[sedanlover2021]

Any leads on pet friendly resorts in or around kabini? Making my first ever trip there, will be accompanied by a golden retriever!

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by sedanlover2021

Any leads on pet friendly resorts in or around kabini? Making my first ever trip there, will be accompanied by a golden retriever!

+1! Now that monsoons are here I have been looking up trip destinations and I never travel without my dog. Those already travelling please take the effort to enquire about pet-friendly policies (allowed in room) for the places you stay.

[ampere]

Some really wonderful images! Very much life like! The place never ceases to amaze!

Asking the oft-asked question: What gear do you use ?

[sknair]

Originally Posted by sedanlover2021

Any leads on pet friendly resorts in or around kabini? Making my first ever trip there, will be accompanied by a golden retriever!

I normally stay at the Jungle Lodges and Resorts in Kabini, best for safaris; but to best of my knowledge they don't allow pets.

There are a few good private resorts around Kabini, they may allow pets; I think Red Earth could be a good option.

Keep in mind that if you stay at a private resort your safari will likely be in a canter (mini bus type) with limited visibility.

[sknair]

Originally Posted by ampere

Some really wonderful images! Very much life like! The place never ceases to amaze!

Asking the oft-asked question: What gear do you use ?

Nothing really fancy, enthusiast level kits.
Normally Nikon D5/PF500mm or Nikon D500/80-400mm, recent addition is Canon R6 / RF800mm

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sknair

Nothing really fancy, enthusiast level kits.
Normally Nikon D5/PF500mm or Nikon D500/80-400mm, recent addition is Canon R6 / RF800mm

Great to note you got the R6! Would love to know about your experiences. And of course that super compact 800mm!

[sknair]

Originally Posted by ampere

Great to note you got the R6! Would love to know about your experiences. And of course that super compact 800mm!

I had two trips to Kabini (Feb 2021 & March 2021) and also one to Coorg in March 2021 before the pandemic lock downs. In all these trips I used a combination of R6/800mm and D500/80-400. It is too early, but following observations with R6/800mm.

Pros
* R6+800mm is so super light and compact, you would love it while traveling and can hand hold for day long without even noticing it.
* Really loved the animal eye auto-focus in R6, it would catch on to the eye of the animal/bird as it moves, so no worries about re-framing as the animal moves
* I use dual auto focus (animal eye and manual auto focus [when animal eye is not holding on due to fore ground clutter])
* 800mm is super sharp
* Good light is key for the 800mm (since its f11)

Cons
* you really need another body/lens for low-light shots
* As the light fades, the noise will become pretty bad for decent shutter speeds
* Also you need good background separation for nice Bokeh (soft and out of focus background)
* for example, most the blacky shots above was with Nikon 80-400 since there was not much light (early morning)

In summary
* R6 is an awesome camera very much in the affordable and close to prosumer mirror-less setup
* 800mm - I will definitely carry it for the reach and compactness

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by sknair

I normally stay at the Jungle Lodges and Resorts in Kabini, best for safaris

Its always a feel good factor to re read the thread. This time need a help from you. A friend of mine is looking for a Trip Mumbai- Bangalore - Mysore- Coorg - Kabini - Bangalore - Mumbai.

- Dates: 19th Dec to 26th Dec
- Mumbai - Bangalore - Mumbai: Air Travel
- He does not drive so need your help to find a good, reliable option for a car + driver to take him and his wife from Bangalore to Mysore, Coorg, Kabini and back.
- With options if you can help with the approx estimate for the road trip

Looking forward to your or any other experienced traveller's help on the forum.

[sknair]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Its always a feel good factor to re read the thread. This time need a help from you. A friend of mine is looking for a Trip Mumbai- Bangalore - Mysore- Coorg - Kabini - Bangalore - Mumbai.

- Dates: 19th Dec to 26th Dec
- Mumbai - Bangalore - Mumbai: Air Travel
- He does not drive so need your help to find a good, reliable option for a car + driver to take him and his wife from Bangalore to Mysore, Coorg, Kabini and back.
- With options if you can help with the approx estimate for the road trip

Looking forward to your or any other experienced traveller's help on the forum.

Hi VWAllstar,
Normally I do not rent cars in Bangalore for outstation drives (since I live here), so do not have specific contacts. but there are couple of options I can suggest.
1. OLA outstation - a quick check on google map shows the trip you have mentioned above will be about 800KM just point to point.
for an SUV the cost would be about 18Rs per KM + driver allowance per night + GST etc.
I think you can only book a week ahead on OLA.

2. A better option would be savaari.com
A quick check for coorg round trip from BLR Airport shows about Rs.35,000 for an Innova inclusive of all for the specified dates (you can book much ahead of time). This allows about 2000KM, so they can take local sight seeing trips in Coorg for example.

Something to note, the BLR-Mysore road widening is in full swing, so please allow some margin for travels especially while coming back to catch a flight.

[Sidban85]

Planning a Kabini Trip in coming weeks. I confirmed with Red Earth that they do allow pets.

Has anyone stayed with pet in Red Earth? If so, how was the experience? What did you do when you went out for safari?

[Stryker]

Wow, @sknair! I'm not sure how I missed this thread, Kabini is like a second home to me and any travelogue of Kabini is gold. Excellent photos of Blackie and Mr Kabini or Bhogeshwara (that tusker is called by these names). Those of the Back Water Female with cub are good too. In fact, all of them I must say

I see that you moved away from the dark side for the new camera. What is your comparative impression of the R6 vs the D5? And pray why the move from Nikon to Canon?

[Krish_Diesel]

Hello All,

Can you please advice which JLR is good in Kabini/Nagarhole? I can see 2 options, 1. Kabini River Lodges 2. JLR Kings Sanctuary.

Both are having safaris. In which area do we have more chances of sighting big cats? Can you shed some light please?

[sknair]

Originally Posted by Krish_Diesel

Hello All,

Can you please advice which JLR is good in Kabini/Nagarhole? I can see 2 options, 1. Kabini River Lodges 2. JLR Kings Sanctuary.

Both are having safaris. In which area do we have more chances of sighting big cats? Can you shed some light please?

without a question JLR Kabini, which has the most opportunities to sight cats. I recently stayed at the JLR Nagarhole (Kings Sanctuary), what a disappointment. I had stayed at that resort a few times when it was privately owned (before JLR leased it), it was a beautiful property, now it is degenerated to a rundown and third grade property. I was so surprised (and disappointed) to see it in such a state.

[sknair]

Originally Posted by Stryker

Wow, @sknair! I'm not sure how I missed this thread, Kabini is like a second home to me and any travelogue of Kabini is gold. Excellent photos of Blackie and Mr Kabini or Bhogeshwara (that tusker is called by these names). Those of the Back Water Female with cub are good too. In fact, all of them I must say

I see that you moved away from the dark side for the new camera. What is your comparative impression of the R6 vs the D5? And pray why the move from Nikon to Canon?

Sorry @Stryker, I couldn't reply earlier; I was away for my annual Corbett trip.
Thank you for your kind words; btw. I keenly follow your Kabini reports, well documented and some amazing clicks you have shared!! great to see your passion for wildlife.

Couple of reasons to move to mirrorless for me.
1. I will get what I see in Realtime (easy to adjust exposure compensation)
2. great AI/animal eye focus system (especially for canon)
3. Lenses are much more lighter

when I wanted to move to mirrorless Canon R6 was the best option, I still retain that along with RF 70-200 f2.8 lens.

Since then my mainstay is Nikon Z9 with Z400mm f2.8/TC 1.4 (renting).
such an amazing combination and versatility, great for still and short videos which is what I do now a days. very lightweight lens compared to DSLR lenses and also the versatility of a 400mm f2.8 and 560mm f4 at the flip of a switch.

Please check out my posts in insta for the Nikon Z9/Z400mm f2.8/Tc1.4
you can search for sanil.nair

thanks

[Krish_Diesel]

Originally Posted by sknair

without a question JLR Kabini, which has the most opportunities to sight cats.
==== I was so surprised (and disappointed) to see it in such a state.

Many thanks sknair. This clarifies all my queries about which one to choose. JLR kabini it would be then.