Tiger Trifecta; Thirty Three sightings of Twenty Three Tigers in Ten and a half days

[wilddog]

Coming soon to a screen near you , a TR from @Atravelynn and @wilddog

 

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by wilddog

[Tdgraves]

All the “Ts” @wilddog?

[wilddog]

Indeed @Tdgraves I think it has taken us 2 weeks to double check/cross check our numbers and create this alliterative title.

 

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by wilddog

[Alex The Lion]

4 hours ago, wilddog said:

Coming soon to a screen near you , from @Atravelynn and @wilddog

 

 

 

I'm glad you only chose one photo for the opening act 

 

[wilddog]

It is early days @Alex The Lion😉 and I am not sure that ANY member would prefer lots of shots of Lynn and Ì, to those of the wildlife 

Edited March 31, 2023 by wilddog

[madaboutcheetah]

There it is !!!! Fasten your seat belts ….

[johnweir]

Sorry ladies 38 sightings of 28 individual Tigers and a ' Black Panther"' in 34 days.

I knew you looked familiar, our paths crossed in possibly Pench, Tadoba and Kabini. I seem to remember @Atravelynntaking a lot of time photographing a Kingfisher swallowing a frog possibly in Pench.

Look forward to your report. I should have made contact, apologies and regrets.

[wilddog]

1 hour ago, johnweir said:

Sorry ladies 38 sightings of 28 individual Tigers and a ' Black Panther"' in 34 days.

I knew you looked familiar, our paths crossed in possibly Pench, Tadoba and Kabini. I seem to remember @Atravelynntaking a lot of time photographing a Kingfisher swallowing a frog possibly in Pench.

Look forward to your report. I should have made contact, apologies and regrets.

Oh My God Yes. That frog caused a lot of discomfort to the Kingfisher but a lot of laughter for us.

 

No Tadoba for us

Are you 'one up'ping us already @johnweir!!!!!! .. Just get your TR ready and desist.

 

 

PS Not that I am getting competitive at all (oh Yeh?) but 34 days? we are only away 16 days or so 10.5 of which were on Game drives.

Edited March 31, 2023 by wilddog

[wilddog]

The background

 

Subsequent to my post in ‘where are you planning for 2023’. @Atravelynn contacted me in May 22 to alert me to the fact that @mtanenbaum was also interested in a trip to India.  Lynn had also been thinking about another trip to India at some point. Lynn has of course been to India several times previously; for me it was a return after 17 years and for Margo, the first time

 

And so it began

 

I knew of Wild World India through many trip reports here, I made the initial contact with them in May 22. Subsequently Margo and Lynn and I all shared the correspondence with Vivek. Lynns input was particularly valuable as she has travelled with WWI many times before.

 

Which Parks?

What time of the year?

Did we need photography skills support?

What did we want to get out fhe trip etc.etc

 

Tigers obviously, but for me, also Dohl (Wilddog), Sloth Bear etc. I was rather set on March '23 as I understood that was a good time for Mammals, and not yet too hot

 

Ranthambore came up in our early discussions as did Bandhavgar Kanha, Pench, Satpura

 

It became clear that both Lynn and I wanted to include Kabini, in the hope that we possibly might catch the black leopard, but at that time we were advised he had disappeared. Nevertheless, we both felt we would like to go.

 

Margo was still interested in the trip, but not keen on the Kabini section. No problem, she could join us for the first part of the trip in Northern and/or Central India and then depart.

 

Lynn also keen on the idea of a full day drives at some point. These are offered at both Ranthambor and Bandhavgar. After a bit of haggling between us, we agreed on Bandhavgar, Kanha, Pench, and then Kabini as an add on.

 

I think it was around this point when Margo felt it was not really what she wanted and decided to look at alternatives.

 

By this time the number of US $ were getting rather too numerous for my liking, so Lynn and I sought a compromise, or two.

 

1. Ditch Kanha

2. extend our time at Pench by eliminating another road trip

3. As Holi day took place on March 8^th, when no drives would take place in the parks, we opted to travel between Banhavghar and Pench on 8^th

4. perhaps we had best share rooms for some of the time.

 

As someone who lives on her own, sharing a room is not something I am accustomed to, and I think Atravelynn was a bit reluctant too. Nevertheless this was the only way we could achieve what we wanted without totally breaking the bank. And it worked brilliantly. (We are both stilll alive.)

 

Our final itinerary

3^rd                      Arrive New Delhi and overnight at Pride Plaza

 

4^th                      Fly from Delhi to Jabalpur and road transer to Banhavgar Jungle Lodge

5^th 6^th 7^th           Full day safaris

3 days safari

 

8^th                      Road Transfer to Pench

9^th 10^th 11^th        AM and PM drives

12^th                    AM drive

3.5 days safari

 

12^th                    Evening flight to Nagpur, drive to Bangalore, overnight Taj Bangalore

13^th                    Road transfer to Kabini

13^th                          PM drive

14^th 15^th 16th    AM and PM drives

17^th                   AM drive

4 days safari

 

17^th Back to Bangalore and flight home

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by wilddog

[wilddog]

At the moment I am just setting the scene for our report as Lynn is currently busy and will not be able to chip in immediately.

 

My journey to Delhi was straight forward getting a BA flight to Delhi and Return form Bangalore with my airmiles, which cut the cost by about 50%. However, to save hassle and avoid our train, tube and bus strikes I chose to drive to Heathrow, booking parking for the duration and a one night stay at the Radison Red, including an evening meal and breakfast. The food was awful and I paid £!2 for a (large) glass of Red wine)!! and then the hopper bus did not turn up. Nevertheless it was convenient

 

Lynn made her own arrangements from the US with a plan to arrive a day early to allow for some catch up time.

 

We arranged to meet in the foyer of the Pride Plaza on evening of the 3rd for a meal

 

@Atravelynnwill let you know about her journey and her day in Delhi, before we launch into the Bandhavgarh segment and a few photos.

Edited March 31, 2023 by wilddog

[johnweir]

 @wilddog I will wait until you finish, we visited some of the supposedly quieter parks  / reserves Jim Corbett, Panna and spent around 8 days in the Western Ghats. For a change we spent quite a lot of time on cultural visits Jaipur, Mysore etc. so our wildlife viewing days were significantly less than 34. Road time also took up several days and as you point out Holi. Tadoba proved to be absolutely wild, Tiger Wars. Just missed you by one day in Bangaluru at the Taj, we had 2 nights here and spent time Loris hunting. My comments were not competitive just a bit of fun.

[wilddog]

@johnweirah Panna. I was there in 2004. I know things went down hill after that but may be on the turn now. So I look forward to hearing about that later.

[Julian]

@wilddog@Atravelynn

 

Fantastic number of tiger sightings, looking forward to this report

 

Back in 2006 we had 38 tiger sightings of 16 different tigers in 8 days, 4 days at each of Kanha and Bandhavgarh. On the same trip we also saw 7 Asiatic lions including young cubs in Sasan Gir forest.

We were there in May - insane time to choose as it is so hot, but the camps had hardly any other people staying .

 

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Julian

[KaliCA]

Really looking forward to your trip report and pictures. Just in process of booking our first ever India trip with 19 game drives in 4 different parks, but only Bandhavgarh being the same as yours. The others are Ranthambore Kanha and Jim Corbett. Half culture and half wildlife with a lot of driving and two flights between places. 
We are apprehensive but also really excited to try safari in India. Planning for February. But first it’s back to Namibia, Botswana, SA, and Zimbabwe as self-drivers and campers. 
Hoping to learn a lot from your experiences! Don’t skimp on details like food and bathrooms….

Greetings from Katrin

[wilddog]

@KaliCAI will be doing a section on our accomodation, in each park, as we progress.

 

But in essence...

Since I was last in India the whole industry has developed  enormously.  

The Indians themselves are driviing this  market now,  as their interest in wildlife and wild areas has increased. 

 

This has resulted in quite luxurious accommodation, including the bathrooms, in the wildlife areas and superb catering. 

 

Neither Lynn nor I keen on overly spicy food but enjoyed everything (but occasionslly avoiding a very hot sauce), and no ill effects

 

European and US visitors are less prominent now, partly as a post covid effect,  but all the camps are busy.

 

Public rest rooms, out and about, are different from those in Europe and US but can be used perfectly safely.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by wilddog

[Julian]

5 hours ago, KaliCA said:

Really looking forward to your trip report and pictures. Just in process of booking our first ever India trip with 19 game drives in 4 different parks, but only Bandhavgarh being the same as yours. The others are Ranthambore Kanha and Jim Corbett. Half culture and half wildlife with a lot of driving and two flights between places. 
We are apprehensive but also really excited to try safari in India. Planning for February. But first it’s back to Namibia, Botswana, SA, and Zimbabwe as self-drivers and campers. 
Hoping to learn a lot from your experiences! Don’t skimp on details like food and bathrooms….

Greetings from Katrin

@KaliCA

You might want to consider adding in Sasan Gir Forest NP in Gujurat - the only place in the world where you can see Asiatic Lions in the wild, plus the park has a wide range of other Indian wildlife.

[KaliCA]

5 hours ago, Julian said:

@KaliCA

You might want to consider adding in Sasan Gir Forest NP in Gujurat - the only place in the world where you can see Asiatic Lions in the wild, plus the park has a wide range of other Indian wildlife.

Thanks Julian, I absolutely adore and love lions. I learned about this park and was happy to know lions still exist in India. For this trip, it is out of the way so maybe on a second trip. 

[KaliCA]

9 hours ago, wilddog said:

KaliCAI will be doing a section on our accomodation, in each park, as we progress.

That’s great! Looking forward to it. The closest we have been to India was a guided trip to Burma. Sometimes it felt we were back in the Middle Ages. So I guess, India has come a long way and for the good of the people. How was pollution in the big cities? Was thinking of bringing a few left-over COVID masks to wear against pollution and also on dusty game drives. 

[wilddog]

We were only in the cities occasionally and then in air-conditioned hotels. All transfers between parks were in air conditined cars and aeroplanes, so air pollution was not something we were personally concerned about.

 

We occasionally saw people wearing masks but that was probably due to covid concerns. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by wilddog

[madaboutcheetah]

On 4/1/2023 at 12:34 AM, johnweir said:

@johnweir_ So you were in Kabini too?  how did it go?

@KaliCA-  Also to add, in these sort of lodges if you want a break from the Indian menus, all you have to do is talk to the manager and I'm sure they can make you a nice western meal. Most of these places will have their chefs trained accordingly these days. From lovely salads to simple things like pastas or grilled chicken etc etc., 

Edited April 2, 2023 by madaboutcheetah

[michael-ibk]

Love the opening shot, and looking forward to seeing all 23 Tigers!

[offshorebirder]

Thank you @wilddog @Atravelynn and @johnweir for a very enjoyable thread thus far.

 

I look forward to following along what sound like two epic trip reports.

 

 

 

[Atravelynn]

On 3/31/2023 at 11:41 AM, johnweir said:

Sorry ladies 38 sightings of 28 individual Tigers and a ' Black Panther"' in 34 days.

I knew you looked familiar, our paths crossed in possibly Pench, Tadoba and Kabini. I seem to remember @Atravelynntaking a lot of time photographing a Kingfisher swallowing a frog possibly in Pench.

Look forward to your report. I should have made contact, apologies and regrets.

Oh my, we were both in the same place.  I also remember your vehicle at the frog and kingfisher event and I do recall seeing your face now that I am looking at it in the avatar.  The kingfisher was literally dancing as the frog struggled in its closing minutes of life inside the bird.   Looks like your trip was fantastic as well.

 

Adding your numbers and ours, though there is likely some overlap, should get readers thinking about booking a trip to India!

Edited April 3, 2023 by Atravelynn

[madaboutcheetah]

Lynn, I wonder if @johnweirwas in that vehicle with the Packers t shirt guy?   

[Atravelynn]

On 3/31/2023 at 11:26 PM, KaliCA said:

Really looking forward to your trip report and pictures. Just in process of booking our first ever India trip with 19 game drives in 4 different parks, but only Bandhavgarh being the same as yours. The others are Ranthambore Kanha and Jim Corbett.  Great birds and lots of elephants, plus the adorable hog deer in Corbett.  Half culture and half wildlife with a lot of driving and two flights between places. Looks like a well-rounded trip in a month with pleasant temps.
We are apprehensive but also really excited to try safari in India. Planning for February. But first it’s back to Namibia, Botswana, SA, and Zimbabwe as self-drivers and campers. 
Hoping to learn a lot from your experiences! Don’t skimp on details like food and bathrooms….  Food--As @madaboutcheetahmentioned, you can ask for less spicy and most of the places you'd stay likely cater to international visitors with international palates, therefore not too spicy.  @wilddogand I both thought the food was excellent.  We always had many different dishes, increasing the odds of finding something tasty.  The food was better than I remember from previous India trips 5-10 years ago, so I think there has been an effort to accommodate the tastes of visitors and locals alike.  I thought I would come prepared in case some meals might have more spice than I could handle.  I brought some packaged, unopened energy/granola bars that I zipped in a ziplock plastic bag.  Should have placed them in a sealed plastic container (like Tupperware which is airtight, not even the cheaper plastic containers that are not airtight) because a small animal gnawed through my zipped-shut suitcase to get at them, along with some medicinal tea.  The animal was put off by the foil pouch on the cough drops so those were safe.  My duct tape rolled on a pencil was put to use for the damaged suitcase.  I'm just glad this creature did not shred my clothes to make a nest or use the suitcase as a nursery and have a litter in it!  This piece of luggage made its final voyage to the dumpster once I got home.

Bathrooms--On the road transfers, the drivers stopped at restaurants and gas stations with acceptable facilities.  They knew where to go and could usually produce a toilet stop within 20 minutes of a request.  Western toilets and squat toilets were both available at these places.  Toilet tissue was rare.  Sometimes there was no place to wash so hand sanitizer is a good idea. Airports had western and squat toilets, usually no paper.  In all of our accommodations the toilets and bathrooms were like those you'd find in anywhere in the US with toilet paper, sinks, soap, towels, etc. 

 

At the parks the rules do not permit hopping off the vehicle for a quick pit stop.  In remote areas with no cars around, a brief stop sometimes could be made, but it cannot be counted on.  It seemed to be more strict than many African parks.   The rules were to use the toilets that had been placed throughout the park.  The general plan was to make a toilet stop during breakfast in the "Central Point" where all cars parked and the breakfast items were brought out on the hood/bonnet of the vehicle.  We returned to the Central Point for lunch on all of our full-day drives in Bandhavgarh and when we wanted a toilet in the afternoon in any of the parks. The Central Point in each park had a big lavatory for men and women with western and squat toilets, usually no paper, sometimes water.  There were also a few other places to stop for toilets in the park that were holes in the ground, no paper.  In the parks it is good to allow 30-40 from the request to arriving at the facility.  Whenever we passed a toilet spot, we usually went whether we had to or not so we'd be ready to wait at a waterhole or wherever for tigers, which could take a very long time.  Happy to answer any other commode questions here or as a personal message.

On 3/31/2023 at 11:26 PM, KaliCA said:

Greetings from Katrin

Set any apprehensions aside and concentrate on your excitement for your upcoming trip!

Edited April 3, 2023 by Atravelynn