[Maddy3008]

After coming back from the Karnataka western ghats, as I was busy typing this travelogue (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=193959), my wife suggested to me that we should go for the machan census this year for sure. [For those of you are not aware, machan census is a process carried out by forest department of Maharashtra where volunteers are invited to stay on a machan in a forest. These volunteers are accompanied by a forest guard, and dinner & water is provided.]

I instantly said yes and also added that we could do this along with a road trip (of course !). There were a couple of questions that needed to be solved:
1. A road trip needs a car: What car?
2. How to manage a machan stay and keep the kid safe
3. What destinations to cover?

Question #2 was solved when my sister-in-law accepted to look after the kids (hers and ours) while my wife, sister-in-law's husband and I are in the machan. This was the simplest question to solve as they were also accompanying us on the road trip. This road trip will be 6 of us (4 adults and 2 kids).

For #1, after the Karnataka road trip on a borrowed TUV, my wife and I were both pretty confident of TUV and its ability to take us places. So we booked a TUV, and started the wait. This was around 5-6 Jan.

Around 10-11-Jan, my wife calls up during the office hours and tells me that her colleague was trying for Bandhavgarh safari bookings and he was not getting the safaris on the dates he wants. This was followed by some emergency messages on whatsapp with sister-in-law and her husband. Same evening, my wife and I in our house and my sister-in-law with her husband in their house spend about 4 hours for getting the road trip plan in place, doing the safari bookings, and doing the bookings for stay. Almost everything was booked within this time period except stay for 1 night in nagpur and flights for kids along with sister-in-law from pune to nagpur & back.

Following plan was finalized:




Stay
If my information serves me right (BHPians please correct me if my information is incorrect), Maharashtra is the only state in India that still allows tourists to stay in the jungle area. We had stayed in a couple of such places earlier (Pench - Kolitmara gate and Nagzira). We decided to include Nagzira again this year into the plan as we had liked the stay a lot last year. These rooms in the jungle are not the regular ones we get in hotels. The rooms that we booked in Nagzira this year had basic facilities like bed, table fan and almirah. There is an attached washroom with only cold water provision. Also, there is no mobile network coverage, everything is powered using solar power and only one canteen with very limited food and beverage options. Of course, the canteen timings are also limited. We are allowed to take our car inside the jungle but need to be escorted with a forest guide when in the car at all times. There are specific timings for entry and exit from these facilities, coinciding with the usual safari timings (6 am to 10am and 3.30pm to 6.30pm in summer). In fact, private vehicles are allowed to go on the safari rounds as well. These rooms served as a good prep for us to stay in the machan overnight. We had targetted Umred as our preferred destination for overnight census in order to see Jaichand, the alpha male tiger of central India. Hence, we booked similar rooms within the jungle at Umred as well.

Since the bookings were done in such a hurry, we decided to stick to government guest houses in MP. For MP side, we chose Kipling's court at Turia gate for Pench and Baghira Jungle resort near Khatiya gate for Kanha. Both these options had all meals included and had modern amenities like swimming pool and air conditioning.

Commute
Once stay was finalized, we also booked flights from Pune to Nagpur and back for kids and sister-in-law later. My wife and I along with sister-in-law's husband will drive from Pune to Nagpur, joined by the flight gang in Nagpur to carry on with the trip. On the way back, we would drop them at Nagpur airport, and go to Umred for the census. Also, since there are limited seats (<10 generally) for each forest, if in case we do not get the machan census, we will do a couple of safaris before heading back.

We got the delivery of our TUV on 5-Mar, and we made the following preparations before starting:

1. Installed a roof carrier - MTEK supersport was my choice and we searched for about 2 weeks before a car accessories shop agreed to procure it from Mumbai and get it installed on my TUV. The cost was around 7000/-.

2. Mobile phone mount - I got one from Amazon

3. Sun shades - genuine sun shades from Mahindra. These are magnetic sun shades that fit the door frame and do not move even if the windows are rolled down. Upside - you can keep the windows open up to a speed of 40-50, and the sunshades make life a lot better inside. Downside - Open the door while paying toll.

4. 3M underbody coating, engine anti-rust treatment and nomad floor mats

5. Visors on doors

6. Running-in for 1k kms before starting the journey

7. A small preparatory trip to Mulshi ghat for about 150 kms to see if 4 adults and 2 kids can survive in the car in peak Nagpur heat



After our wildlife trip to the south, my son was very excited about this trip since the day we told him about it. He had the following bucket list of required wildlife sightings (animals and birds):

1. Tiger (of course !)
2. Leopard
3. Sloth bear
4. Vulture
5. Barasinga
6. Asian paradise flycatcher
7. Indian Pitta

[Maddy3008]

Day 0 and Day 1 [20 - 21 April 2018]

We left Pune at 7.30pm on 20-April. The route we took was Pune > Ahmednagar > Aurangabad > Jalna > Amrawati > Nagpur

I took to the wheel when we started. After maintaining a steady speed we reached Ahmednagar in no time. Before reaching Ahmednagar city, there is a diversion towards Aurangabad. I insisted on taking this road as I had used this road a couple of years back and this had enabled us to circumvent the city area. This time however, the road condition was absolutely poor. I cannot compare how it would have been if we had taken the city route as we did not put on Google maps till Jalna. This 'ring road' had me in double mind all the time as this was too much torture for a month old TUV. However, we pressed on and finally made it to the Aurangabad highway after 1.5 hrs.

The drive thereafter was quite uneventful. We took turns at the wheel and reached the hotel in Nagpur at around 10 am.

Somewhere along the way to Nagpur:



We were dead tired and sleepy from the night drive. The Treebo hotel at Nagpur was at a walking distance from the airport. We picked up the kids n sister-in-law at about 12 noon. Room-service food was ordered and the three of us slept as soon as we finished our lunch. There was a personal appointment in the evening and we finished our day with a light dinner.


Day 2 [22-Apr-2018]:

We started early in the morning from Nagpur. Although the plan was to start by 5am, we overslept and started by 7am. The stop today was Kanha National Park, Khatiya gate. We followed the route as suggested by google and reached the hotel by 1pm. The Nagpur - Jabalpur highway is in construction mode, and there are a lot of diversions along the route adding dust to the hot temperature.

The rooms at Baghira jungle resort at Kanha were really good. We had all meals included in the package and the buffet food didn't disappoint us. They also provided packed breakfast to be had during our safaris.

Everyone was really excited before the first safari. We started sighting birds right outside the room balcony.

Yellow-throated sparrow


Common Hoopoe:


Spotted dove:




Greater rackett-tailed drongo:



Safari 1:

The first safari in Kanha was in Kanha zone. The Khatiya gate entry can be used to enter all the four core zones in Kanha (Kanha, Kisli, Mukki and Sarhi). We did not have any big cat sighting during this safari.

White-throated kingfisher:


Indian Gaur:


Indian Roller:




Small green bea-eater:










Day 3 [23-Apr-2018]
Safari 2:

Kanha's second safari was also in Kanha zone. We were all very excited as many people had reported sightings of a Neelam tigress along with her cubs.

As soon as we entered the Kanha zone, this peacock greeted us with its beautiful dance.





Long-billed vulture:


This time we spotted the tigress Neelam. She was alone, and without cubs. As soon as many safari gypsy's started gathering around her, she got up and walked away into the dense undergrowth. We could see her for about 15-20 mins only. The rest of the safari was spent in admiring the birds and deers of the park.

Tigress Neelam:




Indian robin:




Red vented bulbul:


Yellow-throated sparrow:


Jungle crow at nest:


Indian roller:








Sambhar deer at waterhole:

[Maddy3008]

Safari 3:

Our third safari was in the Mukki zone. I loved this zone the most. I was amazed at the jungle in Kanha, as it was very green due to presence of Sal trees. However, I found the mukki zone forest to be an even special one. The safari ride in the open top gypsy in a dense green forest with twists n turns along with ups and downs was truly special.

Saw this egret in breeding plummage at the entry gate itself:


Asian Paradise Flycatcher (f):


After around 1 hours in the safari, our guide spotted a male tiger cub sitting and stalking an Indian Gaur However, as soon as the Gaur approached, it fled away. We couldn't see if for a long time. However, we heard a barking deer call for almost 30mins afterwards very near to where it was seated. The guide concluded that the cub is alone (without the mother around), and will not come out now. The rest of the safari was a usual ride in the beautiful Mukki zone !

Tiger cub (male):


Dancing Indian peacock:


Sambhar deer:



Day 4 [24-Apr-2018]

Safari 4:

The following two safaris were in the Kisli zone. Kisli zone is a higher land than the other three zones, so the chances of locating a leopard were high. However, we didn't have any big cat sightings in the Kisli zone. The jungle was truly mesmerising. We also witnessed the critically endangered Barasinga very closely. The big male tiger T2's pugmarks were also seen along with a pic of the tiger in the published guidebook ! T2 was once famous for chasing safari gypsy's when he was young. The locals also called him Dabang. We only had one safari today and we enjoyed the rest of the day in the swimming pool and birding.

Young barasinga:




Brain fever bird:




Barking deer:


Flame-backed woodpecker:


Common stonechat:


Golden oriole:


Tickell's blue flycatcher (m):


Rufous woodpecker:


Back at the hotel:
Chestnut bellied nuthatch:


Yellow throated sparrow:




Indian Robin:


Chestnut bellied nuthatch with a catch:


Common myna - there's something in my eyes:



Day 5 [25-Apr-2018]
Safari 5:


Today we went straight to the den of T2 where he had headed the day before. As he had not been sighted during the evening safari also, the opinion of the guides was that he was still in his den having some rest. Unfortunately, T2 didnt bless us today also. The rest of the safari was spent in birding and sight sighting. This being our last safari in Kanha, everyone was also being emotional and vowed to come back to this beautiful jungle again.

Crested serpent eagle:


Yellow footed green pigeon (state bird of Maharashtra) saying Namaste:


Jungle owlet:


Spotted deer at T2's waterhole:


Yellow footed green pigeon:


Oriental turtle dove:


Glossy Ibis:




Brown headed barbet:

[Maddy3008]

Safari 5 contd:

Barasinga:




Golden oriole:




Black shouldered kite (I love its eyes, as if adorned with Kajal and mascara and what not):




Brain fever:


A pair of small bee-eaters:


A yellow-throated sparrow at its nest:


Flowerpecker:


Flame-backed woodpecker:


Black ibis:






Stone curlew:


Coppersmith barbet (apparently given this name due to the sound it makes as if copper is being hammered):




Black shouldered kite:




Kanha jungle - loved it





We left Kanha after having lunch at the hotel itself. Since we did not have any safari in the evening, we started at around 2pm from Kanha and reached Pench by evening. We had already booked the Kipling's court resort near Turiya gate. The next two safaris in Kanha were at the Turiya gate itself and after hearing reports of excellent sightings around the first waterhole, we were already very excited for our next safari.


Day 6 [26-April-2018]

Safari 6:

Similar to Kanha, we got packed breakfast from the hotel itself. There was a stark difference between the jungle at Kanha and Pench.

Jungle at Pench (see the difference with Kanha jungle pic above):




During this safari, we sighted the Langdi tigress lying in her den. Due to the many obstructions, her head was not visible. Moreover, she was fast asleep and we left her alone today to come back in the evening.

Mongoose:


White-eyed buzzard:






Stork billed kingfisher:


Small bee-eater with a catch:

[Maddy3008]

After reaching back at the hotel, we spent some time in pool and then trying to get good pics of birds from the room's balcony.

Back at the hotel at pench:

Tickell's blue flycatcher (m):


Black-headed oriole:


Black headed oriole trying to get a berry upside down:


Golden oriole:


Plum headed parakeet (f):


Langur mom-kid on our cottage:



Safari 7:
We already knew about the Langdi tigress resting in her den. We also got information about another male tiger near a second waterhole. We let our gypsy driver and guide know about this immediately. Upon hearing this news about sighting of the alpha-male tiger during the morning safari, our safari driver raced towards the second waterhole. We waited here for almost an hour, catching many animals except the alpha-male.

Langurs at the waterhole:


Jackal:


Flame backed woodpecker:


Fish eagle:


After waiting there for about an hour, we retraced back to the first waterhole where the tigress Langdi was supposed to be sighted as per the ongoing trends ! On the way, we also met a leopard.

Leopard:












After allowing us to capture photos to our heart's content, the leopard made its way into thick bushes. We then moved to the water hole where Langdi was supposed to meet us

Tigress Langdi:




We had booked the next morning safari from the Karmajhiri gate. We realized in the evening that the Karmajhiri gate will be too far away to reach at 6am from our hotel. Also, the gate change charge of 1800/- was too much to pay. Hence, we made some last minute reservations at the Khusrapur gate of the Pench tiger reserve. This gate was about 20 mins drive from our hotel.


Day 7 [27-Apr-2018]

Safari 8:

Upon entering the Khusrapur reserve, we were greeted by the Bindu tigress within 15 mins:











Some of the other common birds were also sighted. A particular zone of Khusrapur was closed due to the presence of a tigress with cubs and was supposed to be opened on 1-May. As a result, the rounds in this safari were shorter than usual.

Rufous treepie:






Indian grey hornbill with a catch:




Magpie robin:



After the safari, we were supposed to go to Nagzira. We had a quick lunch at the hotel and left for Nagzira.

[Maddy3008]

Nagzira:

By the time we reached Nagzira gate it was already 4pm. It is also allowed to take private vehicles inside the forest. Also, our stay was booked inside the core forest zone. We completed the necessary formalities at the gate (people entry pass, vehicle entry pass, guide) and were on our way. After reaching the room, we were also entitled to a safari if we wanted in our own vehicle. We decided to take it

TUV was parked right outside our room, and we saw this carcass of sambhar deer killed by wild dogs the previous evening.








Safari 9:

We were a little tired and started with our safari quite late - almost by 5pm. Tiger density in Nagzira is very poor and hence we didn't expect to see many wild animals. As luck would have it, within one hour, we sighted three different animals of prey.

Wild dogs:






The tigress Alicia was not very pleased after noticing us. In fact, it had so happened that she had very young cubs and we had just put a vehicle between her and her cubs. She was just waiting for us to move ahead and go back to her cubs. As a result, we could not wait very long and moved ahead. We came back after 15 mins and she had disappeared into the jungle.

Tigress Alicia:




I found the sloth bear to be the cutest creature of all big game animals. It was standing on two feet when we spotted it. It used to run for a few yards and wait there looking at us. It would then pose for the cameras before darting again. It even went behind a tree, stood on two legs and played hide-n-seek with us.

Sloth bear:



The rest of the drive was spent in enjoying the drive through the jungle:



Day 8 [28-Apr-2018]

Safari 10 and 11:

For the next two safaris, we had called for a open gypsy. However, no animal of prey was sighted during these safaris.

Langur:


Indian Scops owl:


Yellow footed green pigeon:


Langur:



Day 9 [29-Apr-2018]

Kids and sister-in-law were supposed to be heading back to Pune today. The flight for Pune was at 11.45am. As a result, we left Nagzira in the morning itself, had breakfast at the Reserve gate and headed straight to Nagpur. We dropped them at the airport and started the hunt for authentic Saoji food in Nagpur. Finally, when we found good food, we indulged ourselves into it so much that we forgot to take pictures

Thereafter, we reached Umred Gothangaon gate. We were supposed to stay inside the jungle for the night. We had planned to do a safari if time permitted. However, after reaching Gothangaon, we got to know that there is an acute water shortage and forest guard told us to find another accomodation in the village itself. After a lot of asking and deliberation, we decided to head towards Pauni gate as that was the gate where we had to report for Machan census. We reached Pauni village at around 7.30 pm and checked-in a hotel. Tired from the drive, we had a quick dinner and dozed off to sleep.

Day 10 [30-Apr-2018]

Today was the day for which this trip was planned to begin with. The reporting time given to us was 2pm. However, since we had nothing to do during the morning after check-out at 11am, we visited the range forest office twice, filled diesel in the car, asked around if we could spend some time, had lunch, and loitered around till 2pm. When we reached the range forest office at 2pm, we were told to go the Pauni gate. At the Pauni gate, we met the group of people who would spend the night in a machan.

After sometime, the RFO arrived and we were briefed about what would our next 18-20 hours look like. We were told about the protocols to follow, about parcel food and water being made available and also about the no-camera policy. After we insisted, the RFO allowed mobile phones into the jungle to click photos very silently.

He also asked us to pick up chits for picking which machan will get allotted to which guy / girl. Out of 10 machans in the Pauni region that night, two had tiger sightings (mine being one of them) and one had leopard sighting. I'll now let the pics do the talking.

Machan:




As soon as I had climbed the machan, the guide arrived within 5 mins, and we sighted these two young cubs at the waterhole in the next 10 mins. The cubs were about 1.5 years old each and were the litter of Jaichand (the alpha-male) and Rai. The cubs spent about an hour near the waterhole and also tried to hunt a sambhar.

Tigers at waterhole:






Spot the young tigress stalking her prey:




The tigers were heard growling late into the night (till about 11.30pm). There were no other animals at the waterhole during the evening due the presence of these tigers. We slept on the machan from mid-night to early morning next day. My phone was already dead due to the pictures and videos. Next morning, the forest guard and I left the machan on his bike and reported back at the Pauni gate. We were served breakfast and tea thereafter. After a short debriefing session, we all bid goodbyes an started back to Pune.

The drive from Pauni to Nagpur was completed in 13 hours and we reached our home at 12.30am.

Here's the final consolidated bill of the trip:


A few assorted pics:

2000 km reading in TUV:


Google maps error (this was when we wanted to go to Pauni from Godhangaon gate):


3000 mark (missed 3000 as I could not stop safely when it showed 3000):


Final odo reading of the trip:


Trip Summary:
Likes:
1. Lots of variety of wildlife
2. Kanha jungle, especially Mukki gate
3. Rooms at Kanha
4. The drive inside Nagzira

Vehicle hiccups faced:
1. Front door visors flew away in the wind as the glue was ineffective
2. The mobile holder glue is gone due to the intense heat
3. TUV had an AMT warning light after being in the sun for about 4 hours. It went away after we parked it in shade and poured water over the bonnet

Overall, it was a really good trip and the machan experience is something I will never forget. There were times when I was desperate to go down on steady ground, but the presence of tigers around made things really interesting. Hope you enjoy reading the TL as much as I enjoyed experiencing it !

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogue Section. Thanks for sharing.

[prashkul]

Fantastic travelogue, capturing so many birds and animals found in Kanha and other jungles. Really good photographs, and crisp narration made me feel like I was experiencing it first hand. Such trips can be memorable when you have like-minded individuals for company, and it seems your family was all-in in this together.

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by Maddy3008

Overall, it was a really good trip and the machan experience is something I will never forget. There were times when I was desperate to go down on steady ground, but the presence of tigers around made things really interesting. Hope you enjoy reading the TL as much as I enjoyed experiencing it !

As a fellow wildlife enthusiast, I must congratulate you on the sheer fortune of sightings you've had on this trip. I also want to thank you for sharing your wealth of birding knowledge; birds are just better when you know their names for some reason. I would like to invite you to Gautala wildlife sanctuary near Aurangabad next summer. We have around 14 leopards, some hyenas, sloth bears, and some really neat herp/rep fauna along with birds, of course. Do take the road through Ahmednagar, you'll be in and out of the city within 20 minutes even in peak traffic.

Cheers and thanks for sharing. It was a delight from start to finish.

[M35]

Some lovely birds in there, a couple of exotic ones too. I used to be quite involved in bird photography until recently. Quite busy schedule these days, hence my gear stays idle. Lovely images and that common hawk-cuckoo is my pick. Keeping shooting and sharing

[Maddy3008]

Originally Posted by prashkul

Fantastic travelogue, capturing so many birds and animals found in Kanha and other jungles. Really good photographs, and crisp narration made me feel like I was experiencing it first hand. Such trips can be memorable when you have like-minded individuals for company, and it seems your family was all-in in this together.

Thank you prashkul ! My family is an integral part of these trips and my son takes a lead in identifying birds now. I hope he maintains some of these traits when he grows up

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

As a fellow wildlife enthusiast, I must congratulate you on the sheer fortune of sightings you've had on this trip. I also want to thank you for sharing your wealth of birding knowledge; birds are just better when you know their names for some reason. I would like to invite you to Gautala wildlife sanctuary near Aurangabad next summer. We have around 14 leopards, some hyenas, sloth bears, and some really neat herp/rep fauna along with birds, of course. Do take the road through Ahmednagar, you'll be in and out of the city within 20 minutes even in peak traffic.

Cheers and thanks for sharing. It was a delight from start to finish.

Thank you BoltThrower ! I am happy you enjoyed reading about our experiences. I am still learning the photography techniques and the knowledge of wildlife is always helpful to get that splendid shot.

Thanks for the invite as well. I will surely try to make it and will PM you before making any plans.

Originally Posted by M35

Some lovely birds in there, a couple of exotic ones too. I used to be quite involved in bird photography until recently. Quite busy schedule these days, hence my gear stays idle. Lovely images and that common hawk-cuckoo is my pick. Keeping shooting and sharing

Thank you M35 ! There will always be work in the office. Do try to take some time out, I am sure you will not regret it. What gear do you use btw ?

[M35]

Originally Posted by Maddy3008

Thank you M35 ! There will always be work in the office. Do try to take some time out, I am sure you will not regret it. What gear do you use btw ?

I shot bulk of the images with my Nikon D810 + Nikon 200-500. Now the lens is mounted on to my new D500.
A couple of my birding threads here:
1. Birding @Palakkad
2. Urban Wildlife

[Maddy3008]

Originally Posted by M35

I shot bulk of the images with my Nikon D810 + Nikon 200-500. Now the lens is mounted on to my new D500.
A couple of my birding threads here:

Wow thats quite a collection of bird photos there. I have bookmarked both the threads and will look forward to updates from you

[arunrajk81]

Fantastic!.One of my dream. Planning something similar this July

[Maddy3008]

Originally Posted by arunrajk81

Fantastic!.One of my dream. Planning something similar this July

Thanks Arun !

All tiger reserves and national parks in India are closed in monsoons as most animals and birds breed and have young ones during this time. Also, the park dirt tracks will turn into muddy tracks which make it impossible to drive inside the parks. You might want to check with the parks officially to get the exact date of closure though.