30th April 2008, 17:14
| #16 |
| Senior - BHPian  | The next day we were up at 5 to go for our Jeep safari.  Dhikala is at a point where a little further down the river a manmade dam has created a reservoir. You have grasslands all around and early morning the savannah is teeming with wildlife. We saw stag parties of Cheetal, Sambar, Barking Deer, Eagles, Peacocks, Rhesus monkeys, Langoor and atleast three wild elephant herds. The amazing variety of birds in the region calls for a separate visit altogether with powerful binoculars as there’s a huge spectrum of avian life out there. I was floored by the beauty and grace and other worldiness of the magical Paradise Fly Catcher. Its almost like it belongs in some fairytale!                    After a couple of hours of exploring the savannah and the surrounding jungle we started to head back. Two tigers in 12 hours left us not wanting to be too greedy and we thought this was a fine way to end the holiday and headed back to our resort near Ramnagar. |
|  (1)
Thanks
|
| |
|
30th April 2008, 17:16
| #17 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 17:45
| #18 |
| Senior - BHPian | A lazy lunch and nap followed and our host offered to take us on a different trail on elephant back in the evening. The forest is across the road from the resort and in 20 minutes we were in dense jungle. The jungle here seemed more compressed, more intimate, more like a ravine with dense foliage.    Our elephant was named Padma and now I spent more time trying to understand the commands the Mahout was using. You never know when you need to steer one yourself!! We reached the first watering hole only to find a herd of Sambar. We had just been discussing that a full grown Sambar weighs 300 kgs and were astonished to see them scale an almost vertical climb up a ridge as they scampered away on our arrival.    Our host who knew the region well asked the Mahout to head deeper to the second water hole As we meandered through the dense thicket, surrounded by ridges on either side we realized how vulnerable we were. Easy game for a maneating leopard or tiger. We were simply a spring away for them! We noticed we had company at the second waterhole as there was another elephant with two foreigners and a mahout waiting, looking earnestly in a direction. As we approached, they signalled in silence. I didn’t have to rack my brain to figure out what they were trying to say as I caught onto a strong, intense whiff of tiger!!! There was a tigress just 70 feet away and we had disturbed her as she was planning to come down for a drink. She stopped halfway and settled on a ledge which was slightly above us. What transpired next can never be described aptly as the two elephants suddenly started to behave crazily. Our elephant Padma started slamming her trunk on the ground making a loud cracker like phat phat sound. Between trumpets she also started to rumble. Now I had seen many a documentary that spoke of how elephants use low frequency sounds to cummunicate with each other over miles. Try experiencing a rumble while sitting on an elephant back. It was literally like an earthquake and the whole howdah was shaking as Padma started rumbling, snorting, trumpeting and wanting to move back. The other elephant too was reciprocating. The moment was tense and almost electric. I didn’t want to lose the tiger and the mahout tried desperately to calm Padma down. In all this commotion my nephew, only 7, a huge fan of elephants, started to cry saying the elephant was upset and she was going to drop us on the ground. Between the tiger, the elephants and a crying nephew I had to juggle my attention and salvage the situation. Our host suggested to the Mahout not to push the animal further and we backed out and made a higher approach. And there before us lay the empress of the forest. A magnificent Royal Bengal Tigress, totally relaxed, totally unnerved by the commotion, resting on grass flitting flies away with her tail.    What a sight. Some icing on a cake!!! To see her so relaxed in her domain, her home, her territory, with no care for what we were doing. She almost was posing for us, knowing these humans get a kick out of watching her. She just lay there allowing us to view her to our heart’s content. We almost felt like we were intruding on a very private evening and we decided to leave. What sight! Three tigers in 24 hours. We were told not everyone gets so lucky. As we made our way back it was almost 6:30 pm and the forest grew quite dark.     Elephants have poor eyesight but extraordinary smell, hearing, and memory so it was quite an experience to observe Padma making her way out of the forest using only her smell and memory. My nephew was quite panicked about the situation and felt we were doomed to be lost in the jungle. I had to patiently explain how elephants work their way in the dark and make sure his discomfort reduces while enjoying the eerie charm of a dark forest. It was a lovely experience to walk out on elephant back from a dark forest. Something I will always remember as being hauntingly beautiful. |
|
| (1)
Thanks
|
|
30th April 2008, 17:47
| #19 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bengaluru / Bagdal
Posts: 1,144
Thanked: 737 Times
| Excellent narration DKG. Good to know, you enjoyed your trip. Your little nephew must have enjoyed more than you I suppose. Waiting for the third tiger  |
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 17:48
| #20 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Quote:
I believe it can take the bumper off a Gypsy in one swipe | |
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 17:59
| #21 |
| BHPian  | |
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 18:19
| #22 |
| Senior - BHPian | |
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 18:21
| #23 |
| BHPian  | |
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 19:55
| #24 | ||
| Senior - BHPian  | Quote:
Quote:
 On a lighter note - are you sure the tiger wasnt following you around?  | ||
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 20:11
| #25 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 21:04
| #26 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pune
Posts: 1,367
Thanked: 1,107 Times
| |
|
|
| |
|
30th April 2008, 22:31
| #27 |
| Senior - BHPian | The next day our host wanted to take us up to Vanghat, where they ran a river lodge known for Mahseer fishing.  We noticed fresh pugmarks by the side of the highway!! Fourth tiger in 24 hours?? Whoa! now that would have been overkill  Our host Sumanta Ghosh is a resort manager with a difference. His knowledge of the region and deep passion for the wildlife makes him more a conservationist than businessman. He has pioneered a Mahseer conservation effort in conjunction with local authorities and often works closely with local villagers to ensure their issues are addressed as well. I was deeply impressed with such an outlook as it was apparent his work was more for passion than the money involved. Our drive up to Vanghat was spectacular to say the least as we went up winding ghat roads high up into the mountains with dense forests all around.   On reaching Vanghat we had to drive through the river thrice to reach our destination, Riverine Woods, a Mahseer fishing lodge tucked deep in the wild.       A delicious breakfast followed and after checking out the facilities we decided to go down to the river.       Last edited by DKG : 30th April 2008 at 22:35. |
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 23:22
| #28 |
| Senior - BHPian | Nice looking cottage! Well maintained too. Must have been quite an experience driving the Gypsy in the river bed.  |
|
|
|
30th April 2008, 23:23
| #29 |
| Senior - BHPian | The vista around the river was breathtakingly beautiful.       On seeing schools of Mahseer my nephew Amaar got excited and wanted to fish so a team of experts rallied to give the little boy his first taste of the wild fishing experience.   It was a sight to see three adults helping a child hold the rod, attach the bait, patiently show him how to fling the bait in and then eventually reel in the catch.      Nabeel, Sumanta and I meanwhile walked downstream and decided to take the plunge. The water was very cool and it felt lovely to spend an hour or so sitting in the middle of a gorge in water, with forests on either side, listening to the raucous calls of the wild rooster or the peacock.   Late in the evening we boarded the train back to Delhi. What a magnificent holiday. I never dreamt the forest would touch me so profoundly as it did. Perhaps it goes back to primieval times when it was our home too. There was some connection I couldn’t explain. Like a home coming. I know I need to go back again and again. I would strongly urge all to visit the Corbett National Park. Its simply spectacular. On our way back to Hyderabad an interesting thought emerged in my mind. They say the presence of a tiger in a forest marks perfect ecological balance. A tiger needs prey which in turn needs grassland and forest vegetation which in turn prevents soil erosion. Forest cover plays a critical role in rainfall and ambient temperatures not to mention oxygen production vital for our survival. So a thriving tiger population means nature in perfect balance. I asked myself what we as caring citizens could do and the answer seemed simple. Tourism is the answer. With tourists a lot of lodges and camps thrive which provide employment to the locals and also as there’s money to be made when tourists come to see tigers interestingly the private tour operators too become sentinels working closely with the forest department on sighting of traps and forest fires. Infact I overheard some conversations between the resort staff of sightings of traps. I was happy to realize they are all focused on ensuring the tiger and its forest survives. Because in the survival of these two lies their livelihood. So do your bit, take your family out on a vacation to a forest reserve and help save the Tiger!! Sumanta Ghosh of Tiger Camp and Riverine Woods would be happy to arrange your holiday. He can be reached on 0-9719243939 or email at vanghat@gmail.com |
|
| (2)
Thanks
|
|
30th April 2008, 23:26
| #30 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Quote:
Without a doubt it is a very fine offroader | |
|
|
 |
Most Viewed