3rd June 2010, 13:31
| #76 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Pune
Posts: 73
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Anyways, awesome pictures especially the eagle drinking water. Brilliant!! | |
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3rd June 2010, 16:54
| #77 |
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4th June 2010, 12:50
| #78 | |||
| Senior - BHPian  | Yes hell_raiser, this picture is inside the park and below the Machan, where my daughter has climbed. Well, the rule does exist and has to be diligently followed. But.... Quote:
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4th June 2010, 13:29
| #79 |
| BHPian  | We been waiting for a long time to see the jim corbett tigers....  hurry cant wait any more with patience's  I know its the same in you as well..... |
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4th June 2010, 21:33
| #80 |
| Senior - BHPian | 7th April, 2010 - IInd day of Corbett Full Day Safari The previous day's experience had made us a little wiser. We intended to reach the Aamdanda Gate by 05:45 so that we could be the first one to enter as soon as the gate opened. We decided, not to stop at Bijrani FRH for refreshments, except for using the washroom, as that would give us more time in the Forest. We also remembered to carry our Binocs, that we had conveniently forgotten the previous day and had to take a binocular at the gate on rent for Rs.100/- that had fungus inside and scratched glasses. This time God (my wife) also got some veg sandwitches packed from the resort, that would be consumed between 11 am & 3 pm. I was apprehensive of the possible repurcussions but God disposed...  The day was just breaking when we left for the forest and by the time we reached the gate it was dawn. A big Red Ball rose from behind the hills peeping through the thick foliage. I wanted to stop and take some pictures but did not so as to save time. I wish I had done that. Will regret for ever. Why? You will read further. We were the first to enter and as out papers/permits were being checked, saw another jeep follow up behind. Raced forward with excitement and hope of seeing Stripes at least today. Reached a bend, that would eventually take us through a dry sot bed and the guide pointed to a Pea-cock perched high on a tree. We all looked with disinterest and proceeded further. Reached the Bijrani FRH and stopped for a brief while to go to the washrooms. While we were about to climb our jeep, saw this other jeep that was behind us coming into the camp. The guide in that 2nd jeep was gesturing something to our guide and the occupants were in an animated discussion. I enquired what was it all about. At the bend where we saw that Pea-cock on the tree, the 2nd jeep saw the Tiger crossing the river bed, when they came in after 15 minutes of our passing. I wish, I had stopped and taken a few pictures of that Red Ball in the sky near the gate. Our guide said that we will go further in the forest and park ourselves near a sot, where that Tiger is likely to emerge from that bend and come to drink water. The other guide too concurred as if it was a daily routine for Stripes. We reached that place and reversed the jeep in the shade of the trees and waited. There were hoof marks, huge depressions made by elephant feet, some foot imprints of the Vangujjars, but no pugmarks. While we waited, my camera saw this: Silvery transparent Fish  Don't know the names     To be continued.....!! |
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4th June 2010, 21:51
| #81 |
| Senior - BHPian | We waited at that spot for more than an hour, but today the Tiger did not follow its daily routine. Moved further as the guide said that we would go to a different water hole where the chances of a sighting were pretty good. Funnily I saw a signboard nailed on a tree-trunk; probably to let the animals know about the location of the water-hole  The Water-hole Signboard  Wasted some more time at the water hole and proceeded through the thick foliage. Here I saw a very unusual bird, for the first time; it had a grey body with black beak and a long white tail. Looked very exotic. But it was a bundle of nerves. Wouldn't remain steady. One mistake I had committed today - kept the camera AF on. Normally on a jungle safari I keep the focusing on manual. So, when this bird sat on a branch for a very short while I pointed my camera and shot. The intelligent focussing system of my camera focussed on the leaves behind the bird and blurred the avian. The long white tailed bird  It was nearing 11 am and we had to return to the Bijrani FRH to endure another hot day for 4 hours. On our way to the FRH we saw this grazing Kakad (Barking Deer). Their alarm call, unless endlessly repeated, is not taken seriously as an indication of the presence of a predator. Indian Muntjac Deer  To be Continued...!! Last edited by gd1418 : 4th June 2010 at 22:04. |
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6th June 2010, 10:58
| #82 |
| Senior - BHPian | Returned back to the Bijrani FRH and sat under that canopy once again to endure the ordeal. Dejected & irritated. Except for that periodical call of the jungle fowl and the occassional mating call of the pea-cock the jungle was silent, very silent. I opened my volume of Corbett's book and tried to spend time, fidgeting in that plastic chair. While the day before I was able to see a fox, a cheetal stag & an avian, today not a sign of life. Around 1 we opened our packed lunch that we had got from the resort and started consuming. Ordered Coffee & Tea from that ramshackle eatery. Now this got the goat of the eatery's owner. He complained to the FRH caretaker. And an argument broke out between my wife and him. He threw the rule book at her saying it was banned and my wife paying back in the same coin saying the food from that eatery was crap. Threats of prosecution, fine, cancellation of the permit were met with allegations of taking bribe & cut from the eatery owner, poaching etc. This went on for some time. A nice way of passing that time waiting. Finally, I intervened, apologised to the caretaker, and said that it shall not be repeated; as if we were to come back again...Huh. Matter resolved, everybody was back to their chores. Somehow it was 3 pm and after a face wash, we were back into the jungle. Roaming everywhere, endlessly and aimlessly, waiting at some places with hope. Stripes was not to be seen. Instead what we saw was this: A magnificient Sambhar stag in the thicket who was as startled as we were, bellowed and with one great leap vanished into the bushes.  Bellowing  A majestic Langur crossing infront of our Jeep  A Kingfisher perched on a branch  Further down we saw this Sambhar family and the peacefull co-existence between different species.  Sambhar Mother  Peacefull co-existence  Follow me  Straying out of line  Falling back in line  Straight line  A sound alerted this Sambhar family and the Rhesus raced across  In a flash the Rhesus Macaque was on the tree. Our hopes were raised. The Sambhar family too vanished in the bushes  Single straight stalk of the Elephant Grass  To be Continued...!!! Last edited by gd1418 : 6th June 2010 at 11:05. |
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6th June 2010, 13:09
| #83 |
| Senior - BHPian | We trundled along and every passing minute, the level of disappointment rose. Not for nothing it is said that the Tiger is a very elusive cat. One has to be lucky to spot. Unusually the jungle was silent. Not a call of Sambhar or Langur from anywhere. The dusk was approaching and the time to return was drawing near. We reached a clearing and in the distance could see large herds of Cheetal furiously grazing before darkness fell so that they could return to safety. A loud cracking sound as if some branches were being torn made us stop. And suddenly out of the thicket emerged this Elephant. This was a herd of 5 with a 2 month old baby amongst them. This was one nervous herd. The Matriarch of this herd was edgy. They too were hurrying to safety as the Sun set. The four of them tightly guarding the new born within, it was nearly impossible to spot the baby.    Lactating mother feeding   Herd of Cheetals   Fiercely guarding & hiding the newborn  In the end we saw this fleeting glance of a wild boar running away to safety  With this last view our two day Corbett Safari came to an end. Stripes was nowhere to be seen. Tomorrow on 8th we would leave for Ranikhet visitng the Corbett Falls & Corbett's Bungalow at Kaladhungi enroute. THE OTHER QUEST REMAINS...! Last edited by bblost : 7th June 2010 at 16:17. |
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6th June 2010, 14:22
| #84 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Delhi
Posts: 152
Thanked: 40 Times
| While you did miss Stripes (that's some unfinished business that we all have), you have really managed to get a great set of other wild life pictures. The elephant pics are nice. And glad to see that your bird-watching faculties are still intact  . Cheers, |
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6th June 2010, 14:48
| #85 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Thank you Rosh. The quest remains and so does the angst of not being able to see one in the wild, while every other casual traveller gets a sighting. Am glad that you liked those pictures.. And yes Sir, all faculties are intact and working to the optimum. Quote:
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6th June 2010, 17:16
| #86 |
| Senior - BHPian | 7th April, 2010 Came back to the resort, dusty, tired, hungry and a bit dejected. Thanked Deepak, the Gypsy's driver who for two days ferried us in the jungle. Day in and day out he does that carrying different tourists without a sign of boredom. Amazing...! We all had a nice warm bath and trundled towards the dining area, where another film was going on. We were not interested in the film as were hungry, so went straight for the buffet dinner. Next day morning we had to check out and head for Ranikhet. Came back to room and went into deep slumber. 8th April, 2010 I got up early - by 5:30 am, although wanted to sleep till late. Came out and sat on the patio and was joined by wife after a short while. Cool morning, the Sun was about to rise. Waited for the newspaper. We had two routes to go to Ranikhet. One was through Mohan the route map of which I've posted earlier and the other was through Kaladhungi. We decided on the latter as we wanted to visit the Corbett Falls & the Corbett Museum enroute. Finished our breakfast, packed our stuff and were ready to move. Settled our bill; actually there was none except for the laundry service. Loaded our stuff in the boot and were on way to Corbett Falls. About 40 kms from Bijrani within the Corbett Reserve is this water fall that is approximately 58 feet high. Nestled amongst thick foliage it is a quaint place and uncrowded too. I missed the signage, overshot by several kilometers, turned around and found. Phew...!!! Pictures shall explain better   I found the rule #: 13 quite funny.. Rule #: 7 prohibited firearms inside. I saw a senior official of the Uttarakhand Police accompanied by his carbine armed guards taking a bath in the waterfall.        Left the falls and proceeded to Kaladhungi. Corbett's bungalow, now turned into a museum is located at a junction, where you turn left for Nainitaal. The museum has many photographs of Corbett's childhood, tigers & leopards (man-eating) that were killed by him and furniture used by him. There is also a map which shows the location of each man-eating animal that was killed by him.  Map showing the location of killed man-eaters  Corbett's Bungalow  We left for Ranikhet via Nainitaal after our visit to the museum.... Last edited by gd1418 : 6th June 2010 at 17:27. |
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7th June 2010, 14:01
| #87 |
| Senior - BHPian | After visiting Corbett's Bungalow, we were on our way to Nainitaal. There are two approach roads to Nainitaal. One is the oft taken and very popular road via Haldwani-Kathgodaam and the other is more scenic via Ramnagar & Kaladhungi. Since we first visited Corbett, we had to take this scenic route via Kaladhungi. The heart of Nainitaal is the Mall road that runs on the banks of Naini lake. This road is closed for vehicular traffic in the evenings when hordes of tourist descend here and enjoy the scenic walk. Two of the very famous hotels - Mannu Maharani & Sherwani lie at the end of Mall Road (if one comes from Haldwani side) near the Naina Devi Temple. This Road from Kaladhungi to Nainitaal ends here and connects to Mall road. We came in from here after having driven through one of the most scenic views. I had no intention of stopping at Nainitaal, but women will be women. My daughter had damaged the strap of her chappals near the Kosi River in Corbett. My wife spotted a cobbler on the Mall Road, remembered the damaged slippers and I had to stop. Parked on the extreme left on that narrow road and sat in the car as it was a No Parking Zone. While the cobbler was mending the slippers, wife managed to do some shopping as well. The multi-tasking ability of the female species never ceases to amaze me. After all this was over, we bid goodbye to Nainitaal and headed towards Ranikhet. I had by know completely managed to convince wife against going to Almora. Smiling inward drove along. Afew kilometers before Ranikhet stopped on the side to take some pictures of some very interesting scenes. The Bull Parked  A slabbed pathway into the hills  Step Farming on the hills  Golden wheat  Women working in the fields  Localised transport - used for carrying provisions too     Reached Ranikhet and after passing right through the Cantt, reached our Hotel nestled in the back & beyond amidst woods. Although Ranikhet is quite small, it certainly wasn't a walking distance to popular spots from the Hotel. Amidst lush greenery bereft of any city sounds, and ideal place to stay. All around one could hear myriad sounds of various insects, birds and an occassional bark. Hotel parking  The Bull in the parking  I was allotted a double room cottage meaning two different rooms in one complex with single entry door. Daughter occupied the biggest room and left the smaller for us and also dumped all the luggage in our room only.. Our Cottage  Each room had a TV and my daughter immediately snuggled into her bed and switched on the idiot box. We drove to the market, wifey bought some army fatigue fabric for my son, looked around, didn't find any thing interesting and returned. Chevron Rosemount is a heritage building about 135 years old. Not even a brick can be removed or added or relocated. Even the electrical wiring and fittings are that old. Brass electrical fittings  We went to the stately dining room for dinner. I marveled at the luxury the owners enjoyed a century ago. Went back to our rooms, watched some TV and went off to sleep. Tomorrow would be the sighseeing day... To be continued.....!! Last edited by gd1418 : 7th June 2010 at 14:04. |
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18th June 2010, 15:15
| #88 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Delhi
Posts: 1,356
Thanked: 24 Times
| Lost in FIFA..... huh ?? Waiting for next post |
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13th March 2011, 01:07
| #89 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Faridabad
Posts: 376
Thanked: 345 Times
| Re: Gurgaon - Jim Corbett - Ranikhet - Gurgaon: The Unsatiated Quest Hi GD sir I also went to Jim Corbett last weekend i.e 5th march 2011 , and our gypsy was chased upon my might elephants . Can you please let me know which gate is the better one and more exciting . I also entered through the same gate bijrani . Here is the one picture we managed to click when we were chased upon . |
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13th March 2011, 10:28
| #90 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Re: Gurgaon - Jim Corbett - Ranikhet - Gurgaon: The Unsatiated Quest That must be one experience that you shall not forget for a long time to come.. Out of the lot, Bijrani gives more sightings and has diversified fauna. Dhikala & Jhirna are good but the sightings are not too many.. Quote:
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