India final days and a near disastrous loo break

Thursday 5 February Game drive No 4

Arrived at the gate for 6am, formalities over and we were in !

With tigerless drives so far my mind was trying hard not to predict my response on our return home to people asking me if I'd seen a tiger ? I had a rising sense of unease.

The lake had a crocodile drifting slowly towards the bank and eyeing up a lapwing (it flew off)

Jungle babblers were busy feeding through the forest floor.

We were a few hours in and stopped off at the compound for breakfast. We started packing up the breakfast bits and Tom made use of the toilet facilities. And then it happened !

Just as Tom left for the toilet block we heard some loud and frantic shouting. Our guide Anushka told us to get in the jeep quickly as there was a tiger just outside the compound walking along the track. I was in the jeep within seconds with Sam close behind. But hang on where was Tom ?

I shouted towards the toilet block for Tom to come back to the jeep quickly (not the actual words I used) seconds were passing fast as my mind once again raced to the inevietable scenario of missing the tiger sighting. Forest staff were also shouting to Tom in the toilet "sir sir !" Tom emerged a little bemused then realised what was happening. Now with all three of us in the jeep we quickly drove out of the compound and down the track to see..

a tiger walking towards us. I felt a mixure of relief and unbridled excitement...

It was hazy light which added to the atmosphere. The tiger walked closer to us and then headed off into the forest. Only some 20 metres away this had been a close encounter of the most fabulous kind.

I was struck by the size and pure muscular power of this animal.

It took no notice of us as it finally disappeared. It was one happy jeep as we continued our game drive still on a high and I have to confess I wasn't really concentrating.

Game Drive No 5 pm Lightening strikes twice -

In a re run of the previous day a black blob was moving in the forest. We stopped to see our second sloth bear. This time round though instead of remaining hidden this bear was coming out of the forest and crossed the road in front of us.

Off on the hunt for some termites with its enormous claws this was another spectacular sighting.

A group of three black-naped Woodpeckers were having a squabble

Black-naped Flameback

It had been a remarkable day and I couldn't imagine it being bettered............. I was wrong !

Friday 6 February Game Drive No 6.

The usual 6am start with notable birds, Bay-backed Shrike

White-bellied Drongo, Indian White eye and Paddyfield Warbler. Then the buffer zone delivered an outstanding show, a tigress and it's four cubs close to the jeeps. I mused on the fact that a tigress will defend it's cubs relentlesly, can run at speeds of up to 40mph, jump up to 6 meters and we were very very close ! This tigress was thankfully concentrating on her cubs and not the ready meals watching her.

I felt immensely privileged to have been part of this tigers world and coming across it with its four cubs was breathtaking. It was mind blowing !

We returned to the lodge for lunch and I managed a bit of birding in the grounds. This was not easy as everything was in the undergrowth but did see a common hawk cuckoo

common hawk cuckoo

Game Drive No 7 pm

Regaining our composure from the mornings tiger encounters we were again driving the tracks. Down a side track our driver spotted a cat. It was a leopard ! Stood in the middle of the track looking straight towards us and then with a air of complete disinterest it moved to the long grass. A great sighting and I was sure that was it and that was all we would see of this leopard. But no! it walked back to the track, had a lie down in the grass flicking its tail and rolling over in a playful pussy cat mode. After a few minutes it got up and started walking towards, yes towards our jeep.

As the leopard got closer totally ignoring us we sat still and quiet. Tom was taking video and I could hear him whispering it's coming closer...oh my god it's right by the jeep. We were all stunned by this magnificant cat as it calmly walked; or rather prowled past us just a few metres away. I could smell it, hear the quiet thud of its massive pads and soft breathing. It had "eyes on" a group of chittal that were behind the jeep, feeding at the side of the track.

A bit of prowling towards the chittal but then decided against it and disappeared into the forest.

Saturday 7 February Game Drive No 8 Buffer zone am

After chatting to Anushka we decided to spend our last day looking for Dhole or wild dogs.

Various groups of languars were encountered on the way.

After a couple of hours driving in a different part of the forest we came to some wide open savannah like areas which was a favoured area for these dogs.

It was not to be and with just an hour left we headed back to a final search for tigers. We were in luck. A tigress and two cubs.

So our final game drive. We headed back for lunch and prepared for our flights home. Svasara Lodge had been great. A conservation focussed lodge with jeep safaris into Tadoba National Park, the largest and oldest national park of Maharasthtra which is around 1700 square kilometres.

Anushka our naturalist guide who made our jeep drives so informative and entertaining

The Svasara team

Tom in his favourite mode of transport

And so we said goodbye to Svasara, headed off to Nagpur for the flight to Delhi. Arrived late to hotel amidst not one but two vibrant and noisy Indian weddings! but we were tired. Next morning we flew home. What an amazing trip. The people of India were fantastic, we had no real hassle, the trip delivered my bucket list animal and more. Sam and Tom loved it too and we all want to return.

My thanks to Jo Thomas from Wild About Travel who looked at my original itinery and made some suggestions/changes. We took all of these on board and had, thanks to her a completely seemless trip.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/e64c44_582c359c4f224d20b9649d119aa0ff55/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

bucket list video which probably won't load

Tadoba and surely a Tiger ?

Monday 2 February - a five hour drive from Agra to Delhi and then we caught the two hour flight to Nagpur.

We stayed overnight in Nagpur and then the following morning travelled to Svasara Lodge near Tadoba.

Tuesday 3 February Finally it was hot ! Officially 28 degrees but we felt it was less, probably because we were defrosting form the north. We checked in had lunch and then familiarised ourselves with the reserve rules.

Svasara Lodge lounge and restaurant

First off no mobile phones allowed inside the reserve. This applied not only to us but also the drivers and guides who had to put their own mobiles in a locked box. The driver was then given a mobile phone by the reserve staff which was only to be used in emergencies and could be tracked by the reserve to ensure they didn't exceed the 20km speed limit and were never stationary for more than 15 minutes. Finally we had to be out and back through the gate by 6pm.

I managed an hour round the lodge grounds before heading off on the drive and the first bird I saw was Tickell's Blue Flycatcher.

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

Greenish Warbler, Purple Sunbird, Common Fantail and Common Taylorbird were also seen before it was time to head to the jeeps and to experience our first game drive. We met our guide for our time here, Anushka.

Game Drive No 1 in the Buffer Zone: and we were off......

Our first drive was in the Buffer Zone of the park and one of our first birds here was Green Bee-eater.

Green Bee-eater

stop off in compound for a relaxed loo break - unlike Thursday was to be !

Alongside the tracks we saw small numbers of India's biggest deer the sambar. Given they are predated by wild dogs, leopards and tigers they looked remarkably calm which possibly meant there were none of these predators in the vicinity.

Sambar

We drove to a small pond where a tiger had been seen the day before and waited our allocated 15 minutes. No Tiger but this Asian Paradise Flycatcher soon became Sam's favourite bird of the trip.

Asian Paradise Flycatcher - white morph

Other birds included Black-naped Monarch, Rufous Treepie, Black-headed Oriole, White-naped Woodpecker and White-eyed Buzzard.

White-eyed Buzzard

A pair of Grey Mongooses were playing close to the track and one decided to cross in front of the jeep.

Grey Mongoose

We were several hours in, when our guide quickly stopped the Jeep as he thought he'd heard a deer barking, an alarm call which is often the sign of a nearby Tiger. We waited a while but to no avail.

A Crested Serpent Eagle sat quietly in a tree over hanging the road.

Crested Serpent Eagle

There were numerous groups of Chital or Spotted Deer which all looked very relaxed. Great for them of course but I was itching to see them suddenly prick up their ears and start running off! We left the park bang on 6pm having had a very satisfying first afternoon. A Tiger had been seen that morning but with some eight game drives to go I was confident we'd soon be seeing the magnificant Bengal Tiger. I mean with a further seven game drives to go it was surely on the cards.............

Wednesday 4 February Game Drive No 2 Core Zone am

Day 2 and we started in the dark after coffee and biscuits. It was a cold start but we took advantage of the Jeep blankets, although that still didn't stop Tom from pinching my coat so was then looking quite comfortable. Lots of Chital as previously seen and a few stops later the guide heard a deer barking.

Chital

Female Sambar drinking without a care in the world

Bird sightings so far included Red-nappped and Black-naped Ibis, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Alexandrine Parakeet, Indian Roller and many more.

Time was pressing and our curfew had almost begun so reluctantly we meadered back to the exit.

Game Drive No 3 Core Zone pm

Tom's big announcment this morning was that this would be the drive where we would see a tiger. It was a good day for other mammals with Ruddy Mongoose added to our list and as we drove one of the tracks I saw a black lump in the undergrowth. Sloth Bear! I shouted and the Jeep rapidly reversed and then I could just make out the shape of a Sloth Bear. It was hard to see but unmistakeable.

Our final mammal of the day was Wild Boar. NO TIGER! still!

There had been no sightings across the whole reserve of tiger during the day. Three drives in and had more to go but I was beginning to feel some unease.

Trying to look relaxed and unphased by lack of tiger sighting

Next up surely a tiger sighting and a near disasterous toilet break............

Chambal and The River

A four hour drive and we arrived late afternoon at Chambal River Lodge but with just enough time for a walk around the grounds. We met our guide Gaj and he quickly had us watching a pair of Brown Hawk Owls, Indian Scops Owl and some Spotted Owlets. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher was a new bird to round off our walk as we returned back to the rooms in the dark. A promising start.

It was cold ! Blankets provided and they started a fire for us. Gaj suddenly appeared to say he'd just seen an Indian Palm Civet so armed with a torch we headed off leaving Sam and Tom round the fire.

Chambal heating

Gaj soon found the Palm Civet and we watched it slowly climbing through the trees.

Indian Palm Civet

I returned to the fire and a G&T and just as I sat down a Jackal ran across one of the tracks.

Saturday 31 January a very misty and cold start. We were having an early morning pre breakfast bird walk and as I walked the path to to meet with Gaj there was a fabulous Orange-headed Thrush feeding in the gloom.

Orange-headed Thrush

We met up with a hand waving Gaj who had just located a Tickell's Thrush, dull compared to my find but much rarer. Our walk had us watching the previous days owls in slightly better viewing conditions. We decided on a route that would take us to the village outskirts and here racked up a good number of birds.

Asian Pied Starling

Taiga Flycatcher, Eastern Black Redstart, Indian Rock Chat, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Bronze-winged Jacana to name just a few. As we wandered through the small village the mist was slowly lifting but it was still cold. We came across a group of boys playing cricket as they do everywhere in India. " are you bat or ball ? " one of the boys shouted and Sam offered my services with the bat ! The bowler I was facing was quite young, skinny and didn't look particularly atheletic - I hardly saw the first ball ! A few more and I started to get my eye in. I left on a high knowing if I's stayed and longer the stumps aka bricks would be hit.

screen grab from video

The local people were all really friendly and wanted their pictures taking.

We returned for lunch as the mist turned to a hazy sunshine. Tom got stuck into the buttered Nans.

Chantal River Lodge restaurant

We were soon off to the Chambal River a tributary of The Ganges and once a cursed river. But now it is one of India's most pristine waters. Previously a land of bandits which helped protect it from development it is the place to go for certain species such as Indian Skimmer, River and Black-bellied Terns, the odd looking Gharial, Marsh or Mugger Crocodile and if really lucky the Ganges River Dolphin.

We headed out on a small boat to a sand bank which had some 50 or so Indian Skimmers. They were not in skimming mood rather resting but looked just the part.

Indian Skimmers

A Pied Kingfisher gave a close flyby as did a group of Small Pratincoles and two Greater Thick-knees also on a small sand bank.

Pied Kingfisher

Great Thick-knees

Black-bellied Tern

We added more birds as we turned and headed up river. Pallas's Gulls another speciality of the river, along with Striated Herons, Egyptian Vulture, Osprey and then our first of many Mugger Crocodiles.

Mugger Crocodile

About the same length of the boat we were in, these powerful reptiles were resting or maybe lying in wait. They are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List being threatened by loss of habitat, entangled in fishing nets and some persecution. This particular freshwater croc looked anything but vulnerable showing off half it's 38 teeth. We passed half a dozen or so large adults plus this young Mugger.

Young Mugger Crocodile

As we headed further up river we chanced a couple of brief sightings of the rare Ganges River Dolphin. This endangered and one of the oldest of Dolphin is known as the Tiger of the Ganges. I was unable to get any pictures as the sightings were so brief but it's long snout and steep forehead were just as in the library picture below.

Ganges River Dolphin

We continued on with the afternoon becoming increasingly hazy which was challenging for photography. And then one of the animals I was most looking forward to seeing was lying close to the river bank - a Gharial. These critically endangered crocodiles are superbly adapted for catching fish with some 110 very sharp and interlocking teeth.

Gharial

Some estimates for breeding adults are now as low as only 250 in the wild .

We stopped for coffee by the river bank and some more familiar birds appeared. Getting close to the subject for pictures was now key as the afternoon was getting hazier and hazier.

Black-winged Stilt

Time then to head back and Gaj told us that he had seen Leopard five times in the last two years so to keep an eye on the river escarpment. Five time in two years so fat chance I thought and concentrated riverside - a group of Small Pratincoles held my attention as I tried to get a decent flight shot of these fabulous little birds.

And then Sam shouted "there's a Leopard!" I quickly turned round to see Sam looking directly opposite the boat at the steep escarpment. I asked her where it was but all she could do was keep shouting "it's there, it's there" I gave up asking for directions and started to scan and there sitting on a earth mound I saw Sam's Leopard. It was watching us intently.

We slowed down and drifted with the current watching the Leopard for some ten minutes. It stood up and started to climb the escarpment - and then it was joined by another smaller Leopard !

This was fantastic and Gaj said this was his best ever river sighting. I managed some video of them climbing (but still haven't worked out how to add video to this blog site).

What a day. We returned to the drop off quay, only one other boat had been on the river that afternoon so it felt like it was all ours.

The Quay on the Chambal river

As we drove back through the small hilly hinterland we spied a Jackal sitting alert watching us drive past.

So back for dinner and several celebratory G&T's but Gaj hadn't done with us just yet as he grabbed me from the fire pit and we were on the hunt for a Green Keelback which someone in camp had seen.

Green Keelback

That night there was a huge thunderstorm.

Sunday 1 February

An early morning walk for me with Gaj in the aftermath of a heavy storm overnight. It was cold, misty and muddy underfoot. We started with Bay-breasted Shrike, Citrine Wagtail and a Red-naped Ibis

Red-naped Ibis

We were walking along side a canal type ditch and looking into the ground cover when I saw a movement but couldn't at first make out the bird. It was a cryptically coloured Wryneck.

Wryneck

Other birds were Baya and Black-throated Weavers and Blossom-headed Parakeets

Baya Weaver

Blossom-headed Parakeet

We crossed a bamboo bridge to see the camp of a Holy man and his gardens. A confiding Oriental Magpie Robin was with the flocks of Babblers and Weavers

Oriental Magpie Robin

With a few spare hours we just had time to visit the Bateshwar Hindu Temple complex. It's an 8th-10th century site featuring nearly 200 sandstone temples many being reconstructed.

Our time at Chambal had come to an end and we were sad to leave. The staff had been fantastic, the food was great and Gaj our bird guide was a true gem.

Gajendra a Daga - top guide

So we left after lunch and headed to Agra for an afternoon visit to the Taj Mahal. I can see why it's listed as one of the seven wonders of the world.

Taj Mahal

That evening we took a taxi to The Salt Cafe which was in total contrast to our previous quiet evenings. Tom found the cocktails and the music was banging.

Next up Nagpur and Tiger country - with eight game drives booked surely we would see a Tiger ........