[tazmaan]

Since Last 2 years I have been doing solo road trips. My previous 2 solo trips are documented in the threads below.

2015

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...eli-goa-2.html

2016

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...v-cross-2.html

It was the solo time of the year again and it was tough choosing a destination. I was sure I wanted to head towards the Jungle.

In 2016 I had done Ranthambore and Kanha so they were out of contention. The only other nearby destinatiosn I could think of was Pench and Tadoba. Since I had crossed Pench on my way to Kanha, I felt like exploring a new place so Tadoba it was. Also tiger sitings at Tadoba have been great with cubs and safari slots were available online.

Trip details:

4th Nov 2017 : Leave Mumbai and stay overnight at Aurangabad.
5th Nov 2017: Aurangabad to Tadoba, plan was to reach around noon and relax.
6th Nov 2017: 2 Safaris planned Morning: Navegaon Gate and Evening Kolara Gate
7th Nov 2017: 2 Safaris planned Morning Kolara Gate and Evening Pangdi Gate
8th Nov 2017: Drive back to Mumbai in one shot

Hotel Name

Zeal Tadoba resort located at Kolara gate

Safari Booking

Done by the hotel as a package.

Essential Kit

Spare car keys
1 Liter engine oil and 250ml brake oil
Tool kit
Swiss army knife
DSLR with 300mm lens (I am newbie with DSLR which can bee seen in pics)
Warm Jacket (Actually saved me from sun burn while driving without sunfilm)
Sunglasses
All charges and music


A Teaser Pic




Lets move on to day one…..

[tazmaan]

Day 1: 4th Nov 2017

The drive to pune was straight forward with no issues. The route I took was as per the map below originally but I missed the Chakan exit which cost me atleast 30 minutes. I took the last exit at Pune post which google maps went in to fit and took me through most outrageous rural roads untill I re-joined my original route. The drive after that was routine but it got dark post Ahmednagar and I hate driving in the dark.

Start MID readings







Route



On express way





Camouflaged Scorpio at Khapoli Toll



Just after the sun set with reddish moon in the background



At the Hotel (Manor Aurangabad)



Flag post inaugurate on the same day. I could see it from my room across the street.



Best part of Day 1

I used to own a 1982 W123 300D detailed in the thread below.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super-...ar-sold-7.html

I had sold it to a guy in Aurangabad and we are still in touch. I informed him about my stay at Aurangabad and a dinner was planned almost immediately. What followed was awesome Aurangabad street food and a drive in the W123. It did bring back old memories after all that’s the car in which I went for a drive for the first time with my to-be wife then.

The W123 at the hotel parking lot (Phone pic)



Cont: Day 2...

[tazmaan]

Day 2: Nov 5 2017 Drive to Tadoba


Left at 6 am and took the below route.




The drive from Aurangabad to Jalna is good 4 lane road. But from Jalna upto Tadoba is very bad. Rough surface and surprise potholes deep enough a swallow an elephant. During this time I did manage to jump into few pot holes and was praying that the Vcross makes it through. After half way through I realized my clutch had started slipping in 4th gear i.e. power was not being transmitted to the wheels but the RPM was rising. I did a test in 1st , 2nd and 3rd gear but there was no slipping, it was only dominant in 4th gear and could be felt in the 5th gear as well. I immediately realized that my clutch is worn. It was not very prominent but I could tell. I have petes remap on my truck and it does reduce the life of the clutch.

Post this I started driving in a very sedate manner with no immediate surge in power and there were no issues. But the fact that the clutch is not in a good health did keep me worried through out the trip and had an effect over the final itinerary. I reached my resort at 3:30 PM and called it a day.

Hotel View from room



Parked at the Kolara gate



The Kolara Gate



Cont: Day 3...

[tazmaan]

Day 3 : 6th Nov 2017 Safari

Morning Safari Navegaon Gate.

It was an early start, the Navegaon safari gate was far from the hotel and the last 10kms which goes through buffer zone is very Bad. It took me over an hour to reach the gate. The hotel manager had informed me about the road and asked me to leave by 4:30am for 6:00am safari.

I had planned on reaching the gate early since earlier you enter the better are the chances of a tiger siting. I did the mandatory ID check at the entry check post and was off hoping to spot a tiger.

At the Navegaon gate



Parking at the gate



My jeep was the only jeep to enter sharp at 6:00am. I later found out the next jeep was 20 minutes behind us and the third one 30 mins behind. We immediately spotted a jungle cat.

Jungle cat





We soon spotted fresh tiger pug marks and the driver started driving in the direction of the pug mark. So engrossed we were following the pug marks that the guide and the driver did not spot the tiger who was sitting just by the bushes on the side of the road. Our jeep drove past her which startled the tiger and we spotted the magnificent P3 female tigress. What followed was an experience of a life time. The tigress started walking towards our jeep and we kept driving ahead of her for good 25 minutes. With ours being the only jeep the tigress kept following the jeep in a magnificent bold manner marking her territory in between. Around 25 minutes later the other jeep arrived post which the tigress disappeared in the woods. The jeep that was 30 minutes behind didn’t get to see a tiger. (Reason why I was stressing on timings). I will now let the pictures do the talking.

The Magnificent P3 Female













Marking her territory



phone video not quality

https://youtu.be/v01u_iLTgoE

https://youtu.be/oYYWE_YOGWI

Post this the rest of the safari was normal but I could not stop thinking about what I had just witnessed.

Spider



Sambar Deer



Sambar sitting on an Island at Tadoba Lake




Wheel after off-roading through the buffer zone (The finger photo bombed)



Evening safari Kolara gate.


Now this gate is a lot more busier with 12 jeeps being allowed during one time as compared to 5 at Navegaon. When I reached the gate there were 3 jeeps already lined up ahead of me. This evening safari was a total dud with no siting of any animals except sambar and spotted deer for any of the jeeps. Anyways I was not disappointed hungover by P3 experience in the morning. Headed back to the hotel and called it a day.

Few Birds











Croc



Deer fawn feeding







Regarding the clutch the car had no issues since I was driving sedately with no sharp acceleration or down shifts.

Cont Day 4 ...

[tazmaan]

Day 4: 7th November 2017

Morning Safari Kolara Gate

Again from my previous experience I wanted to be the 1st Jeep to enter the busy Kolara gate. And since Kolara gate was only 2 kms from the hotel, I managed to reach at 5:30 am for 6:00 am safari. It paid off mine was the first jeep lined up at the gate. But this time I was not that lucky no tiger siting initially. We kept roaming around for pug marks but no luck. Mean while rest of the jeeps arrived and it was a total chaos. With all the jeeps moving around each other I asked my driver to let go of the tiger and move to a peaceful area and have breakfast. We sat by the lake and peacefully finished our breakfast. Drove around the jungle and spotted a few residents.

My jeep 1st one line up



Tadoba reserve main road



Bison



Birds





Sambar Deer in the lake





Snake Skin high up on a tree



Almost at the end of the safari we got information regarding the location of a male cub. Since it was on our way out we decided to check. There were 2 jeeps waiting there already and the cub was resting at a distance under the shade of a tree. The male cub is one of Choti Tara's cub (She has 2 male cubs). Since he is not 2.5 years old he has not been named. The other cub and Choti Tara was no where to be seen.










This marked the end of my 3rd safari. I was scheduled to have a 4th Safari at Pangdi gate in the evening but I had to cancel it. Remember the clutch issue, it was playing tricks on my mind. I decided not to take a chance driving back in one shot. I planned to break the journey into two parts. Also I was not driving back through Aurangabad as the roads are just too bad.

The plan was to leave after an early lunch and reach Akola by evening and then leave from Akola the next day and reach Mumbai by evening.

I went to the hotel packed my bags had an early lunch and left with a heavy heart. The hotel staff was very sad as I was their only guest since Monday and the next check-in was on Thursday being off season.

This is the route mapping I took from an app called life 360. It shows every halt taken. The data from the 1st two days is lost since I forgot to take a backup.

Kohlara gate to Nagpur



Nagpur to Amravati



Amravati to Akola



Reached Akola in the evening and relaxed. The clutch held up since I was driving in a very sedate manner. On a side note I got to watch the final T20 India vs NZ.

Cont Day 5.....

[tazmaan]

Day 5: 8th November 2017

The plan was to reach Mumbai before dark. I had driven on this road last year and remember it being a narrow highway with a lot of bike traffic. The highway is a two lane non divided highway all the way up to Dhule. In order to beat the bike traffic and make it easier on the clutch, I left Akola at 5:00 am. Took the scheduled halts and reached Mumbai at 4:15 Pm. The clutch held up but I could feel its not going to last long.

The route





Odometer



Total distance and average speed



Kitna Deti hai (Average)



Total drive time



The highest range shown by V-cross so far thanks to sedate driving





Back at home







At the end of the day this was my 3rd solo road trip in as many years. Except the slight hiccup everything went as per plan. The more I do this more addictive this is getting. One local guide with whom I had been chatting at Tadoba started calling me Jungle Premi (Jungle lover). Its very unusual to find solo travelers in India driving around over long distances. So people do look at you curiously and ask silly question like Sir aren't you scared? How do you do this alone? Don't you get tired? Are you not married? etc

Would I do this again? oh yes !! Can't wait for next year.

[SDP]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[headers]

Nice one there.. Lucky to spot a Tiger.

BTW, the howz the clutch of the Vcross? Did you get to replace it?

Cheers

[ARAY]

Tadoba blogs are becoming very interesting these days. Beautiful narration and some very nice images . The blog is pretty detailed and could be used for reference by many. Keep traveling and sharing such beautiful vlogs.

[tazmaan]

Originally Posted by headers

Nice one there.. Lucky to spot a Tiger.

BTW, the howz the clutch of the Vcross? Did you get to replace it?

Cheers

Thanks. No clutch has not been replaced yet. I am driving around locally but the problem is not being replicated while driving in the city even while driving aggressively. Also the slipping was prominent when accelerating suddenly around 100 kmph for a fraction of a second. I think I am going to use it for some time and see how it goes. It will need to be replaced sooner or later no doubt about that.

[yogesh.8984]

Absolutely lucky you to spot the tigress from such a close range in her natural habitat. How much was the approximate cost for stay, food and tickets for a person at Tadoba?

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by tazmaan

At the end of the day this was my 3rd solo road trip in as many years. Except the slight hiccup everything went as per plan.

Lovely travelogue! I used to think Tiger spotting trips were recommended only in summers, but thanks for disabusing me of that notion. Do you think it's a good idea to go in January? Also, are all arrangements for the safaris made by the resorts/hotels in Tadoba?

Cheers,
Vikram

[BowMan]

Originally Posted by tazmaan

Day 1: 4th Nov 2017

The drive to pune was straight forward with no issues. The route I took was as per the map below originally but I missed the Chakan exit which cost me atleast 30 minutes. I took the last exit at Pune post which google maps went in to fit and took me through most outrageous rural roads untill I re-joined my original route. The drive after that was routine but it got dark post Ahmednagar and I hate driving in the dark.

Start MID readings

Attachment 1694318

Attachment 1694317

Attachment 1694316

Route

Attachment 1694310

On express way

Attachment 1694314

Attachment 1694319

Camouflaged Scorpio at Khapoli Toll

Attachment 1694416

Just after the sun set with reddish moon in the background

Attachment 1694312

At the Hotel (Manor Aurangabad)

Attachment 1694313

Flag post inaugurate on the same day. I could see it from my room across the street.

Attachment 1694309

Best part of Day 1

I used to own a 1982 W123 300D detailed in the thread below.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super-...ar-sold-7.html

I had sold it to a guy in Aurangabad and we are still in touch. I informed him about my stay at Aurangabad and a dinner was planned almost immediately. What followed was awesome Aurangabad street food and a drive in the W123. It did bring back old memories after all that’s the car in which I went for a drive for the first time with my to-be wife then.

The W123 at the hotel parking lot (Phone pic)

Attachment 1694311

Cont: Day 2...

Hey I remember this old girl. Hope she is doing fine

[humyum]

Originally Posted by tazmaan

Thanks. No clutch has not been replaced yet. I am driving around locally but the problem is not being replicated while driving in the city even while driving aggressively. Also the slipping was prominent when accelerating suddenly around 100 kmph for a fraction of a second. I think I am going to use it for some time and see how it goes. It will need to be replaced sooner or later no doubt about that.

This could be an oil seal leak in the gearbox seeping the gearbox oil in the clutch causing the slippage (could be, not sure), none the less, even if this is the case, the clutch is gone even if there is life as once oil touches it, its finished.

[alphadog]

Great Pictures Tazmaan.

A lone traveler always draws curiosity. People are always used to seeing families or groups of friends. Many people cannot get their heads round the fact that some individuals may like traveling on their own.

It must be a great experience getting to see the Tiger in its natural environment. I have been to a couple of other reserves, but have yet to spot the elusive Tiger. I have heard that Tadoba gives a higher chance of spotting one and your post is proof to that. It is in my list of places to visit in India.

Your vehicle looks the part and it does have a tough macho look. Two questions - What is that spoiler like flap on the bonnet front?.
How is the suspension set in the D-Max, is it soft and springy and also does it roll about a lot on twisties?.

Keep driving and posting. It was a pleasure to read through your post. Thank you.

Cheerio!