My phone buzzed as it keeps buzzing for all of us all the time, but
being in a meeting, I had no choice but to ignore it for some time. Later on my
WhatsApp showed 152 conversations from 4 groups !!?? Yeah, I know we’re all
used to such crazy numbers being part of so many social groups. As I browsed through, one was a direct message "Road trip to Tadoba" from my
friend Kedar. Being in a different frame of mind I gave it a pass.
Next day it struck me all of a sudden that I haven't really been on such
a long drive and had been longing for it for years. My hectic work schedule and
at times some or the other things kept me away from such an adventure.
Coincidentally, the timing was apt at work and home front and I said to myself
'the stars seems to be aligned' and if not now then never ! :)
The day was nearing and my colleague Amit was
also joining me on this trip. Six boys,
One car and a wonderful destination – the 2 weeks count down happened to whiz
by and the day arrived when we started off at 4:30 am. Early morning start was
presumed to be right choice to cover an approx. distance of 800 kms.
After breakfast, we hit the road – fantastic weather, nice songs to
accompany us, all worries left behind and chatting on a variety of topics
ranging from politics to office banter and some utter nonsense jokes. What more
could we ask for. Just then a bunch of cyclists – all in perfect gear crossed
us. The rhythm and discipline they followed were just amazing to watch. A
thought crossing my mind, I wish I could join !!
As we were nearing half the distance, a decision to take a
detour to Lonar Sarovar was taken. A saline lake created by a meteor impact
thousands of year’s back - exact no. of years still being debated by experts
though. As we wikipedia’d (new word invented probably !) through the details of
the lake, it was really amazing to know many facts about it. Technology coming
handy is such a boon today !! I would surely recommend visiting once for sure.
Sunbird @ Lonar
Temple @ Lonar
Heavy rains welcomed us as we sped off towards our
destination after our roadside lunch at a very hygienic dhaba ;) ! Most of us
were dozing off, however, Girish, who had been driving us since morning stood
awake throughout. Our GPS had been quite helpful throughout, however, heavy
rains, no/less lights/traffic on the road, we finally reached our hotel in
Tadoba around 10:30pm.
Everyone was very skeptical for our jungle ride the next
morning as the rains had been quite a spoil sport for us. However, we were able
to navigate through mucky roads in the jungle and spot bison, jungle fowl, hoopoe,
spotted deer and many more birds. But, no sign of the tiger, which we were
early waiting for.
L to R: Pushkar, Girish, Nitin, Kedar, Saurabh, Amit
Indian Gaur (Bison)
Brahminy Starling
Spotted Deer
Hoopoe
Monitor Lizard
Our afternoon jungle ride started off with bright sunshine.
Yes, this was surely good news especially with the overcast weather all along,
not good for photography as well. Spotting one my favorite bird – Asian
paradise flycatcher was very exciting, more so because it was guarding its nest.
Photographing this bird is quite a task as it’s never still. Sitting in a nest
provided us an opportunity to click snaps as many as we wanted.
Asian paradise flycatcher
White eyed buzzard
Birding was quite a treat during this ride. We were quite
content with what the jungle had offered and were heading back towards the
gates. Just then our guide stopped the driver and asked him to back up – he’d
seen a tiger hidden in the bushes. That was an amazing moment as we had given
up hope as in the morning ride. But here we were staring at the tiger and he
staring back at us. It was a Madkasur cub. Seeing a tiger so near to the
entrance gates was quite a surprise. We waited to get a good glance at the
great animal as it went back into the forest.
Madkasur Tiger
That night, we all experienced the most number of
lightening’s in a single night. It went for over 30 mins continuous – and we
had dared to walk out of the hotel towards the jungle gates on a pitch dark
night. That was surely something unwarranted for especially when we had spotted
a tiger pretty close to the gates in the jungle earlier in the evening.
Lightening [Photo Credit: Nitin]
The next day morning
ride again started with an overcast weather. The previous night surely had left
its mark on the weather, so weren’t expecting anything different. But this was
not what we were here for – we wanted to experience the Tadoba fauna to the
maximum. However, we were treated with black headed ibis, black ibis &
whistling ducks. The Asian paradise flycatcher was still protecting its nest
and kept enthralling everyone who stopped by.
Black headed Ibis
Black Ibis
Whistling ducks
Serene forest
Our last ride in the afternoon was booked from a different
gate for which we had to drive for 40 odd minutes to reach the gates. None of
us (who had been to Tadoba before) had entered the jungle through this NaveGaon
gate. Everyone was excited as this gate offers its entrance a longer duration
in the jungle. And true to its word – we were able to spend more time this
evening. Welcomed by the pied kingfisher, all had a gut feeling or were pretty
optimistic that this ride is going to be special.
Pied Kingfisher
The chausingha and lesser adjutant stork surprised us making it a worthwhile ride. The flame back woodpecker knocking on the trees and white breasted kingfishers also elevated everyone’s moods.
Chaursingha
Lesser Adjutant Stork
Flame back woodpecker
As we were roaming around, we got news from another vehicle
that there is a possibility of spotting a tiger. We waited patiently, which
paid off. P3 the tigress appeared from the jungle. This majestic animal never
stops to awe the bystanders. We got an opportunity to see P3 for quite some
time. In a very short time there was a traffic jam of all the vehicles roaming
around in that area to get a glimpse of this animal.
P3
Kedar had been desperate to photograph the Indian pitta.
Being a very agile and shy bird, it was very difficult to take any good snaps
even though we had seen it in all our rides. Finally, we were able to
photograph this beautiful bird.
Taking full advantage of staying back in the forest for
long, most of the vehicles had left to ensure they reach the gates on time.
While we wandered around a bit more, we were in for another surprise. The most
viewed tigress P2 a.k.a Maya came out of nowhere. We followed her quite a
distance clicking as many snaps as possible. I was able to even take a video of
her walking in her territory. I’d seen Maya last year as well, but it’s never
sufficient. The elegant stripes, the walk and fearless eyes always amaze you.
Maya (P2)
That marked the end of all our jungle rides and the next day
we started off early again saying our goodbye’s to the wonderful forests and
fauna of Tadoba. The mesmerizing sunrise ensured a safe journey back home ...
Thank you for taking time to read this ...
