Home sweet home…

Olichuchattam falls as viewed from my backyard

After a very long hiatus… I’m back on WordPress. A lot has happened since i last logged in here about 4 years ago. Our family has grown. We have a son, he’s almost 2 years old now. He keeps us busy and we don’t travel like we used to before….

Also…. we have finally fulfilled a long cherished dream of ours. A small house in the lap of the mighty western ghats. Anakkampoyil is a small village about 45kms from Calicut. Drive uphill from there for about 4 km and you reach a place called Karimb. Another kilometer uphill and that’s where we have our small house.Its about 600 meters above mean sea level, ensuring fantastic climate (depending on your apetite for heavy rains)

Mobile and internet connectivity are poor and non existant respectievely, and that means more time spent on soaking in the views and climate…

A black eagle hovers in the mist

The mists and rains are constant companions throughout the year. The place is blessed with fresh water streams originating from pristine forests which start from about a kilometer away from our house. Clear days provide us with spectacular views of the Vellarimala range from our yard. Birding is fantastic….and so is the wildlife apparently. Elephants , Sambar , and many other wildlife visit our neighbours who live closer to the forest boundary. I’ve not yet mustered the courage to go for a night walk.

Moonrise over Vellarimala

I will try to keep updating/boring everyone with few sights from our patch of paradise.

 

A Himalayan Sojourn.

In late August 2013, my dear wife started reminding me that she had applied leave for a week, in November. She wanted us to do something more exciting, than our usual jaunts to the jungles of Southern India. I suspect she’s had enough of Tigers and leopards (What with the resident 100 kg Tiger she sees every day at home..!!! ) As usual, I enthusiastically agreed at that time, and conveniently forgot all about it till mid October.

Mid october…
Wife: Vineeth, so where are we going then ?
Me: I have it all figured out, We’ll do 2 days in Bandipur, 2 days in Kabini, 2 days in BR hills.
Wife: That is something we can do any weekend, I specifically said something different !!!
Me: What??!! Why ??!!! This is such an awesome plan !!!

Wife : You Moron !!! I had given you enough time to plan,chuck everything and lets stay home…Pffftt

Me: (Panic)  Lets do Leh !!! we’ll call up Vivek(my brother) and do a week-long trip to Leh.
Wife : Now you’re talking….

So we call up my brother, and he agrees( What a sport ! ) as he too has leaves pending and so we plan….flights,hotels, destinations…..

Late october…
Bro calls up and informs that he has to leave to Singapore on an assignment…all plans go for a toss.

We still wanted to see the Himalayas,and perhaps do a bit of birding…So I mentioned Pangot and Sattal, birding hotspots in the Himalayan foothills in Uttarakhand.
Reshma agrees, so we call up the guys at Asian Adventures, who handle the bookings for Jungle lore Birding Lodge at Pangot and Sattal Birding Camp at Sattal. We dealt with Mithun, who was very professional in chalking up an itenary which suited our needs.
The plan was that , we reach Delhi airport, get picked up by our guide Shyam Sharma, and driver Adeshji. Reach Pangot and spend 2 nights there, move on to Sattal and spend another two nights in Sattal.Efectively we’d have five days of sightseeing and birding.We were to have a Toyota innova all to ourselves for all 5 days…Airport to airport.

So we transferred the money, booked air tickets from Bangalore-Delhi-Bangalore,leaves finalised in my office….and oh,bought a new Canon EOS 70D for the trip.No more fighting for the SLR, I was to use the 70D and the 4005.6 and Reshma the 500D and the 100-400.

So we are all packed and ready to go to Bangalore( we planned to reach one day before to do some last-minute shopping).Our Karnataka KSRTC multi axle Volvo is scheduled to depart from Calicut at 2200 hrs.Around 1700 hours we see news flashes of violence and rioting on the Calicut-Bangalore road due to opposition to the Kasturirangan report. We hope it’s not too bad and keep our fingers crossed.Around 1900 hours we hear in the news that its going to be hartal in Kerala ( equal to a Bandh) from midnight. We still hope to travel…
Around 2000 hrs we get a message that our bus has been CANCELLED !!!
Panic sets in….we have visions of all our money going up in smoke. Nevertheless we decided to check out the bus station  at around 2130 hours or risk driving the car to Bangalore( yeah we were desperate…)
As we reach the bus stand we find a Kerala ksrtc ordinary bus ( believe me..ordinary it was) bound for Bangalore leaving…I ran up to the driver, and luckily he says seats are available and he will wait for us to bring our luggage…very few people wanted to travel that night.
We desperately drag all our luggage into the bus and finally start our adventure !!!  The bus took a long detour avoiding the problem areas, and very late into the night managed to cross into Karnataka, unscathed.

It takes crazy ass mallus to handle crazy ass mallus…no one else would have risked driving that night.But we had serious money at stake here…worst case we might get stranded on the highway…The bus was originally scheduled to depart at 2000 hrs.The stars and planets were on our side….Some seriously brisk driving over some atrociously bad roads, made for a bone jarring ride…

We finally reach Bangalore in the morning, much earlier than we thought we’d reach, shop for gloves/skullcaps,thermal inners,  new camera bag…and call it an early night.

Our cab picks us up at 3am,and after another brisk  and hair raising drive ( putting it mildly ) reach airport before 4 am…well in time for the 6 am flight to Delhi. Our flight thankfully, is on schedule and lovely weather greets us in Delhi when we finally land around  9 am.
We find a dude wearing a cowboy hat and dressed in the manner of a hardcore wildlifer/ desi cowboy  waiting for us at the airport.

Shyam Sharma is not your typical guide…in our 5 days together I have never seen him in non camouflage gear…”Sir, yeh to hamesha andar ki wildlife feelings ko zinda rakhne ke liye hain” he says(Err…loosely translated he meant, Sir, this is to keep the wildlife feelings alive inside me all the time). A veritable store house of information ( and tall tales too, claims to have seen 2o black bazas on a huuge tree ) he proved to be an excellent guide and a fantastic travel companion, netting well over 100 species in 4 days of birding and sightseeing….

Our driver Adeshji was waiting and so we started our long ( 8hr) journey to Pangot.Sunday traffic in Delhi was sparse and we made a quick getaway from the airport and soon crossed Delhi limits. We stopped for brunch at Maama’s dhaba ( Out of this world paranthas and butter roti and daal makhni and…you get the drift ) Somewhere after crossing the river Ganga, I drifted off to sleep..something i’d never been able to do when someone else was driving.Cant praise Adeshji’s driving enough…never had any nervous moments except for the occasional tractor and bullock carts and crazy bikers  that you encounter in the highways of Uttarpradesh.
Woke up when we reached choti haldwani ( Jim corbetts village). From there we started climbing…crossed nainital and saw our first views of the mighty Himalayas. I’d probably have to write another post to describe my feelings on seeing the Himalayas, but for now I’d just say……(speechless)

Reached Pangot, and Jungle Lore Birding Lodge around 6 pm, and was warmly welcomed by Tejpalji who is a caretaker/manfriday at Jungle Lore. It had already gotten dark by then….and very very cold !!! From 32 degree Kerala weather to a cool 8 degree Himalayan evening.

Sunset at Pangot clicked with my iphone

We settled into our cottage…comfy enough because of the heater they provided. Had a shower and an early dinner and hit the sack…we were finally here !!!

To be continued….

Another day in paradise.

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…

Tusker at twilight.

Another one to be framed. We had finished our evening safari and were returning, when we saw this pair of tusks from behind the bamboo. Slowly the tusker emerged and we spent the last few minutes of twilight watching him feed on the bamboo. I have converted this to b/w to get that late evening twilight feel in the jungle…

Framed.

Finally after 3 years of clicking with my DSLR, I finally got an image printed and framed.This is the final edit, resized to be posted on the web. Thanks for viewing 🙂

Sunday Drives…Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary.

My friend Kishore had been itching to test out a Sigma 150-500 lens for sometime.The opportunity finally came on the second weekend of October.We decided to visit Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary which is about 30-45 mins drive from Calicut.

Our plan was to reach there as early as possible, make a few images and return back home before lunch.We started off at around 5:45 am, stopping for some hot tea at Feroke, and finally reached Kadalundi before 7am.

Little Egret.

Now I had visited Kadalundi about 2 years ago and was least impressed with that place.Little did I know then that, to get to do some serious birding/bird photography in Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary, one has to trek a bit.
So for those who like me have/had no clue about the precise directions to get to the birding spots read on….
We parked the car near the tourist information center.Alternately one can also park their vehicle behind the Kadalundi railway station.We had to cross one bridge across the river.Now there are two bridges, the new one and the old(infamous Kadalundi train crash). While the new one on the left has an excellent footpath, one has to cross the track on the right to reach the birding site.
We had a tough time as we had taken the new bridge, and then climb down a scary ladder, jump from a height across a ditch and climb up back and across the railway track. Now as you walk along on the right side track you will come across a second set of bridges. Just before the start of the second bridge on the right side track, there is a small rough path which starts with a rock climb down.One has to be very very careful while descending down, especially with expensive cameras and lenses.Also it is recommended to wear waterproof sandals with a good grip rather than shoes.
Now once you descend down, you reach the island/prime birding site.
We had taken permission from the authorities before venturing on this trek and I would recommend that to anyone visiting this site as this is a protected area.

3 Whimbrels with a Eurasian Curlew

Lesser Sand Plovers

We came across Sandpipers, Gulls, Redshanks, Wagtails,Kites, Whimbrels, Eurasian Curlews, Kingfishers,Egrets, Sand Plovers at this site. Apparently the winter migrant birds had not started visiting.

Western Reef Heron

We photographed birds till around 9 am.The sun was getting hot and the light harsh….we decided to make the walk back to our car.
Now on the way back we walk along the old railway bridge. The foot path was broken and we had to walk along the tracks…SCARY !!! Finally we made it to the car safe and sound, and headed back home in time for a late breakfast.

Eurasian Curlew

Brown Headed Gull

Common Redshank

Photography tip: The birds are skittish and very vary of humans.It is best to lie flat on your belly and crawl commando style to get close to the birds and also get some good eye level shots. Make sure you have a clean towel and spare clothes as one is bound to be covered in wet sand…not a very comfortable feeling.

Ps. The wiki on Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary.

PPS. Please ask me before using any of my images.

A sunday drive.

We were the last group to leave the checkpost. Although we reached Malabar WLS well after the official visiting hours, we struck up some conversation with the police and forest guards. Very friendly people, who I must say have their patience tested by the innumerable idiots who venture there with their drinks/bottles/etc etc….

They told us to be careful about elephants that we may come across on the road. It had just started raining, and the sun was about to descend below the storm clouds.It was an amazing scene !!! I got out of the car, clicked a few frames and ran back in just before the heavens burst.

Thankfully the elephants were chilling out in their own piece of heaven.

More about Malabar WLS here

A Monsoon Drive.

These mist covered mountains
Are a home now for me
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be

Dire Straits/Brothers in Arms

The monsoon had just arrived. We were itching for a holiday.From rain lashed Calicut we drove towards the hills, only to encounter more rains.Spent an awesome weekend driving around the Anamalais in June 2011.

Route: Calicut-Palakkad-Pollachi-Valparai. Time: approx 6 hours. Distance: around 250 kms.

Somewhere on the Palakkad-Pollachi highway….Fast vanishing sights from rurual Kerala.

The road from Pollachi to Valparai is a drivers paradise. Beautiful country scenes on both sides of the road. Somehow I feel sad that we dont get to drive through such countryside a lot in Kerala. Gods Own Country surely does not hold a candle to Tamilnadu and Karnataka in this aspect.

Very few crazies encountered on these roads…pleasure to drive.
Clicked from moving car, wanted to get the motion blur to add that sense of dynamism.
Exif Details 1/13th sec,ISO 100, f20
Camera: Canon EOS 500D
Lens: Sigma 18-200 @ 35 mm.

Clouds kissing the cliff…Clicked by Reshma Krishnan

Soon after crossing the checkpost at the entrance of Anamalai wildlife sanctuary, we came across this beautiful sight of the Aliyar Dam.

There are 40 Hairpin bends and innumerable waterfalls on the Pollachi-Valparai route.
Excellently well maintained roads and easy to drive unlike the wayanad ghats or the kallatti ghats.

The Swift taking in the view 🙂

Ominous Clouds….

Aliyar Dam

One of the many waterfalls we passed by.
This one is called the Monkey Falls.
I found the place to be relatively clean and plastic free…Thank God that there are still some places like this in South India.

Accomodation was in a bungalow belonging to waterfall estates. You come across this board after the 28th hairpin, about 20kms before Valparai town.
Accomodation in Valparai town is not a very good idea….

This was our pad for 3 days and 2 nights.
Tennis court bungalow. there are only 2 bedrooms, so we had the entire place to ourselves.Nice, neat and clean and well maintained.
We also had the services of 2 butlers/caretakers during our stay.They took very good care of us.
Outstanding home cooked food,simply superb stuff.

Another view from the front door of the bungalow.
Clicked By Sharat Somsunder

A lounge with a view 🙂

Another awesome view form the bungalow premises.
You can see how windy it was….

The road from waterfall estates to Valparai….
This image was taken with the 100-400 lens

Valparai landscape….From tea estates to shola forests to grass and rocks.
Another image with The Canon 100-400.
Who says you need a wide angle lens to shoot landscapes 🙂

The road through dense shola forest…
I was actually scared of crossing paths with leopards or elephants while getting out to take this snap.Valparai has been in the news recently for elephant attacks and man eating leopards.

On the way to Nallamudi Pooncholai and Seen God viewpoint.
A must see spot if you happen to travel to valparai.
Super duper torrential rainfall ensured my camera stayed in the car.
Amazingly beautiful views of the mists rising above the forest canopy.
More photos when i visit next time.

View from Sholayar Dam.
It was late evening when we reached the dam site.
Nothing much to see at the dam.
But, the drive is simply outstanding….FANTASTIC winding roads to really enjoy driving through some amazing scenery.

A Kovil(small temple) on the way.
According to the local priest this area is frequented by elephants and bison (gaur).
we were lucky to spot 2 wild elephants nearby.

Thousands of acres of tea estate border shola forests.
Apparently visits from the denizens of the forest are frequent leading to many man-animal conflicts.

Streak Throated Woodpecker (female)
My one decent bird shot of this trip.

Lion Tailed Macaque with baby.
Camera: canon EOS 500D
Lens: Canon 100-400 F4-5.6 L IS USM
Exif: 1/60 sec F 5, 100-400@180mm ISO400

Handheld shot in bad light and light rains.

This is my favourite image and the last shot of the whole series.I waited 3 days and drove oh so many kms around valparai to get this one.
And by the way these are critically endangered species, found only in some areas of the western ghats.I was totally impressed by the NCF watchers guarding this troop even in the rains.I wonder how many generations will get to see these creatures in the wild….

Perhaps someday I would make a trip in not so rainy conditions to photograph the wildlife of the Anamalais…But you gotta visit the rainforests in the rains for sure !!!

Bandipur Chronicles.

“Maybe once I get some decent Tiger images, I’ll quit bugging you to go on these jungle visits all the time”

The urge to visit the jungles was getting too unbearable after a long….4 months 🙂

The last time I went there, I got some good images of this guy.

But this had eluded me for a long time….

I somehow made the booking online for 3 days 2 nights at JLR,Bandipur and spent the next one week trying to convince my wife to join me.She was unrelenting, and as the days went by my panic increased and thus I tried the first line.

She was in Bangalore on office work for 2 weeks and I somehow managed to convince her finally to join me. Phew !!!

So we were to spend a long weekend at JLR Bandipur on 17th 18th and 19th Dec 2011….We were last there in Dec 2009.

This time she was to take the Volvo ( Bangalore-Ooty Volvo would drop you right in front of JLR), and i was to drive from Calicut.Usually I take the Calicut-Nilambur-Gudalur-Mudumalai_Bandipur  route. But  since there was some tension going on between Kerala and Tamilnadu over the Mullaperiyar dam issue , I did not want to take any risk and chose the Calicut-Kalpetta-Gundlupet-Bandipur route.

The ghat roads were in a bad shape , and 4-5 hour traffic jams on the ghats were happening every day. So I left home at  5 :30 am  hoping to cross the ghats before the rush starts.Luckily for me there was no traffic and i managed to cross Sultan Bathery by 7 30. Stopped at a small eatery for some nice hot coffee and Appams and egg roast. Got news from Reshma that her bus had not yet crossed Bangalore city limits.

So with lots of time to kill, i decided to visit Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary in Wayanad. It was filled with tourists, and they were being crammed into jeeps for a One hour ride. I had never visited Muthanga before. So I went to the office and asked how much would it cost if i were to hire a jeep for myself.

At Rs. 650 including all charges I thought it was a good deal. So I boarded the jeep. My company for the ride was Vivek, the driver and Madhav, the guide.

Frankly I did not enjoy the drive at all. The guys were good company with a lot of information and anecdotes , but the forest was depressing.I will not go much into detail, but I did see some elephants and spotted deer and the Malabar giant squirrel.

After the safari I headed off to Gundlupet.Reshma asked  me to pick her up at the Coffee day there. I had some nice coffee and samoosas, and then dozed off in my car for an hour.I was refreshed by the time Reshma reached, and we drove on towards JLR.

While checking in, we were very happy to see the familiar face of  Mr.Nataraj, one of the naturalists at JLR  in the office.After exchanging pleasantries, we were shown to our room for the weekend. It was the special cottage,called Hoopoe. Nice, clean and big with a small balcony, and away from the road.

Freshened up and went for lunch.I was not very hungry because of all the eating I did. But the lunch was great. Simple delicious food, excellent courteous staff.

Rested a bit and soon it was time for our evening safari.

Our driver for the evening was Kiran.  There were 8 people with us in the jeep excluding the driver. Two of them were 2 young guys from Australia( Adit and Pranav) who had just completed their 12th std and were out to see India.

Our evening safari yielded the usual suspects… Chital, Gaur etc.Unbelievably, one of the guys fell asleep during the safari. The Aussie duo were busy clicking .

We came across a group of Dholes ( wild dogs) midway through the safari, but they were far away  running on the jeep tracks.

Perhaps they were on a hunt ??!!!

Anyways opportunity ruined, and the non-photography crowd in the jeep didn’t want to stick around for the Dholes. We returned back to JLR. I was not too disappointed…I was thrilled to be in the Jungle.

Members of an online community Indianaturewatch, of which I also am a part of were there in Bandipur.

Eminent Surgeon and Photographer Dr.Ajit Huilgol and his son Vikram(An ace photographer himself), Suganthi and Rana Belur( makers of the battle of bandipur,search youtube),Saravanan Sundaram( I guess he loves the jungles, shuffling his time between the corporate jungle and the real one), Basavanna of JLR, Anshu Rao and his family and Sabir Chowdhury and his family.

It was great meeting  all of them there.

Had a drink and then an early dinner and hit the sack…wanted to be fresh for the morning Safari.

Sunday morning we were up and ready before dawn broke.Infact we were ready even before the JLR staff were awake !!!

We were with Kiran again. With us were Basavanna, Rana and Suganthi, and the Aussie duo.

The early morning ride to get to the jungle was amazing. It was freezing, travelling on the highway in an open jeep at 6 15 AM…

At the forest office there was information that a Tigress ( Gowri) was spotted around 5 45 am at a particular zone,and there were high chances that we might get to see her.

Without wasting much time we zoomed towards that area.Saw some gaur along the way…

Its magical to be in the jungle in the morning in winter.Though the slight mist and the low light were not ideal for handheld photography, the setting was simply awesome.

Basavanna and Kiran scouted for pugmarks, and there were so many going in different directions that it was all very confusing….

Finally we moved on slowly, very alert.The light was becoming better and then suddenly there she was…..

Gowri, the reigning queen of Bandipur was walking on the jeep tracks.She was just majestic.In my excitement I did my now patented “Spraying and Praying”. Got some shots in the camera. And then I settled down, nerves were calmed and carefully clicked some more images. The Hanuman langurs were going berserk on seeing the tigress.She at one point went into the bushes and let out some muted, but oh-so-menacing growls at the langurs. The hair on my neck stood up on its end.

We carefully tracked her till she disappeared into the bushes.Some excellent planning and driving by Basvanna and Kiran made us cross paths with the tigress again.

This time there were 3 more jeeps with us and all of us soaked in the view. The tigress was nonchalant, she had 4 cubs waiting for her and she was not bothered by the jeeps.

She quenched her thirst in the waterhole and went on her way….It was time for us to get out of the jungle and back to our rooms.

What a morning !!!!

Had a hearty breakfast and did some birding around the campus and near The country club, with Mr.Natraj. It was a morning well spent.A  short walk yielded, the Red Munias, Green bee-eater and the Chestnut Headed Bee-eater, Peacocks, White cheeked Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, Parrots, Scarlet Minivets, White backed vultures,Pacific swallows, and perhaps an Asian Paradise fly-catcher.

Surprisingly, the jungle safaris yielded very few birds.Only managed to spot a male streak throated woodpecker and this crested serpent eagle.

We returned in time for a great lunch and some well deserved snooze.

Evening safari ( in Kiran’s jeep again)  yielded us the barking deer( muntjac) and a few elephants.( Incl. a couple of solitary tuskers).Reluctantly we got out of the jungle again.

 

Back at JLR, Dr.Ajit showed me some of his images on his Ipad. The man is truly a gifted photographer. Had a light dinner and again tucked in early. I got up sometime in the night and opened the balcony. It was frrrrreeeezing !!!

Early next morning we were ready for our last safari with Kiran.It was considerably more foggy, and the light was low.Saw 2 barking deer together near a salt lick.

Moved on from there and in a couple of minutes we saw THE TIGER.

A huge handsome male….walking without a care in the world. He was just surveying his domain, sniffing around and scent marking a lot of trees.

Clicked a few images, and wished I had another camera body and a wide-angle lens….The tiger soon went inside the bushes.Here is where the most brilliant piece of tracking was done Kiran. He reversed the jeep got on to the main highway and parked the jeep by the roadside and waited… Soon enough the tiger crossed the main road and went into the other side.We also went inside( different route and road) and waited for him. The jungle was reverberating with Chital alarm calls.We again came across the tiger, watched him strut his stuff, relax in the grass and pose for the camera. At one point he was about 10 ft near a herd of super alert chital….Clearly food was the last thing on his mind as he left them alone and continued his walk.

We waited near a salt lick for him to return.He did not disappoint. He strolled down a meadow, licked some salt/mud for a few minutes, sprayed around some more, and went off on his way. At his closest he was about 20 feet away…A majestic animal, strong and proud.I lowered my camera and soaked in the moment.

This was nature, this was the jungle, this was what I had come to experience.Too often we are so obsessed about getting that awesome image that we forget to look at the bigger picture.The pure air, animals and birds roaming wild and free….

Checked out after a great breakfast…..I just cant wait to get back to the Jungle again !!!

The urge has only gotten stronger 🙂

When Nature Calls…A long weekend in Mudumalai,Masinagudi and Bandipur,Jan 2011

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.

From L to R : Me, Fabith, Sharat, John, Ashwin.

PS.  Thanks to Ashwin and Sharat for letting me use their images.