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.