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 ;)