India, part 8 March 2026

    This morning is our last safari drive in beautiful Pench National Park.  A.G. is our driver and Elizabeth is with us too. We haven’t traveled far when A.G. turns onto a side road and we see a few parked jeeps. We join the small cluster of vehicles and immediately see a beautiful tigress lying on a grassy dam. When we first arrive, she has her head up but soon she sprawls on her side. The tigress seems to go fast asleep, despite her human audience, as her paws twitch occasionally as if she is dreaming.

    A.G. insists that as soon as the sun rises higher the magnificent feline will become hot and she will get up to move to shade. We sit patiently waiting for the sleeping tigress to stir but nothing happens. In the meantime, more vehicles are crowding along the road, including a big tour bus filled with local people. A.G. tells us we can continue to wait or go and have breakfast, but again he insists the tigress will eventually move from her now sunlit bed. The three of us confer and decide that there are way too many vehicles now and we are satisfied with just seeing this beautiful cat as she sleeps. 

    Some of our group, have arrived by now and we motion to one of the closest jeeps, I think it was Mike and Aimee’s group, to come and park in our soon to be vacant slot. We have a close and great view of the tigress, and they are several vehicles back in the line of jeeps. Once they are in position to scoot into our parking spot A.G. begins to wind his way through the jam of vehicles. Getting by the big bus was not easy!

    After breakfast, A.G. decides to go back to see what the tigress is up to. About half-way back to where the tigress is we meet a long line of jeeps, so our assumption is that the tigress is no longer there.  A.G. flags down one of the jeeps from our group to ask them about the situation. They tell us that the tigress halfheartedly went after a deer after we left! Oh well, that is the way things go. After her failed hunt, she went to lay in the undergrowth across the open field from where she had been sleeping.

    When we arrive back to the place where the tigress is, A.G. and our ranger quickly find the well concealed cat. She is laying in heavy cover with her head in the air looking back at we humans.  I swear it isn’t ten minutes after we arrive when the stunning tigress gets to her feet and starts walking towards the pond. A.G. was positive she would go to the water and drink, but she walks over the dam and disappears. What a way to end our time in Pench.

   Once we exit the park our vehicle starts acting up. You could tell that it wasn’t getting gas as it would sputter and die. A.G. is able to nurse it down the road for a few miles but soon it is apparent we aren’t going to make it to camp. A.G. finds a tree along the road and pulls the dying jeep into the shade. We aren’t far from the camp, maybe a couple of miles so that is the good part. A.G. calls for help, thank goodness he had his cell phone, and we wait to be rescued. Well not Elizabeth who decides to start walking towards the camp even though it is extremely hot. A.G. doesn’t say no to her decision but tells her to make sure she turns right at the next side road which leads to our camp.   We don’t have to wait long, maybe fifteen minutes, for a man to come to our rescue. We switch vehicles with him and continue to the camp, picking up Elizabeth along the way.

   Paul and I clean up and get packed before lunch. We sit our suitcases out for the staff and take our backpacks with us. After a good lunch we load up for our five-hour drive to Satpura National Park. Oh boy, I can’t wait for the drive! There is no need for us to rush for a vehicle as Allwyn tells us we have six vehicles today, so no couples have to split up. Paul does spot Bonsei when we arrive at the parking lot and quickly claims him as our driver. Joy is riding with us which is great since it lets just the three of us visit.

    We drive through villages, but we also drive through a big city with heavy traffic. I don’t know the name of the city but there are motorcycles everywhere along with cars and trucks. I read on my tablet, so I don’t have to close my eyes at all the close calls we have in this city, (at least in my opinion there are a lot of them).

    At one point on our drive to Satpura, somebody in another vehicle needs to stop for the restroom before we get to the planned bathroom break. Lots of us decide to take advantage of the stop and use the restroom too. I take one look at the filthy stall and decide I can wait until we reach the other rest stop. I am not the only one that decides to wait! Joy and Paul aren’t as squeamish as me so go ahead and utilize this stop.

   We arrive at our camp Reni Pani after dark. After listening to the camp manager, which I couldn’t understand at all we are given our room numbers. Paul and I are in room twelve and our neighbors in number eleven are Ron and Linda. A staff member leads us to our rooms with the aid of a flashlight. The rooms are at the top of a hill and by the time we arrive I am puffing from the walk. To make it tougher there are places on the trail that have loose gravel, so you really have to watch your step. The rooms are huge with high ceilings, so it is more like a small house. Very nice.

   I heard an alarm call from a spotted deer around three a.m. and wondered what was moving through the camp. Our abode has a lot of timber around it so there could easily be a leopard or tiger in the vicinity.

    A staff member arrives just after five a.m. to escort the four of us to the main building. Going down the steep trail by flashlight is a slow process but we make it despite slipping here and there on the path.

    Here we are told that we can choose which vehicle we want so we get into the one Ron and Linda are occupying. It is a twenty-minute ride to the park gate. After the check in we have to load up in a boat to take us across a big reservoir which is only a two-minute ride. Once there we walk up the road to where the park vehicles are sitting. Ron, Linda, and us decide to stick together and crawl into one of the vehicles. Our guide is Frankie. In Satpura, we are told the tiger sightings are less likely, but the upside is we have a good chance of seeing a sloth bear.

    We drove some really rough roads and went down one steep hill that had me holding my breath and pushing on an imaginary brake. Things are pretty quiet. We see gaur, deer and Neelgai, (aka, blue bulls) which are an antelope, plus a giant squirrel. The squirrel and the blue bull are something we haven’t seen in the other parks.

    We run into Joy, Bob, and Janet who are looking at a leopard. It took us awhile to find him as he was laying in heavy cover in the distance. Eventually the leopard gets up and starts walking allowing us to catch some glimpses of him. No photo ops though. When the spotted cat disappears into the trees we move on and don’t really see much after that. At breakfast Joy tells us that they found the leopard again and it walked out onto the road! They obviously went in the right direction which was opposite of where we went. Good for them.

   After breakfast we stop at a small pond where a crocodile is sunning himself with his mouth agape. We also see a small herd of gaur resting in the shade of some trees.

    After a tasty lunch and a short rest, we load up for our afternoon safari drive, but we won’t be going to the National Park. This is Wednesday and the park staff gets the afternoon off, so the National park is shut down. Instead, we are driving through what they refer to as the buffer zone of the Satpura National Park. We ride with Ron, Linda decided not to go this afternoon. Our guide is a young man called Maggie; I don’t recall our driver or local rangers’ names.

   Many of the roads in the buffer/boundary area are very primitive and rough. We stopped at a couple of places with nice vistas. Ron even climbed up a rickety wooden tower so he could get a longer view at one place. Paul and I heard and saw the boards moving and creaking and decided we could see far enough from ground level.

   It became apparent early on that our assigned guide and driver were not into this drive. They stared straight ahead most of the time and often one of us would see a shape in the distance and ask what that was. Maggie would take a quick look and say that is a gaur or that is a deer. We did see a few new birds. Due to the rough roads and heat we told Maggie we were ready to go back to camp an hour before we had to officially be out of the buffer zone. That set well with our three guys, and they quickly drove back to the gate and on to the camp. Since we have had since wonderful guides and rangers up to now it was a bit of a disappointment. I suppose they wanted to have the afternoon off too.

   On our drive back to camp we stop and watch a group of farmers throwing sheaves of wheat into a thresher that is attached to a small tractor. What a dusty, hot job! I cannot imagine how the man and woman tossing the wheat bundles into the machine could even breathe.

   At supper tonight we found out everyone else in our group saw a mama sloth bear and her two big cubs shortly before they exited the buffer zone! We were able to watch someone’s video they took which was cool. The bears were snuffling the ground looking for food. I guess we should have waited a while longer before we went back to camp!

    Tomorrow will be our last day in Satpura then we will head back to New Delhi.

India, part 7, March 2026

    This morning Paul and I arrive at the headquarters by five a.m. and guess who is already there. Joy of course, plus a few other early birds. Joy tells us that she has made the decision not to go on the safari this morning due to some stomach issues. Joy says her problems aren’t bad but she doesn’t want to take the chance that things will worsen while on the safari. That is wise but still it would be tough to stay behind. Bob informs us that Janet is not going on the excursion this morning either as she too is having stomach and digestive problems. Darn it.

   Our driver is Aszar, (the spelling is a total guess) and he lets us struggle for a bit in trying to pronounce his name before laughingly telling us to just call him A. Z.  Elizabeth is riding with us again. It is a twenty-five-minute drive to the park entrance. We have no problems with paper work and are able to proceed into the park within a few minutes. We have a ranger of course, but I don’t remember his name.

     A.Z. ventures down various roads and we see a nice herd of guar, spotted deer and a Sambar deer. Perhaps the highlight was seeing a Malabar-pied Hornbill. Hornbills are definitely unique and this species is much larger than the Indian gray Hornbill we saw in the other parks.

   A. Z. stops to talk to the guide that Ellen, Bob, Ron, and Linda are with. They saw another leopard! They are the same group that saw the leopard in Bandhavgarh I think. That is incredible.

   We move on and A. Z. stops the vehicle in a few places where alarm calls are heard. Suddenly A. Z. takes off like he is driving in the Daytona 500. The three of us hang on for dear life for twenty minutes as our jeep careens down the road. The good news is we don’t meet any other vehicles and we manage not to fall out of the vehicle! We arrive at a small open grass land where six or seven other jeeps are parked. A. Z.  and our ranger find the tigress immediately and A. Z. maneuvers the jeep into a terrific position to watch the recumbent tigress. We are parked for five minutes when the stunning feline gets to her feet and begins striding towards us.

    The impressive tigress chooses to walk directly in front of our jeep and doesn’t even bother to look at us. She ignores the other jeeps that are facing us and are parked down the road a few yards. A. Z. tells us that the tigress has cubs stashed in the direction that she is walking. The guides are hoping she is going to gather the cubs up and take them to a water hole which is close by. I believe her cubs are seven or eight months old.

    We watch the massive cat as she walks into the trees and when she disappears from sight A. Z. drives to the water hole. We patiently wait for some time but upon hearing no alarm calls and when no tigers appear we leave the water hole to go eat breakfast. After breakfast we continue exploring the park but only see a few deer and monkeys.

   On our way back to camp as usual there are a number of interesting things to take photos of.

After a quick nap we go up for lunch and sit next to Ron and Linda enjoying another nice visit with them. Paul and I stay after lunch so we can catch up on “Words With Friends” games and emails but it is just too warm so we return to our air-conditioned tent. I know, what a couple of wimps.

    This afternoon we have a different driver, plus another man with the lodge who tells us to call him A. G.! He informs us that he was supposed to drive and guide but told Allwyn he needed a break from driving. So, A. G. will be our guide, and the driver will just drive. We learned a lot from A. G. throughout the afternoon as he is a fountain of information like all of our guides have been.

   We haven’t traveled far when we come upon a half-dozen jeeps peering into the trees at a leopard. A.G. and the ranger find the cat fairly quickly but it takes a long time for Paul and I to see it. For one thing it is a long way from the road, very camouflaged by some bushes plus lying flat on its side sound asleep. We aren’t the only ones that are having a problem finding it. Joy, Bob and Janet are parked by us and they too struggle to find the spotted cat. It is so far away that A.G. has to take my camera and try to get a few shots of the sleeping leopard with full zoom. I simply can’t hold the camera steady enough. Our driver goes around the bend and there we get a little better view of the leopard, plus the sleepy cat raises its head briefly.

    We return to the area where we first watched the leopard and sat there as A. G. tells us the napping cat will eventually get up and walk away. Well two hours later we do see a leopard striding near the tree but according to A. G. it is a different cat. He claims the leopard that was laying at the base of the tree moved behind the big, black rock and he saw it raise its head when this new leopard appeared several yards away. A. G. and the other guides think this is a mother and nearly full-grown cub that frequent this part of the park.

    A.G. directs the driver where to move the jeep, and we end up in a terrific position where we watch the leopard walking through the trees and underbrush. Granted we mostly just saw parts of the leopard as it stayed in heavy cover. A.G. would tell the driver to move down the road every few minutes and this allowed us to keep track of the sleek cat as it continued to move towards us. The leopard eventually disappears from sight, but we need to exit the park anyway. Since everyone needs to get out of the park the dust clouds are thick. Since we are leading the pack, we don’t have to deal with all the dust hanging in the air. Whatever ranger or guide spotted this sleeping leopard a hundred yards off the road in heavy cover must have phenomenal eyes. It was not anyone in our group that found the leopard.

    Tonight we have drinks and appetizers under a huge Banyon tree that is right by the main headquarters. After relaxing and visiting with Joy and some of the group we go up to the roof for our evening meal. Allwyn sat across from us and we had a nice visit with him.

    This morning we are with A. G. again, but he is our guide and driver. We hear alarm calls from various directions and A.G. keeps repositioning to where the last ones are heard but we find no tiger. At one point Paul decides to take a nap as we sit waiting hopefully for a tiger to appear as the deer bark out warnings.

   A.G. decides we might as well go eat breakfast early since nothing is happening, as far as seeing any tigers. There is always something to watch be it monkeys, deer, birds, or just enjoying the beauty of the landscape.

   A.G. drives to a dirt area near the gate for us to have breakfast. A. G. has to keep chasing a langur off who is intently looking at the food on the hood of the truck and occasionally creeps closer in hopes of stealing something. There is also a cat, fairly healthy, that wanders over and I take some of the crust of my sandwich, lead the cat away from the jeep and toss it on the ground. A.G. told me it was okay but not to try and touch the feline, which I knew not to do anyway. I fish a couple more pieces of bread from the waste can and get the kitty to follow me a little farther each time. After the third piece of bread, she is satisfied and saunters away.

    A man approaches our jeep after we have finished eating and the ranger gives him the left-over food. This is something we have seen in every park so far. I think it is great since there is always an abundance of food left and it would be a shame if it went to waste.

   As we leave the breakfast area, we spot Allwyn parked along the road a quarter mile away. He is urgently beckoning us to come. Before we arrive all of us spot a big leopard sitting on top of a black boulder. The large male gets off the rock before we arrive and walks into the trees. We get a few good looks at him but he is to far away for a photo. That is one huge leopard!

   A.G. takes us to a different area of the park where we drive around while listening to some funny stories he tells us. A. G. finds other things to give us lessons on such as the web of a signature spider and tells us the reason for the interesting web.

   Upon our return to the gate there are some very stern looking men in uniform and A. G. tells Paul and Elizabeth to tell the men that they have no mobile phones if asked. They check the pockets and areas of the jeep, plus A. G. must get out of the jeep and show them there is no phone in his pocket. Good grief. When we exit the park A.G. tells us that they were tipped off that the officials would be checking for phones as everyone was exiting the park. It appears that the man who picked up the leftover food took more away than just the food! We have to stop along the way back to camp at a small shop and retrieve the ranger and A. G.’s phones. Hilarious but not if they had been caught. Fines and suspensions would have been the punishment if I remember correctly.

    We stop in a village on the way back to camp and visit a grade school. There are students that sing a welcome song to us in two different classrooms. The kids were darn cute while singing heartily to we foreigners.

    We are off again mid-afternoon where we run from one alarm call to the next to no avail.  We do sit and watch one spotted deer as she sniffs the air, lifts her leg up and stomps, raises her tail in the air, all signs that she senses a tiger or leopard nearby. The doe slowly works her way to a small rock formation repeating all the aforementioned actions. No predator is seen but it was really interesting to watch the doe in action. Why I didn’t take any photos of this I have no idea.

    When we get back to camp, we learn that Linda, Ron, Ellen and Rick saw three leopards this afternoon. These people are leopard magnets.

   We had drinks and appetizers under the Banyon tree again. After we finish the staff lead us to a different Banyon tree for supper. They had the area lit with candles and lamps. It was just beautiful. We sat across from Linda and Ron again. We discussed the what we saw in the park today and just enjoyed each other’s company.

  After a morning game drive in Pench, we will be off to Satpura National Park, our last park of this so far phenomenal safari.

India, part 6, March 2026

   This morning, Paul and I still have Krishna as our driver/guide but another couple, Rick and Ellen, are riding with us. When we reached the gate to the Kanha National Park there was some kind of mix up. The people that check us in were not happy and Allwyn had to gather all our passports and turn them over to the gate keepers. There is a lot of conversation between Allwyn, our guides and the serious man that is checking us in. The man in charge of checking us in begins changing our seating arrangements. He carefully looks at every one’s passport photo and then studies our faces before telling us to stay put or move to a different jeep.

    Paul and I never had to switch jeeps so that was a plus. Joy was in our jeep at one point but then was told to get into a jeep with Elizabeth and Jay, the managers son. We ended up with Bob and Janet. What a game of musical jeeps!

   At one point during this mess, Krishna tells us that someone made a mistake, and I assumed he meant Allwyn. Later Allwyn came over, and if we understood correctly, a National Geographic crew had gone into the park without properly checking in. I guess the gate keepers decided to make up for their mistake by raising heck with us! We also learned that Allwyn receives the list of who will be riding with which driver and what zone we will be in the night before our safaris from the park authorities. So, this mix up on who should be in what jeep certainly wasn’t Alwyn’s fault. I wondered why we hadn’t been riding with Joy. It made sense to me that if we traveled to India together that we would be riding on safari together. Naturally the people in the park office who were assigning us to the jeeps would not know the three of us were together.

   Because of the mix up we are off to a very late start plus our jeep is the last of our group to get through the gate. Today our ranger is a young woman.

   We have been driving through the park for thirty minutes or so when a deer runs across the road and two spotted deer standing close to the road begin barking out warning calls. Krishna stops the jeep and all of us are peering towards the area where the upset deer are staring. The ranger looks behind our vehicle and calls out tiger. There is a young tigress standing on the road fifty or so yards behind us! The bold tigress must have been in the brushy undergrowth, and we drove right by her. Thank goodness for barking deer, our ranger and the fact that this beautiful cat decided to come out into the road.

    After the subadult tigress gives us a long look, she begins walking down the road before returning to the cover of the forest. Krisna turned the jeep around to follow her, and we could see the tigress peeking at us from behind a tree. She slowly began to creep away and before long we lose sight of her. You can’t believe how easily they can blend into the background. It is incredible that we have had a second tiger all to ourselves! I guess that late start paid off.

    Bob is an avid photographer and a great one at that. Krishna stopped for lots of birds because Bob wanted to photograph them. We were all happy to spend some time enjoying the birds. After looking at some of Bob’s photos I realize that my photos are pretty mediocre.

   Our breakfast stop is at the main ranger station. There is a huge arch that is made out of deer sheds which is quite unique. They also have museums in a few of the buildings so Paul and I take a quick look into a couple of them before it is time to leave.

   Krishna drives through part of zone one where we saw the tiger and then takes us to zone two. It is a long drive, but he wanted us to see the difference in the landscape. Zone two is very hilly and then the road drops down into a valley that is a large grassland. Very beautiful.

   We leave on our afternoon game drive around three o’clock, Krishna is driving and Bob and Janet are still with us. The check in at the entrance gate is normal thank goodness. A friendly young man is our appointed ranger. We drive around various roads in the heat and dust but there isn’t much activity. Krishna pulls up next to a meadow where several other jeeps are parked. Evidently there was a tiger spotted here by someone earlier today. As we wait with the crowd, a spotted deer with a tiny fawn warily approaches the road. The doe begins to cross the road when a vehicle comes driving towards her, very fast, and we and others wave frantically for it to stop. The doe panics and turns back into the meadow, knocking the fawn down on the edge of the road and stepping on it as she runs off.

     I am certain the little fawn has been hurt since it is lying stretched out on its side. We stare at the tiny fawn with concern but after several minutes the baby deer raises its head then pulls its legs up under its belly and curls up tight. The doe has stopped running thank goodness but makes no attempt to return to get her baby. Krishna says that the doe will probably wait until the human audience is gone to come back for the fawn.

   Krishna decides to check out the area where we saw the young tigress this morning. He tells us that she is the daughter of a tigress they refer to as the shy one, as hardly anyone ever sees this adult tigress. He said the subadult we saw this morning is just the opposite of mom and has no fear of humans. The tigress we saw this morning has a sister and they are still reliant on mom so of course the two cubs stay together. I believe the cubs are one and a half years old.

   We are driving in nearly the same place we were when we encountered the tigress this morning when three Sambar deer come running out of the forest. They are not emitting any alarm calls but their necks are bowed which we are told is a sign of stress. As we slowly drive down the road, we are scanning the trees and undergrowth for tigers. Before long the ranger calls out “tiger”.  Are you kidding me! Krishna and the ranger patiently explain and point to where the cat is. Finally, the four of us catch glimpses of the tigress as she walks slowly through the brush and grass growing under the trees. I have no idea how our ranger saw that cat in all the cover.

   The four of us are excited and talking to each other, when Krishna tells us to quiet down as he and the ranger believe the tigress is stalking something. Suddenly we hear the rustle of dried leaves and grass and soon a herd of wild boar explode out of the tall grass into an open area with a tigress in hot pursuit. The youngster chases the wild boar as they run across the road into the forest and quickly disappear. Krishna tells us that this is the sister to the tigress we were watching.  It all happened so fast that there was no chance at a photo. Not that it even crossed my mind. My mouth was wide open in amazement, and everything was a blur anyway!

  The other cub has now walked into the tall grass, and she stops to look around several times. It is as if she can’t figure out why her sister didn’t wait for her before launching the attack on the wild boar. We get a few good looks at her despite the dense cover and then she lays down. If you didn’t know where she was you would likely never see her. Eventually she gets to her feet and walks back into the trees and soon disappears from sight. This encounter has left us all shaking our heads in disbelief at our good luck today.

    As we finish our afternoon safari, we come upon a jackal eating a fawn. The small canine has a large wound in his hind leg which looks like it could possibly have been inflicted by the tines of a deer antler. The wound doesn’t seem to be bothering him much but maybe that is because he is concentrating on eating his kill.

    On the drive to the gate, we all talk and laugh about what an incredible day we have had. Krishna tells us that we are the only ones that saw tigers today, I assume he meant of our group. I feel kind of bad about that but know if the tables were turned, I would be happy for the people that saw a tiger or leopard that we didn’t see. Oh yeah, we did have a group of people see a leopard that we didn’t see in the last park, and I was tickled for them.

   Tonight the staff has lit up the parking area for our supper. It was beautiful and the food, (outside of a couple spicy dishes), was very good. I am not sure anything can happen for the rest of our trip to top our experience that we had with the tigers today.

    This morning is our last game drive in Kanha. We are with the same people and driver as yesterday. We don’t get very far into the park when we come upon a slew of jeeps that are lining both sides of the road. In this park you can only sit in one place for ten minutes, then you must move at least a hundred yards. The park people can monitor this through gps so the drivers have to abide by the law. It is a good rule as it gives everyone a chance for the better viewing spots. We finally give up and move on as there is no sign of a tiger, though we do return several times to check but with the same result of no tiger to be seen.

    In a different part of the park, we hear alarm calls and it is in the area where a tigress and three cubs live. We stay there quite some time too, moving every ten minutes, then finally leave to go to the restroom stop. The rest of our group are here too, and we all have our breakfast.

   Krishna drives us back to camp and we all tell him how much we enjoyed having him as our guide. He was personable, funny and knowledgeable. I really liked this park, and the lodge was great too.

   After lunch we head for the parking lot to load up in the transport vehicles that will take us to Pench National Park. Paul and I agree that he should get to the area as fast as he can, so we don’t get split up again. When I arrive Paul motions me over to a vehicle. Paul has claimed Bonsei as our driver, the man that drove us from Jabalpur airport to Bandhavgarh. Joy gets in with us too. That is a relief.

   The drive seems less hectic due to less traffic I suppose. We are driving through farm country, and the ripe wheat is just beautiful. There is some corn too. We pass through small farm villages where we have to dodge chickens, goats and cows. The kids wave and say hello to us and we return the friendly gestures. The final part of the drive to Jamtara Wilderness Camp is on dirt roads and the one that goes to the camp is very rough.

   Our lodging here at Jamtara are big tents and I mean big. The interior is roomy and beautiful. I love it. This camp is also managed by a woman. We hurriedly clean up and then we are escorted to a flat roof top, where Allwyn talks about the animals found throughout India. Another man gives a presentation on Pench National Park. They also showed camera videos of tigers visiting the camp this month. That is why you must have an escort to your tents when it is dark.

   We sit next to Ron and Linda at supper and really enjoy their company. We have visited with them a little bit before, but this is the first time we have had a good visit. They are really nice people as all of our group seem to be.

    Looking forward to exploring Pench National Park tomorrow.

India, part 4

Up early and in our vehicle by six. Allwyn is our driver/guide, and I believe Elizabeth is still with us. Allwyn goes back to the grassy fields where we looked for the tigress and her three cubs yesterday. I should mention that the guides pinpoint the area where a tiger might be by listening to alarm calls that spotted deer, langur monkeys, and sambar deer make if they see or smell a tiger. Allwyn stops the vehicle every so often so he and the ranger can listen for alarm calls. We have also learned to recognize the anxious cries from the animals. Particularly those made by the spotted deer.

   When no alarm calls are heard, we continue driving on various roads. Allwyn turns off on a side road where there is a dozen jeeps parked ahead of us. Some of the jeeps are situated further down the road facing the group that we join. There is a large gap of maybe thirty yards between the two clusters of vehicles. Obviously, there is a tiger somewhere. I hear and soon spot an elephant crashing through the brush in a small gorge to the right of us. The patrol guy is yelling on occasion and soon we catch a glimpse of the tiger in the undergrowth.

   Before long the elephant patrolman “herds” the tiger out of the trees and the beautiful cat amicably strolls across the road in the gap left between the safari jeeps. He disappears quickly into the forest. Well, that was cool.

   Yesterday I suspected that the elephant patrol guys weren’t really wanting to get a close look at the tiger for health reasons but were trying to force him into the open. After this encounter there is no doubt in my mind that the elephant patrol really is herding cats for the benefit of tourists! Amazing when you think about it, that a tiger can be driven by an elephant. The question for me, is it right?  Perhaps the answer is yes because they need tourists to come to the tiger reserves. It is tourist money which helps save the tigers and help the local economy. If the visitors report that they saw no tigers will tourists continue to come to the tiger reserves?

   Since we are in the back of the pack, getting a photo of the tiger without a human in it is not easy. I believe Joy and her jeep companions were in the front row, so they got a great look. No phone use allowed when in a crowd so Joy couldn’t get a photo of the young tiger. Joy’s old point and shoot camera she brought to use instead of her phone broke, I believe the first day we got to the park. This tiger turns out to be one of the cubs that are still “legally” with their mother.

    After our tiger encounter, Allwyn takes us up to see the recumbent Lord Vishnu statue situated at the base of a hill in the park. Paul and I visited this place on our last India adventure, and the site is as impressive as we remembered. The statue is sixty-five foot long and carved from a single piece of sandstone rock. This is the only place in the park where you can legally leave your vehicle, except for rest room areas. There are a set of steps that lead to the incredible Indian sculpture which is believed to date back to the tenth century. We are the only people here, so this adds to the peaceful solitude of the sacred place.

 After enjoying this extraordinary place, Allwyn begins the hunt for more tigers. We go to park by a waterhole along with other vehicles but leave after a short period of time. We drive along a road and see a couple of jeeps sitting alongside the road. The guides are pointing towards a grove of trees bordering a field of tall grass, obviously trying to show their guests where to look. Allwyn speaks with the guides, and they say there is a tigress in that area. I actually get lucky and see her for a brief moment as she walks through a gap in the trees. Paul and Elizabeth missed her quick appearance.

   There are elephants close by and since Allwyn leaves and drives back to the water hole I suspect our guide suspects what the elephant drovers are going to try and do.  We wait patiently while several other jeeps come to the pond, sit a few minutes and then leave. Soon we hear and then see an elephant in the trees on the far side of the water hole. Before long, the sister to the male tiger we saw yesterday, walks towards the water hole. For a minute we think the magnificent tigress is going to go to the water and drink, but she just walks along the pond and then retreats into the cover of the trees. We have a great vantage point for this tiger encounter plus there isn’t a huge crowd of tourists. We have a leisurely drive back to camp enjoying the deer and other wildlife along the way.

We do not eat breakfast in the park this morning but return to camp and have brunch. We enjoy omelets and other side dishes. When we finish eating, Paul and I go back to our room and finish packing. We take our luggage out and give it to a couple of guys who will take it to the transport vehicles.

   Paul and I make our way to the headquarters to await instructions from Allwyn for the next leg of our adventure. In the meantime, the staff brings out a birthday cake for Carolyn and we sing happy birthday to her. The cake was delicious!

   After we all finish eating cake, Allwyn informs us that our drive to Kanha National Park will take around five and a half hours. Yikes, although there will be incredible things to see along the road, I am not looking forward to another round of driving in India. Once Allwyn has finished talking, everyone heads down to the departure point to claim a vehicle. Paul and Joy are visiting the restroom before we leave so we three are the last to arrive in the parking area. Oh heck, there are five vehicles that hold the driver and three passengers. Our group has six couples so that means one couple must ride in different vehicles. That would be Paul and I! I am a little unhappy but there is nothing to be done about it. Paul and I have to do some trading out of our backpacks so we both have our water bottles, tablets and our seat cushions. I crawl into the backseat of the jeep and find my companions are Mike and Aimee. Our driver looks really young!

    Mike is a storyteller and I listen to some adventures that the couple have had. Okay, no way would I do some of the things they have done! After about an hour of listening to Mike, I have also been watching the traffic we are driving in. We have had some close calls which have elicited some audible gasps from me. I pull out my tablet and begin reading my book, so I don’t have to watch the road. I stop reading whenever we drive through a village and try to take pictures of the colorful life along the village streets.

    It is getting dark when we reach Kanha Jungle Lodge. I learn from Paul that they were nearly in a wreck! A car was passing a truck, and their driver had to go onto the shoulder to avoid being hit. Paul was riding with Linda and Ron. I think all of them were pretty scared and who wouldn’t be! After talking with Linda, I think the road trips and the way the people drive here, scare her as much as it scares me.

   There are staff waiting for us in the arrival area to greet us and gather our luggage. We are given our room number, and a staff member leads us to our room. The young man that accompanied us, shows us where the light/fan switches are located among some other helpful instructions. I am so tired that I tell Paul I am not going up to supper. Paul has them bring me a light meal, soup and a couple of small chunks of chicken. It is plenty. Paul doesn’t linger after eating as I would guess no one does because everyone is tired. Our room is nice, but we realize we have no air conditioning. Surprisingly, the room is comfortable with just a ceiling fan.

   We will have the same routine in Kanha as we did in Bandhavgarh. Up early, eat some porridge than off on our first game drive in Kanha. I am excited to see this new park.

India, part 5

    After a decent night’s sleep, finally, Paul and I go to the dining area where Joy as usual is already there along with a few others of our group. How early do these people get up?

   Paul and I serve ourselves porridge and seeing no juice we ask for some. The server disappears and after ten minutes or so comes back with two huge glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice. We feel terrible as we assumed the man would just go get the boxes of juice they gave us at our bush breakfasts at Bandhavgarh. I force myself to drink all of the juice after the fellow went to all that trouble, but it wasn’t easy to do.

    Paul and I again have Elizabeth in our jeep and our driver is Krishna. Krishna has a happy personality accentuated with a big smile. We also are accompanied by the managers son, Jay, of the Kanha Jungle Lodge. Our first three lodges on this trip are owned and operated by the same family who are related to the man, Kailash Sankhala, who made the push for tiger reserves staring back in 1956. I believe Jay is a great-great grandson of Kailash.

   We pick our local ranger up along the way to the entrance of the park. Soto introduces himself and he too is smiling and laughing as he climbs into the vehicle. Once we enter the park it isn’t long before our three guides hear spotted deer emitting alarm calls in the vicinity of a large grassland area. The Sambar deer that are near us are definitely on alert too but not calling.

   After sitting patiently with nothing happening, Krishna decides to check another area where we see deer running but not necessarily because they are frightened. Again, no tiger shows itself, so we head back to the large meadow area. Once we arrive, we see a huge number of jeeps lining the road. Krishna maneuvers us into a great spot where no one is blocking our view. A massive tigress is striding through the field right towards us and eventually she walks right by us! The stunning cat steps into the road and walks down the road for several yards. Krishna hurriedly turns the jeep around and we end up right behind the nonchalant tigress, following her at a comfortable distance.

    The big cat leaves the road and enters the meadow that is on the opposite side from which she came. There is beautiful light playing over her striped body. When we run into Joy later, she tells us that their jeep was the first to find the tigress. I believe she was laying down when they found her. Lucky them to see her without the traffic jam.

   We see a lot of deer and besides the Spotted and Sambar deer, there is a Swamp deer found here which is an endangered species. Kanha is one of the few places where these deer can be seen in good numbers. Swamp deer are cool to watch as they completely submerge their heads under the water to graze on whatever is growing on the bottom of the ponds.

    Krishna and Jay are knowledgeable about everything so we are enjoying listening and learning from them. Not that I will remember most of the education they are giving us! They also are good about stopping to let us enjoy all the animals we encounter. We sit and observe a Langur monkey and her baby that Krishna says is three or four days old. We watch the baby, (man they have big ears), as it plays, stares at us, and scratches his rear end, making us all laugh.

    Krishna drives us to a rest stop where our guides set the breakfast on the hood of the jeep. There is one dish that has some type of vegetable coated in batter and deep fried. There are a few fried green beans laying on top. I ask Krishna if this food is spicy, meaning the batter-coated vegetables. He replies that they aren’t quite as hot when they are deep fried. I decide to forgo them and opt for the green beans. I take a big bite and chew half of a green bean. Holy smokes literally, I wonder if flames are coming out of my mouth. My throat catches fire and soon my chest even feels hot plus my eyes are watering. I can’t remember who informed me that what I was eating was a green chili not a green bean. In my defense these chilis look just like green beans! I eat some of my sandwich and drink juice and water so eventually the burning sensation calms down. I can’t taste much; I hope my taste buds recover.

   On our drive after breakfast, Krishna was telling a few funny stories about some of his clients making us all laugh. I told him he had a new story to tell about the dumb American woman who ate a green chili because she thought it was a green bean. We are all laughing and Krishna states I told you it was hot. Which makes us all laugh harder.

    When we return to camp several of us, including Joy, take a walk that leads to the river with Dimple, Jay’s mother and the lodge manager. Dimple talks about various things including weaver ants which are amazing. Basically, the ants make their homes by “stitching” leaves at the end of a tree branch together. The river view is lovely, and, on the way, back Dimple shows us a couple of places in the fence where tigers crawl through and stroll through the grounds of the lodge, usually at night.

   We leave for our afternoon safari with Krishna, but I don’t remember if Jay is with us or who our assigned ranger is. I haven’t mentioned how dusty the roads are, so when there are a lot of jeeps driving the same road most of us have a handkerchief or mask over our nose and mouth. It is a good thing that they have laundry at the lodges for a very reasonable price, because our clothes are covered in red dust by the end of the day.

   This afternoon Krishna takes us down various roads, but we don’t see a lot of wildlife. I think it is too hot. We do have a mongoose cross the road, but he is too fast for me to get a photo. When we are heading for the gate, there is a humongous gaur lying next to some water, chewing his cud. Before we reach the park gate, Krishna gets a call from someone telling him the tigress is out in the open. Krishna races back, and I am not kidding when I say he races, to the grass field we were at this morning. The light is very dim, but we see the tigress, strolling along a fence in the distance. A good way to end the day.

   If memory serves me right, and anymore that is questionable, Joy and her group were among the first jeeps if not the first jeep to find this gorgeous tigress again.

    Tonight Dimple shows us a film featuring her great-grandfather Kailash Sankahala, that talks about his drive to save the tigers in India. Some of the film shows the brutality of the British in slaughtering tigers when India was under there rule. I couldn’t even watch some of the carnage. The film made you appreciate the determination of Mr. Sankhala which covered decades to save the Bengal tiger in India.

   Tonight we are dining outdoors where the staff has lanterns hanging everywhere. Paul attempts to take a photo of the beautiful setting but all he gets is a bright glare. A nice ending to another wonderful day.