (I had the MMT DoubleBlack Membership and hence costed me nothing).

I felt the Jeep Safari would provide a better experience and hence went ahead and booked the Kabini River Lodge from Jungle Lodges.

For people interested here is the latest Tariff: URL

And also a detailed plan for the day: URL

[Stryker]

You guys do realise this is a two year old thread right? There are other far more recent threads on Kabini (mostly by me, I must say!)

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

This would be my first trip to Kabini - any other tips for Kabini ? - you seem to be the experienced one. How are the roads beyond Mysore?

vsathyap has answered your road condition question admirably! I have nothing more to add. Just one more thing. At the Columbia Asia signal near Mysore, taking right will also lead you to the same spot but in a counter-clock-wise direction, so left or right doesn't matter. However, I too prefer the left, as that route has less traffic.

Originally Posted by vsathyap

Just explaining this makes me want to go to Kabini again!

Reading about this made me want to go again too!

Originally Posted by Amyth Prabhakar

Your pics inspired me a lot !

Thanks Amyth. Hope to see your travelogue soon.