Masinagudi « The Lazy Traveller

My Childhood buddy Kamal had landed from the deserts and concrete jungles of the middle east, wanting to spend some time in a real Indian jungle.Fortunately or unfortunately, we finally had only one day to do this jungle trip and so we headed of to my favourite part of the Nilgiris, which is a four hour drive from Calicut.

We stopped at Wild Haven for a quick lunch and beer,and were about to walk down to Cheetal Walk, when Kumar, our driver/guide told us it would be better that he dropped us in his jeep.

We gladly accepted his offer and were in cheetal walk after a two minute bumpy ride.Mark was waiting for us and he urged us to settle down soon before all the action started. I had tried to downplay the chances of encountering any wildlife other than spotted deer and wildboar, lest my friend got disappointed.

Almost five minutes after we arrived, the first visitor arrived…A magnificent tusker, affectionately called Rivaldo by Mark.We were sure glad that we didnt walk down…

Things started happening soon.Summer had tightened its dry grip on the area and a lot of animals would come to a small tank which Mark fills up from his well for the animals.

Another younger meaner looking tusker soon made his way, followed by a herd of four. We were thrilled….little did we know that this was the trailer !!!

This area was like an elephant magnet and soon tusker after tusker arrived in the area, at one point we could see six different tuskers, in different parts of the property !!!

Meanwhile I was telling Mark how I’d never photographed sloth bears, though i’ve managed to spot a couple of them. As if on cue, a mother and cub slowly walked down the hill and crossed the stream across the cottage….i managed to get a few images.

The area was teeming with Sambhar, Chital, Black faced langurs, Wild boar, Gaur, Peafowl and a lot of other birds.

We feasted our eyes on the blockbuster show that mother nature had setup for us. Alarm calls had us excited all through the evening signifying that predators were also around.

As it was a moonless night, we hit the bed soon after an early dinner, enjoying the sounds of the jungle. A sharp alarm call from a sambhar right under our window woke us sometime late in the night….soon the chital started calling out in fright, and then we heard the TIGER….It was calling as it slowly moved across the area, we could not see it beacuse it was pitch dark and Mark does not encourage the use of torches and flashes to disturb the animals.But it was amazing to hear the tiger calling out into the night and we sat up for a while savouring the moment.The cool night ensured that sleep soon overcame us.

We were up at dawn, and the birds were at their best.

I love the sound of peafowl calling out in the morning… it is amazing.Mark had made steaming black tea and we were in for a treat that morning too…

What better than watching elephants and bears and sambhar and cheetal, while sipping on hot tea and chilling out in the veranadah !!! Alarm calls again from the chital and langurs got us excited and we were lucky to see a leopard as it disappeared into the scrub. I spent more time with my binoculars than my camera, as i did not want to get worked up about not getting good images.

It was truly awesome….we couldnt have asked for more. Unfortunately it was time for us to get back to calicut, Kumar again came to pick us up. We bade Mark goodbye and headed off to wild haven for some solid break fast before heading off to Calicut. Truly it was another day in paradise…

PS. I had written this trip report a while ago. As I post this, Mark Davidar is recovering from a coma.We bade goodbye promising to visit him again soon.Little do we know what life has in store for any of us… I truly wish and hope and pray that he makes a full recovery and gets back to Cheetal Walk, where he truly belongs. I dont know if I would ever be able to visit Cheetal Walk again, but I would like to sign off with this endearing image of Rivaldo truly at peace in a quiet corner of the Nilgiris, which he would perhaps call home.

PPS : Mark Davidar passed away yesterday( 19th october 2013) after a brief illness.I along with many others would no doubt treasure and cherish the awesome memories spent in his company at Chital Walk.Thank you for the memories Mark. May your soul rest in eternal peace…

This January we did a wildlife and nature photography trip to cover Mudumalai, Masinagudi and Bandipur.

We were 5 of us. Ashwin,Sharat,Fabith and me from Calicut.John was to join us from Bangalore.

We had planned 3 nights and 4 days enjoying the Jungle and doing our photography.
Equipment: Cameras:- Canon EOS 450D, Canon 500D, Canon 5DMkII, Canon 50D
Lenses: Canon 100-400L (2), Canon 24-70L, Canon 70-200 f2.8, Canon 28-135, Sigma 18-200 OS

We left Calicut on a thursday afternoon after lunch, in Ashwin’s souped up Skoda RS.

The route we took was Calicut-cheroopa-edavannappara-areakode-edavanna-nilambur-gudalur-theppekkadu-masinagudi.Distance is slightly less than 150 km.

This route is a drivers pleasure, with fabulous winding roads,great scenery and very less traffic.
A word of caution though, from Areakode till you cross the checkpost at Vazhikkadavu, the roads are narrow and filled with the most undisciplined drivers.

Fabith took the driver duty as Ashwin had sprained his neck. He usually drives his bmw 5 series and is an expert driver.
The Skoda was put through its paces and after some brisk driving ( mind you, at no point was the driving rash) , reached our first pit stop at Vazhikkadavu about 90 mins from Calicut.We went to Hotel Galaxy and had some nice hot Kerala parathas, beef and tea.Hotel galaxy is the last place for good food on this route.Cant say the same about their washroom though.

After this brief break we started along the famous Nadugani ghat section. winding beautiful and immaculate roads on the Kerala side, and the Skoda RS showed what a powerful beast it is.Once you cross the toll at the border and cross over to Tamilnadu, the roads are not as great as on the Kerala side, but still they are not bad.

It was past 5 30pm and we sighted a magnificent sunset over the hills.stopped for a few mins to take some snaps.

Sunset, Nadugani Ghats

Had to hurry, as our contact Mr.Haneefa was waiting for us at the entrance to the Mudumalai tiger reserve.He had told us not to be too late. By the time we crossed Gudalur and reached the first checkpost it was about 6 30pm .
We had selected the particular dates as it was full moon, and we wanted to enjoy nature at night too.

After meeting up with Mr.Haneefa, we were to follow his jeep, as we didn’t know the route to Masinagudi Log House, where we were to shack up.

On the way, after Theppakkadu we saw the most amazing full moon rising.Being the crazy photographers we were, we stopped the car to take some moon shots.(didn’t get out of the car as we were in the jungle by then).The moon was absolutely beautiful and we spent some time to admire the beauty of the moon rise in the jungle.

Moonrise in the jungle.Image made by blending 2 different images in Photoshop.Pretty close to the same view we had inside the jungle.

Panic gripped us when we realised we were far behind schedule.We started driving on to Masinagudi, and saw a scared Haneefa driving back to scout for us…he looked worried and angry!

We went on till our destination, thinking of excuses to explain our delay.But to our relief, as soon as we reached the log house, Haneefa had cooled down and with a grin he said “I’m sure you guys must have stopped on the way to take photographs.” “be careful, elephants roam the roads at night and might prove to be very dangerous”
John joined us a few mins later.He had driven down from Bangalore in his Laura.
After unloading our luggage and equipment and freshening up, we settled down for some “liquid refreshments” before dinner.
Shortly after that John asked us to be quiet, and said that he heard something move about. One of us got a flashlight, and LO and behold it was an Indian Sloth Bear.We were quite thrilled at such an awesome start to our wildlife trip.The staff at the Log house told us that bears and other manner of wildlife(including the big cats) frequent the property as it is unfenced and is surrounded by scrub forest.
Anyways we had a good sighting of the bear for a good 30 mins.Fabith tried to get some snaps but it proved to be a futile attempt, due to the darkness.
We had a simple but delicious dinner after that and hit the sack.
Haneefa had organised two safari’s in Mudumalai the next day.

In the night I got up and looked outside the window.It was an amazing sight.The full moon had lit up the entire area.The small pond in front of the log house looked amazing, and there were lots of spotted deer,and a couple of sambar grazing on the sides.Since the staff had warned us not to step outside in the dark, I was content to see the scene through the window.

Full Moon Night.A view from the Log House

All of us woke up early next morning, freshened up and drove down to reach Kargudi by 6 am. It was a beautiful winter morning and the jungle air was cold and crisp.
Haneefa had arranged a jeep safari with the forest dept., and we were all pretty excited.To our slight dismay, it was not an open jeep, but one of those closed jeeps belonging to the forest dept.
We entered the jungle roads, considering ourselves lucky to have got into a jeep at all.Apparently only mini buses are allowed for tourists inside Mudumalai.Haneefa had got us special permissions from the dept.Dont know if this is possible now-a-days.
From a photographic point of view, the safari was nothing great.It was difficult to move around in that closed cramped jeep.We saw elephants, spotted deer, sambar, Gaur, Langurs.Fabith and Ashwin managed to get some great landscapes and forest shots.The rest of us just enjoyed being in the jungle.The sights, sounds, and smells were just too good.

Gaur, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

A road inside Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

Streaming sunlight inside Mudumalai

I truly believe that they should allow open jeep safaris, at least by the govt, for photographers and serious wildlifers in Mudumalai. We returned to Kargudi by 9 am.Traffic had started plying on the road and we were eager to get back to the log house.

Had a heavy breakfast and relaxed .Fabith and me did some birding.the light was a bit harsh for bird photography. but were happy to sight so many birds.Masinagudi is truly a birding paradise.

Long Tailed Shrike @ Masinagudi

After a snooze and shower we were hungry again.Called up Wild Haven and informed them that we were coming for lunch.
After a late lunch and chilled beer, we got ready for the evening safari.To our dismay we were to do this safari in a mini bus.As a small consolation we had an entire bus for ourselves….meaning lots of space to move around.
If you are serious about photography, taking mini bus is BAAAD idea. Noisy,severely shaky.I’m sure any wild animal would have heard us from 100 km distance and scooted for cover.But still, we managed to see the usual suspects…Elephants, spotted deer, Gaur and Sambhar.The highight of the trip was the leopard that scurried across the road….too fast for any of us to even react, let alone get a photograph.

We spent a good 30 mins at the watch tower overlooking the Moyar Gorge.Spectacular view of the Moyar river thundering down a steep gorge.apparently even access to this region is severely restricted.How I wish we could spend one night at the watch tower….

Watch tower near Moyar Gorge.

A breathtaking view of the Moyar Gorge

Anyways we jumped and jerked and rolled back to Theppekkad.By now Ashwin and Sharat were severely frustrated with the safari arrangements and swore not to undertake anymore safaris this trip.
Needless to say the liquid refreshments were on the stronger side that night. Before the fluids got hold of his senses, Ashwin managed to capture some lovely moonlight shots of the log house.

Masinagudi Log House on a full moon night.

Masinagudi Log House, on a full moon night.Photo taken by Ashwin

Fabith and me wanted to check out Bandipur the next morning, and Fabith made arrangements with Jungle lodges for a jeep safari early next morning. But Sharat and Ashwin were in a mood to relax and shake away some weariness after the bone jarring safari last evening.They were bitterly disappointed with the sightings…or lack of it.Especialy Ashwin, who wanted to shoot some big cats.

Saturday morning we woke up at 5 am…got ready. Managed to wake up and convince John to join us.the checkpost opens only at 6 am. Crossed that and drove through some heavy mist to reach bandipur by 6 15 am. Our jeep was waiting and apart from the driver, there were two guys, both serious wildlife photographers Hari and Saravanan.
The Bandipur safari was better…better roads inside the jungle, a driver who knew what he was doing and the company of good photographers.There was not much activity in the jungle, no alarm calls and no sightings reported from the other safari jeeps that we crossed.

Early morning in Bandipur

Our driver employed his tracking skills and took us along a new road.Suddenly someone whispered urgently…”Tiger!!!”

The jeep engine was killed and there she was….this beautiful Tigress. It’s a sight I’ll never forget…seeing a tiger in the wild for the first time is a thrill that has to be experienced. No words can describe the feeling. The tigress calmly crossed the road and went behind a patch of bamboo.

As luck (or rotten luck) would have it I didn’t manage to get a good image.My camera was autofocussed on the bamboo and blurred the tigress.I guess only Saravanan managed to get a decent image.The langurs were going berserk on spotting the tiger and they followed it safely along the trees letting out loud alarm calls to warn anyone and everyone in the vicinity.

We tried to track and trail the tiger, but it was futile. Made a few images of the jungle and returned back.
The boys who had missed the safari couldn’t believe their horrible luck,but were somewhat consoled when we told them that we couldn’t make a decent image of the Tigress.

Peacock in the golden morning light, Bandipur Tiger Reserve

Post breakfast, we did some birding and decided NO MORE SAFARI’s. I suggested hanging out at Mark’s Place that evening and night.Now Mark Davidar has his house bang in middle of the jungle in the Sigur range of mudumalai.Mark is a nature lover, conservationist and has absolute respect for the wildlife and the jungle.He imposes a strict code of conduct and does not entertain tourists at his place.However Ashwin,John, and I ,have had the privilege and pleasure of being his guests before this trip.John especially is very close to him, having been a regular visitor at cheetal walk since his college days.
We tried reaching Mark on the phone, but to no avail.
Made plans to go to wild haven again for lunch and chilled beer.While we relaxed after lunch, John and Ashwin went down to meet Mark. they returned a few mins later with big grins.

We were spending the night at Mark’s !!!

Later in the evening, we parked our vehicle at wild haven and were dropped to Mark’s house in a jeep.Mark ushered us in and asked us to settle down soon.
Soon we took our vantage positions in that famed verandah and watched the drama unfold.

Believe me, for a true nature lover, this is THE PLACE to watch nature in all its glory.We saw gaur, sambar,wild boar and spotted deer at the waterhole and the saltlick.Peacocks sauntered by and the jungle fowl scurried across.

Cheetal @ Cheetal Walk

Sambar couple at the salt lick

Suudenly we heard cheetal alarm calls and the low grunt/roar of a passing tiger. All of us strained our eyes and ears,but we couldn’t spot the tiger…the alarm calls still continued.”there’s a leopard in the bush guys, no sudden movements” Mark suddenly whispered.Ashwin and Fabith saw the leopard first, but the rest of us couldn’t spot him.He was so well camouflaged. We looked closely at the direction and there we spotted the leopard.I guess it was lying there for some time, waiting for the coast to clear.We watched him for a few minutes after which he scurried across into the scrub and disappeared.

leopard @ cheetal walk. Heavily cropped image, taken in very low light.

It was growing dark and the light was no longer suited for photography.Suddenly a dark shape appeared across our view…Tusker !!! Mark’s place is visited by few elephants which he has named after the brazilian soccer team. Soon after he was joined by another tusker.By this time the light was really bad, the moon had not risen and it was getting a bit too risky to stay out in the verandah.

The Solitary Tusker. Viewed from the verandah at Cheetal Walk.

We could only make out few vague black shapes moving about ahead.
We were told not to step out of the verandah and not to stay too close to the edge of the verandah.we were whispering when suddenly a black shape became bigger and bigger…one of the tuskers was getting a bit agitated and did a mock charge at us.

Rivaldo, one of the tuskers that frequent Cheetal Walk.

We had the shock of our lives and dived inside.In Ashwin’s words….”Ful throttle,wheels spinning, traction control was not working!!!” That summed up our situation as we were trying to scramble inside from the verandah.
Mark had retired early and after the elephant mock charge none of us wanted to go out to the verandah again.
We had a few drinks to soothe our jangled nerves, and an early dinner.We could hear the sounds of branches being broken…the elephants were hanging around. By now the moon had risen and we could still see the 2 black shapes slowly moving around, through the windows. We heard some more alarm calls in the night, but no one dared to get back to the verandah.
We called it a night and fell asleep soon. Now 3 of us are heavy snorers, and Sharat termed the experience as sleeping in a room full of Bedford trucks.Perhaps that scared the Tuskers away . Fabith shared the room with Mark and he had a decent nights sleep.Except Sharat, all of us managed to sleep well 🙂

Morning we got up to beautiful birdsong…Sat in the verandah enjoying the cold winter morning ,sipping nice warm black tea.

Coppersmith Barbet @ Cheetal Walk

Saw the usual suspects roam around…but no more big cat action.
Kumar from wild haven came to pick us up in his jeep. we bid goodbye to Mark, promising to visit him again soon.
Went back to the log house….had a solid breakfast, cleared all the dues, bid everyone goodbye and returned home, with great memories of a wonderful weekend, promising ourselves to return there together again.