India Part 2, Kanha National Park

After a wonderful, if fruitless, time in Pench, we headed by car to Kanha National Park. The drive took six hours on terrible, completely potholed roads. Olaf slept and I stared out the window, trying not to throw up and taking in all the new sights in the countless villages we passed through. 

On the map above you can see where we traveled in India. The pink markers show the two parks. You can see how close they are, yet it took us so long to travel between them because of the poor state of the roads. 

We started in Delhi (blue marker on the top), flew down to Nagpur (the blue marker in the center, farthest left), drove to Pench (pink marker), drove to Kanha (pink marker), drove to Raipur (the blue marker on the right), flew to Delhi and then back to London. 

We stayed at Banjaar Tola, a tented camp on the Banjaar River. The staff was very friendly, but we had to warm up to them because we missed our friends at Baghvan.

After visiting our tent, we met our naturalist in the main lodge for a chat about Kanha's wildlife. Akash, our guide was very enthusiastic and engaged Olaf in an amped up discussion about how we were going to find a tiger. Because tiger sightings are difficult, Akash tried to sell us on the exciting swamp deer that live in Kanha. Olaf wasn't distracted, managing to put ample pressure on our young guide to "show us the tiger."

Lucky for us, Akash was still in training. The head naturalist, Sarath Champati would be accompanying us on our drives. Wasim from the last camp had already spoken to him and relayed the message that we were still seeking our first tiger sighting. We were really fortunate to have their two sets of eyes and ears, plus Sarath's years of experience and expertise. 

Akash, Olaf, Me, Sarath

Akash was late for our first morning drive, so we had to wait in a large line to get into the park. 

The landscape in Kanha was more varied than Pench. Above is  large meadow, created by the villagers who used to live in Kanha's jungle. The villages were relocated when Kanha was turned into a national park. 

Map of Kanha.

View from a plateau, down over the Kanha jungle.

Each drive left us covered in red dust kicked up from the vehicle.

Olaf and Akash. Can you feel the tension?

We were initially put in a tent without a river view. The river view was why we booked this camp, so we were very happy when we got moved to a new tent. After morning drives we had about an hour to relax and clean up before lunch. Olaf took a little nap outside on our deck. So peaceful and cool. 
  

Above is the main lodge area where we ate most meals. 
 

Below is the view from our deck. I swear there is sewage floating down there.

One night after we returned from our evening drive at 9pm, we were told to bundle up because we were going out for a special night drive. We were dropped off in the middle of the bush and guided to a special surprise. The staff had planned a "bush dinner" for the guests.

The native tribe that was relocated from Kanha performed a traditional dance around the fire, complete with banging drums and colorful outfits. I leaned over and told Olaf, "How neat to be a participant in such a tradition." Less than thirty seconds later we were being ushered into the center of the circle and instructed to dance. Olaf got really into it, gyrating very flamboyantly, with thrashing arms and undulating head, concocting his own special rhythm. I was pushing him to "hurry up!" while the whole tribe was slowing down and making space for Olaf while all the other guests watched. We had a good laugh. 


Here's a video clip Olaf took before we became part of the show:

India- Pench National Park

Olaf and I spent the first half of our India trip at Pench. We stayed at Baghvan Lodge, where the staff was wonderful. We agreed that the customer service we received in India was excellent. Relaxed, kind and attentive. 


Every day we went on two game drives. In winter the game drives start later, so we didn't have as extreme a schedule as we did in South Africa. We set our alarms for 5:15am, took a one minute shower to warm up, then shuffled to the lobby for a coffee before heading out with our guide. 

There's only one "bathroom" (bush loo) break on each morning drive, so after the first day I decided to forgo coffee. I should have learned. At the end of a five hour evening game drive in South Africa, we got stuck in the middle of a huge herd of elephants for an hour and a half. I had to pee so bad that I almost started crying and was convinced I was in kidney failure. 


The mornings were absolutely freezing. Olaf and I wore layers of clothes under our parkas, but nothing helped against the freezing wind that whipped us while driving. We put hot water bottles on our laps, which helped a lot. Mid-morning the jungle warmed up and we'd shed our layers. The afternoons were pleasant, sunny and in the low 70's. 


Our first morning drive was awful. We had a French couple with us, who were filming a "documentary." They forced our guide to stop so they could film "time sequences," ie. the sun rising over a water hole. Thank God they left after lunch. The rest of the trip we were alone with the guides, save one random drive. 


The photo above is of one of my favorite animals, a jackal. This little guy was following his mom on the trail.


I forgot how to use my camera, so the first drives left us photo-less. Here are a few photos I took once I figured out the camera. 

It was so cold in the mornings. Olaf has on many layers, but we were generally numb each morning for three hours. 
 

The parks are open, defined only by natural boundaries. Each morning we waited to be allowed into the jungle. There was always a lot of bureaucracy, bribes and paperwork to be figured out. 
 

The guy in the green hat and brown ear warmers was the head of the park, who the guides nicknamed the "sloth bear" because of his unpredictability. The day before our arrival, fourteen cars/ lodges were banned from the park because they broke a rule on accident. Luckily, our lodge was not banned. But can you imagine arriving in India for your safari trip, only to be told that you couldn't go in the park because your guide broke a rule the day before??? 
 

The vegetation in Pench was very thick. In the dry season it is much easier to spot tigers, because the forest thins out considerably. 

This little monkey is a langur. I thought they were adorable. It was fun to just sit and watch them play and interact with one another. 
 

This big animal is called a blue something or other. I can't remember. 
 

Pench has a very large population of spotted deer. Good for the tiger. 
 

An owl. 
 

This big guy is a goar. Massive. The largest cattle, that they call Arnold Schwarzenegger of the jungle because when he walks you see every muscle in his body. 

Scratching post evidence of a tiger! We were constantly tracking the tigers, looking for prints in the dirt and listening for alarm calls from the spotted deer and langur. 

 

A still water hole. There were lots of water holes present during our time in Pench. In the dry season the jungle only has a couple, so wildlife sightings are easy if you just park out at the watering hole. 

Can you see the jackal above? Olaf was pointing directly at him, but he was too well camouflaged for my eyes. 

The mama jackal on the road ahead, waiting for her pup to catch up. 
 

They say jackals are one of the only animal that tigers don't mind. The jackal is brave enough to steal a bite from a tiger kill, and supposedly the tiger doesn't attack him. Sometimes a jackal will lead you to a tiger kill.
 

Around 9am we got to take a coffee break. Our guide set up coffee and Indian munchies while we ventured to the bush loo. 


I love elephants. The Asiatic elephants in India are domesticated and a lot smaller than their African counterparts. The elephants in Pench work for their supper, mostly by tracking tigers. Tigers will allow elephants to come near them and are generally undisturbed. Some visitors get to view a tiger on elephant back. We didn't, and are glad because we heard it is a little artificial, Disneyland-esque.


The elephant handlers made big "roti" pancakes for the elephants while they were our working in the jungle. 

 

The elephant handlers are preparing the roti under the shelter above. 

Below is a photo of us with our Pench guide, Wasim (far right) and two other couples who were also staying at Baghvan. They were very friendly and warm to us. Every evening before dinner we'd all sit around in the lodge, have a drink and share stories. Other than that acrid French couple, all the other visitors we met were Indian. It was very nice and helped give us a feel for real India, not just tourist India. 
 

Oh my gosh, the cows. Everywhere, on all the roads. The Indians revere them and consider them holy, so cars and people have to just wait or move. I wonder if those cows even appreciate it. 

Here we are with our guide, Wasim, after our last drive in Pench. We weren't lucky enough to see a tiger. Wasim was compassionate, so he called our guide at the next lodge we were visiting at Kanha and told him about us and that we had not yet seen the tiger. While we were at Kanha, Wasim checked in on us. He was really rooting for us to find the tiger. 

Wasim was a really interesting guy. He used to be in finance, and even lived in London like us. He got sick of it all and decided to become a naturalist, and now he loves what he does.
 

Olaf and I were so sad to leave our friends at Baghvan. When we left, Wasim and all the staff said goodbye, loaded our car with snacks for the road, and waved as we drove away. We felt like we were leaving family. Paid family, of course ;)

India

Hello there! Olaf and I recently took a trip to India. His work requires him to take vacation two consecutive weeks each year, to get employees away from the office so the man can make sure they aren't up to any funny business, like insider trading. 

We searched and searched and searched for a relaxing beach that we could camp out on the week before our scheduled Christmas visit to California. Nothing looked very exciting, so Olaf suggested we go on safari again. In India. 

Cool. Decision made, I scrambled around to get the necessary insurance, vaccinations, visas, lodging etc. to spend seven days in the jungle. 

Flight from London to Delhi

We arrived in Delhi at 3am. Completely disoriented and exhausted, overwhelmed by the smell of burning incense, we waited in the arrivals area for the representative from the travel company to pick us up. We had to be taken to another airport to catch a flight to Nagpur, and more importantly, to receive our travel documents for the trip. After 45 minutes of searching for Mr. Representative, we gave up and got on a goat shit smelling bus that looked straight out of Afghanistan. Dusty windows, dented body and suspicious driver. 

Ticketless, we arrived at the other airport. Security wouldn't let us in, but I authoritatively told him my printed email from the travel agent was enough documentation. That was enough to let us in the airport and on the plane. Thank God. 

We arrived, hours later, in Nagpur, in the smallest, dustiest airport I have ever seen. We were the only arriving flight that day. Again, no one to pick us up. It was a three hour drive to the jungle lodge, and I didn't want to venture out past the machine gun sporting commandos guarding the arrivals benches. 

Turned out the travel agent saw our flight was delayed in London, so she cancelled all of our onward travel plans. Argh. Smart. Surprised to hear we got ourselves to Nagpur, she sent someone to pick us up. What a day.  

After this initial chaos, our trip only got better. 

We split our trip between two reserves. First we stayed at Baghvan Lodge in Pench National Park. We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, when drives are not allowed. Instead, we got a treat. Our naturalist in Pench, Wasim, took us to a lake outside the jungle area to have a 'sundowner' drink and chat while the sun set. He told us about the park and wildlife in India and shared some funny stories from past guests. 

We went to India to see the tiger. However, tiger spotting in India is very difficult and absolutely not guaranteed. We read lots of reviews from disgruntled visitors who didn't see one tiger their whole trip. Plus, we were visiting in the winter when tigers are easily camouflaged by the lush vegetation brought by the prior monsoon. I had pretty low expectations, but Olaf was pure TIGER, TIGER, TIGER. 

I definitely did not do my research on India. Sure, we were well informed about the extreme stuff- pythons, malaria, bubonic plague.

The first time I visited Olaf in Germany, I was well prepared. Over prepared. I even had travel sized toilet paper rolls for my purse. Totally uneccessary, of course, but I had heard about European hygiene practices and I wasn't up for surprises. Turns out, there is no shortage of toilet paper in Europe. 

India is another matter. There was no toilet paper anywhere. I had no idea and had not brought ANY reserves. And where the hell are the seats???? The most lovely toilet I used was two bricks on the ground behind a partial straw fence, in the dirt. Ew ew ew. 
 

This little friend welcomed us to our room. YAY!

To make up for abandoning us upon arrival in a very foreign place, the travel company arranged for us to have a nice romantic dinner on our balcony.