2nd Day in Tala. Safari

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2^nd day in Tala. 14^th December



Up at 5.30 and meet others at 6 ready for our morning safari (Mal not coming as she can’t get up in the mornings, due to her insistance on late nights)



We drove to Gate 1 (there are 3 or 4 gates), our driver Hadrim (Satyendra’s brother) takes our passports at the check-post, to check it’s us who booked this mornings safari (only about 6 jeeps are allowed in at any time). We get our passports back and pick up a guide and head off into the reserve, just as it’s getting light (6.45). It is a bit cold though although I had a fleece on, so made use of the blankets provided, as did the others.



Very soon we saw some sika deer very close to the road, then some lugur monkeys, then some sika deer with langurs. At first the forest looked like ones back home (or Nepal) although the dominant tree is Sal (as in Nepal). Not much further we saw another jeep had stopped in front of us so we crept forward slowly & turned the engine off. It was a leopard, about 20’ away (7m), moving through the undergrowth beside the road & then crossing the road behind us. Our guide was amazed, the last sighting was over 2 months ago so we were very lucky to see him. My main problem was that my camera did not work (I thought it had) and I have no footage, although Shirl did and I will have to download it from her phone (their camera has died). Our tec is letting us down!



Not long after this we saw a few rare Sarus cranes in a marshy area, looking for frogs. Then we saw some tiger foot-prints on top of tyre tracks so recent.



We then spent about an hour driving backwards and forwards along the same stretch of track (obviously the place where tigers are seen) but none today. The female who has this patch has recently had 3 cubs so maybe keeping them safe. (They know all the tigers names, even though there are over 120 of them at the moment) Tigers only live about 15 years so generations come and go quite quickly. (There is a family tree on a wall in our dining room). We drove along the fence which seperates the reserve (no outsiders allowed) from the buffer zone (over 100 villages there). But these villages are the ones who have to cope with any wildlife who can cross the fence – Tigers, Cheetas, Leopards etc, whilst the Jackals, Wild Dogs, Hyenas, Foxes etc are all trapped in the park.



So, after the hour of driving backwards and forwards, along with the other 5 jeeps, we head off to a strange chai-stop place where locals are allowed to sell chai & snacks & charge Rs20 to use a toilet there.



Then we set off back into the park, seeing a herd of wild boar but not stopping for photos, then 3 Gaur (wild cows) much bigger than normal cows.



There are 32 hills in the park, the main hill is called Bandhavgarh after which the park is named and has a fort at the top of it’s 1,000’ (300m) vertical cliffs. The Maharaja who donated the land as a reserve has kept the fort and permission is needed to visit.



On our way there, as we passed some open grassland, we saw 2 Jackals on the track in front. One headed offninto the grass, the other sat down on the track and we waited until he followed his mate. Good close shots though of both.



We were now driving through open grassland in a wide valley surrounded by tall hills, the grass was elephant grass which is very sharp and hard to walk through, only elephants can do so. Then we began the climb up Bandhavgarh, a narrow twisting road but with a low stone wall along the edge. On the way we saw some man-made caves which we were told were stables, and another which was apparently a school. All were overgrown and obviously not used. Eventually we came to a small parking area and climbed a few steps to the top where the large Vishnu statue lay, with a Shiva lingam at his head. In front of these was an oblong lake which was apparently very deep. On the rock wall behind Vishnu was some writing which noone can translate. The moss on Vishnu’s chest made him look like he had a very hairy chest. The whole area looked like something from an Indiana Jones film. We could see a rock shelf high above us from where the Maharajah would throw people whom he disliked. We were still only half way to the fort, but as near as we would get.



On the way back we saw an elephant being trained by carrying a load on his back and having his front legs shackled together, seemed a cruel way to train.



When we returned to Skays Camp we realised that we had been gone for 4.5 hours, the same time we had waited on Varanasi station, but this time had passed much quicker…



So, after a scrub-up, we had breakfast at around 11am.



The kids love it here as it’s the first place where they have been allowed to go free-range, there is a swing from a tree and lots of cats to keep them amused. At dinner Esmee got mashed potatoe and tuna and cucumber (a strange mixture but she finished the plate and was rewarded with an ice-cream for pudding) Rocco had the same meal exactly, and finished it too, but has at least tried other foods in the past. We adults had soup followed by rice, dahl, potatoe curry and carrot & potatoe curry (none spicey hot) as well as chappati’s and popadoms. For pudding tonight we had rice pudding, with nuts & sultanas.



We need to sort payment out here. It is quite expensive, although all meals are thrown in and they are making an effort to cater to our perculiar needs. Shirl & Mal tried for hours to transfere money on my computer but without any joy, so decided to go into the village tomorrow and get Rs20,000 each out, they will have to go again on Saturday as it’s Rs22,000 for Mal & Rs26,000 for the Reedies (I’m gonna pay in stirling from my secret money-belt).



I got some Amoxocilin tabs as my chest has become infected. Mal’s bruises from her Varanasi fall are coming through (only Shirl has braved a look). The kids seem recovered from their tummy problems and Shirl just has a runny nose. Bill remains unaffected by everything (the git).

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Comments

[Amy Friedman]

Wonderful animal pics!
Wild cows, oh my. Great safari photos. Love to see what "nice" rooms look like, so do share some interiors. Am loving following this trip. My birthday was the day you arrived at your safari HQ. Keep on having adventures!