We were awoken at around 3.30a.m by loud Indian music! We had been aware of this music playing when we went to bed and could hear it in the background, but someone had obviously turned the volume up! Fortunately they turned it back down again after a while! We think it may have been an Indian wedding celebration in the nearby village!
The alarm goes off at 5.40 and at 6.00 we are in the restaurant for tea and biscuits until we get back later for a proper breakfast. We had to be ready for our transport at 6.30 but it was 20 minutes later that they arrived, by which time all but 2 others had been picked up. It’s not easy waiting when you want to go and spot a tiger!
It was just light as we left and still very cold. We were wearing fleeces and lightweight down jackets plus hats, trousers and thick socks! We were also given a blanket to wrap around us as we were travelling in a large open air jeep. There were already about 12 people from another hotel in the vehicle and our group took the rest of the seats.
5 minutes up the road took us to the gate of the park. This park was once a hunting ground for a former maharajah and there is an old, large fort here too. There were of course many other vehicles all waiting to go in. Large jeeps like ours and smaller ones too. There were private vehicles also, but having entered the park there was a small village so I assume none of the private vehicles were allowed much further than that. Once we had passed through a second gate we only saw jeeps, large and small.
The scenery was much different from what we had encountered thus far. Mountainous in looks but not in height, rugged, steep sided river valleys, scrub and some wooded areas. There was a lot of long dry grass, perfect for tiger camouflage! Everything looks dry and dusty, although there was still water in the rivers and streams.
We drove for about 2 hours and in that time all we saw were spotted and samba deer and a lot of bird life. Like all the other vehicles in the park we were searching for the tiger!
There are 70 plus tigers in this park. At one stage numbers were decreasing so the park was closed for 3 years and now numbers are on the increase so it is open for visitors again.
Tigers are solitary creatures and territorial, roaming large areas. The park is divided into zones and I think only one zone is open at a time which I assume is the way they manage to give the tigers undisturbed space.
As we made our return journey, beginning to feel that we were not going to be lucky this morning, a large jeep was seen at a standstill up ahead and from the gesturing you just knew there was something exciting to see. It was heart in the mouth stuff, at least for me!, and then we saw him, crossing the stream and heading towards the jeeps. He was enormous and so regal in looks. It was an awesome sight, and quite an emotional one too. He then hid in the long grass on our side of the stream for what seemed like ages, during which time a third large jeep appeared. He then moved off, walking along the stream in our direction of travel. At one point he was no more than 20feet away, and appeared quite unconcerned at the stir he was causing on the jeeps! He then walked onto the road and for 50 yards just calmly walked along ahead of the jeeps, stopping every so often to sniff at something on the side.
It was hard enough being in the second jeep, but we did feel for those behind us who were not getting the views we were.
As he turned off the road and went into the scrub up the hillside we all just revelled in the sight of this wonderful creature and thinking just how lucky we were.
Back to the hotel for a late breakfast and then a few free hours before the next safari. Time for Geoff to swim in the pool, (the temperature has warmed up nicely!), me to write up my blog and get some pictures on Instagram! (Writing this up now on Thursday morning it was interesting to watch the Instagram responses as the UK got up and started checking it’s social media!!!!!)
Lunch at 1.15 and jeeps back to the park. 6 of us in 1 jeep and the others sharing with 4 from another hotel.
We are sure that we were told that we had a 4km drive to the park gate we were to use this afternoon into zone 10. If so it was a very long 4km! What ensued was a 50 minute drive of epic proportions! OMG!
I will try and explain! Firstly you have to remember this is India where anything goes. The road is busy, at this stage a good surface, it is straight and there is a fair amount of traffic, including an elephant! It was difficult to judge the speed of the jeep as it was an open vehicle so felt fast. It felt too fast! We are tearing along, overtaking regardless, and keeping fingers crossed that traffic will move over. Remarkably it did!
We reach a town after about 20 minutes, heaving with people, cars, lorries, buses, scooters, hand carts, and now a few camels to mix in with the cows, pigs, donkeys and stray dogs. There is colour from the women’s clothes, the market stalls with their fruit and veg, and shops that sell fabric. There is always the look of hardship, dust, filth and poverty.
We then get onto another road, if you can call it that. We think it might be a road that is under construction as we pass bridges that are in various stages of being built, some with men working, others not. Could this be a main route? There is enough traffic to suggest this. There are diversions but we don’t seem to follow them. The road surface is rough, pot holed and some of these make our pot holes look minuscule! But we haven’t slowed down, other than when there is a big bump or holes that need swerving around. I am now holding onto the rail in front with both hands. My knuckles are white. The only thing keeping me from falling out of the jeep is a metal arm rest on the side that I keep bashing my hip bone on. (Bruise there on Thursday morning!)
Strangely there is time to look at the scenery. Maybe it is a useful distraction. It is rugged countryside, quite dramatic, some steep sided ravines often with dry river beds.
We wonder how much further we will have to go and will we have to do this journey in reverse 😬
Finally we turn right and the park gate is there. Phew! After the administrative business is sorted we are off. This part of the park has smaller roads which I imagine is why we are using the small jeeps.
There are also only about 5 jeeps driving around. I used the word roads, but that is not an accurate description. Sand tracks at times, but mainly rocky tracks that fling you from side to side, have you leaving your seats, and if you are in a more scrubby or forested area you have to watch out for bits of vegetation sticking out.
Tiger country!
We roam zone 10 for well over 2 hours and all we get to see is tiger footprints in the sand. Why is that disappointing when you have already seen one tiger? The answer is you just want to see another!
There are 5 in zone 10, 2 male, 2 female and a cub. Every so often the jeeps meet up and the drivers and guides have a conflab, looking at their phones to see what has been seen in other zones. 2 tigers in zone 6, a sloth bear in another. Nothing for us.
But just like this morning, all of a sudden a cry goes up and there, 50 yards ahead is a tiger going into the scrub. It is too dense to follow him and all the jeeps are desperately trying to get the best view for their clients. Imagine jeeps reversing, turning round, pushing forward, all in a small area! As the tiger disappears we all split up, hoping to see him appear out of the scrub. The engine turned off it is wonderfully peaceful. There are only our 2 jeeps left. They have to be out of the park by 6.00 and it is getting very near to that. Then a cry in the distance, the signal that the tiger has been spotted again. We are off, hurtling down the rocky track, swinging around a sharp right hand bend. Are we on 2 wheels?!! And there is this magnificent animal coming out of the scrub and getting closer. He walks along parallel to us, getting closer than this morning, and then walks in front of the jeep. At one point we are maybe only 10 feet behind and he turns his head, looking back at us as much as to say, stay back. We did.
The guides ask if we are happy! What a question. We are ecstatic!! Then we are told to hold on tight(as if we haven’t been 🙄), it is 5.56 and they have 4 minutes to get to the park gate! Hell for leather down these rocky tracks, holding on for grim death and keeping your head down, we made it. Just!
For those of you who are wondering how you manage the call of nature when out on these safaris, I will tell you. This morning there was a stop at a loo block. I scored them 4/10. There was running water. This afternoon it was a pee in the scrub! Always a bit of a challenge when you don’t know what might be lurking there, but with all the bumpiness of the journey an absolute necessity!!!!!
It’s now 6.00pm, getting dark and we have to get back. We have come out at a different gate and onto a well paved road with not too much traffic, so speeding along here is fine. All good things come to an end though and we soon reach a village, heaving with people, animals and traffic again, and back onto the half built road of earlier. The journey into the park was hair raising, but now add in the darkness, vehicles that don’t dim their lights, if in fact they have lights at all, people walking in the road and what feels like more lorries. Vehicles are overtaken with impunity and it is terrifying seeing lights heading straight towards you. At times you just find yourself laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, or is it hysteria?!!!
It is a long, cold, dusty journey back, but we are returned safe, feeling exhilarated by the whole experience. There is certainly an adrenaline rush!
How lucky are we?! 2 tigers! Such a privilege to have been able to see these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.
One of our group members posed the question of if there was an accident, would our travel insurance cover us. This could be perceived as a dangerous activity and there were no seat belts or helmets! 🤔
Back at the hotel we were looking forward to a lovely hot shower to wash away the dust and dirt of the safari. Just one problem, so was everyone else! Consequently Geoff managed a minute of decent warm water and then for the rest and for me it was luke warm at best. Ah well, this is India!
I am not sure if the rest of the holiday can top this. But maybe we need to calm down a bit. Jaipur tomorrow!
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