Blog 9. Of leopards and tigers and shortbread biscuits in the bush…
Day 7 – Wednesday 20th November 2019 – Panna
After a cosy night in our lovely cottage we had the luxury of a lie in this morning as the alarm sprang us to life at 05:00. At 05:45 we were gratefully supping masala chai and enjoying those lovely biscuits again up at reception as we were introduced to Jaipul, our naturalist. The ever lovely and I have an inherent fear of being on safari with an incredible sighting which we can’t see because the hotel has packed the viewing vehicle three abreast. So much so that we always check in advance. No worries about that here at the Sarai, their attention to detail wouldn’t allow it.
We walked in an excited torchlit procession back across the bridge to the gypsy to be introduced to Devendra (Deven), our driver. Gypsies are an open top cross between an old style Landrover and a WW2 jeep. Each could in theory carry up to eight people in three banks of seats. Here we had four, the driver and naturalist and two eyes open, ready for adventure tourists. We turned left onto the main road where a bridge took us over the ever-beautiful Kenn River. Even in the pre sunrise glow it was so, so picturesque and still.
At the gate to the reserve we picked up our park guide, Vijay. As a guide Vijay was as useful as a chocolate teapot but boy did he know how to check his phone every few seconds for messages. If there were none he would tap one or two out into the ether. It felt rude to intrude on his privacy. When we did intrude he clearly did not know the answer to our seemingly simple questions. Devan the driver often did and Jaipul always had a plausible response. On the way back to the Sarai, Jaipul explained to us that only gypsies could enter the national parks, and being accompanied by a park guide is madatory. We have found through experience the added value of mandatory guides can be variable.
The guide is there to ensure that no one breaks the park rules, for example getting out of the vehicle in an unauthorized place, agitating or feeding or influencing the animals behaviour or going into parts of the park which were not permitted. There is a law which permits park authorities to open only 20% of their territory to the public, the remaining 80% is closed to all but the park personnel, research workers and of course, the animals.
We stopped amid great excitement and a rushing for cameras…even Vijay was snapping away on his mobile phone. What fantastic beast had we encountered? Jaipul pointed to two birds on a tree. They looked like plain, ordinary Rose Ringed Parakeets. No, these were a pair of Alexandine Parakeets who normally only nest in the mountains. Here they were in a lowland location and the female was certainly in and out of the hole which they had made into a nest.
Excitement over we went in search of Tiger 51, as did everyone else, but alas no sighting. so onward to Tiger 41 territory at the top of the 2nd plateau. Again no sighting. On to Tiger 142’s allotted patch but still we remained tiger free. Deven pulled the car off the track and stopped. This authorised stop looked down across the cliff and into a river gorge, the favorite haunt of Tiger 141.
During the monsoon the water pours over the cliff. Now in November, almost the height of the dry season, there was barely a dribble from the plateau by the monsoon rains. As we peered down into the river gorge, we were treated to the sight of resting griffon and Indian vultures. And several slender billed vultures. On a tree far on the other side of the gorge sat my first peregrine falcon. Using the max 600mm of my Sigma lens I managed to get a reasonable shot….well with a good crop it would be, at present it was a small grey smudge in the middle of the frame. I went back to the Gypsy to get my 2x extender which would have doubled the magnification. By the time I got back the falcon had flown and for the rest of our sojourn we heard it’s hunting calls in and around the gorge.
Jaipul then announced it was time for breakfast. A table cloth was laid across the bonnet of our chariot. Fantastic Savoury rolls and stuffed paratha washed down with masala chai. We had what for us was the first of the safari shortbreads… delicious little crumbly, buttery crunches about the size of a 50p piece. Jaipul peeled an apple for The ever lovely and I which looked mealy but was in fact very crisp and quite delicious. I realised that Deven, Jaipul and Vijay were not eating despite there being sufficient for seven or eight people. After we invited them to join us they all tucked in ….Vijay especially homing in on the shortbread.
Feeding time over we were told there were toilets we could use…not men and women (or rather He and She as they are labelled in India) but unisex, one for pee and further away and virtually on the edge of the cliff face one for the poos. Straw walls, a narrow opening and bare ground inside…. Both The ever lovely and I ventured to use pee but shied away completely from the rank smelling poo house, still some 30 metres distant.
On the way back we saw peacocks facing off to langur monkeys, and then drove down to a rivulet with a ford. To the side, on a tree, was a white fronted kingfisher. And on the bank, half hidden behind a small bush, was a crocodile. The croc looked tiny but then on closer inspection it was deceptively seven or eight feet long.
All of a sudden bedlam broke out. Deven, Jaipul and even the laconic Vijay were in a state of agitation. The Langur monkeys were alarm calling…’Tiger?’ I enquired hopefully. ‘No, leopard’ came the trio of replies. Deven backed us up the road where the trees at the side of the road were now full of thrashings, leapings and howlings. With poor light and thick dense foliage we could see that not only were the monkeys trampolining about, but so was the leopard, so agile it was astonishing. I must have shot over 100 pictures but was not confident I had even captured one spot let alone a full view of our leopard hunter. We couldn’t stay any longer, the park closes at 11:30 and any late returners get penalised. How long to the gate? Ten minutes. What’s the time? 11:25….no worries. We hurtled back rushing past the teak, the river, what I considered to be the right turning and arrived exhilarated at the gate to a barrage of scowls and grumbles. Vijay leapt out in a huff…we made it by the skin of our teeth. A guide can get disciplined for exiting the park after closing time.
For the record the park opens at sunrise, closes at 11:30 and then opens again in the afternoon from 15:00 until sunset.
Back at the Sarai we were greeted by Joanna, a moist flannel and a drink of lime water. Refreshed, she led us to lunch in their garden where they try to grow most of the vegetables that can’t be sourced locally, beetroot being the only one I can remember by name.
Lunch was delightful brinjal (aubergine) bhajia, light lentils with a similar texture to poha*, potato curry (sabzi), rice and paratha x 2 and to follow the lightest lemon curd tart and coffee. Without my camera I was unable to snap the birds which graced our peaceful enclave. There was a coucal, a tailorbird and one which looked like a slender black starling.
*I like poha. It is, as I understand it, steamed rice which is flaked in some way a little like a large porridge oat. They are then spiced (some really hot) with a sprinkle of a few diced peppers, carrots, beans or similar. It is lighter and more flavoursome than rice.
The ever lovely headed for the river bank to write up her journal, whilst listening to the background ambience of the shimmering water drifting past. I took myself off for a quick sketch down on the riverbank before heading to the room to shower and snooze.
I woke up to the alarm, and as I was dressing a nice Indian lady knocked on the door to say that they were ready for the 4pm river safari.
Jaipul was waiting to walk us down through the garden and onto the bank of the river. The river is some twenty five feet below the main part of the Sarai. During the height of the monsoon the water almost reaches the buildings. There is a picture in reception of the bridge you walk over to get from the Sarai to the car park area. Both ends are underwater and only the middle rises out of the brown water like a turtle. The centre of the bridge is more than thirty feet above the ground level in the gorge it crosses.
The boat was a small flat affair somewhat reminiscent of a Cambridge punt. The propulsion was provided by a man who sat on the prow and paddled.
We chose Panna as it is reputed to have many bird species. These were too numerous to list, though for completeness you will find a list of all birds and animals seen after the last blog in this series. So if you are minded you’ll have to keep checking into my blog until the list is shared.(Pictured below a White browed Wagtail)
The water was so tranquil and the reflections were to die for. The paddle barely stirred the surface as we glided from one sighting to the next. The highlights were a flock of lesser whistling ducks (,who landed only 50 metres from us), a flock of woolly necked stork and an Indian Eagle Owl. At one point we had a speedy fly past, at close range, by a stork billed kingfisher…I just did not have time to capture anything with my camera other than a couple of blurs but I know what the blurs are.
On the power lines crossing the river were hundreds of swifts, swallows and martins, too distant for a decent snap. There was an endless stream of parakeets flying across the river away from the reserve towards Khajuraho. Apparently they fly the 11 miles to roost on the temples at night where the monkeys and macaques can’t get at them.
Whilst there was no discernable current we apparently headed back up the river. The glorious Indian sunset was forming behind the distant hills and at that point I think we reached Nirvana for the first time at this heavenly location. The moment will live with us for a very long time.
The last sighting was an Indian robin just as we walked off the river bank onto the path up to our room.
Back in the room we had time to refresh ourselves before dinner. I tried to download my photos from the day, excited to see what I had managed to capture. My iPad was full. No matter how many times I go away I always forget to clear down my iPad memory. It is a painstaking experience to remove them off line but I was able to discern the photo I had managed of a tiger’s pug marks (footprints) in the sandy road. Perhaps tomorrow we thought?
Another thing we never achieve before we leave for foreign parts is the synchronisation of the clocks on our various devices. In Namibia I had two cameras and an iPhone all gloriously out of synchronisation. The phone had now switched itself to Indian time (5 ½ hours ahead of the UK) but thankfully I only had the one camera this time. The ever lovely had three devices this time round. There is nothing more annoying than reliving your holiday memories moving from one destination to another only to return, and maybe even re return, a few moments later.
Suitably relaxed we made our own way down to the patio for dinner. We were to dine at 19:30. Over pre meal drinks we had a good long chat with Joanna. An enchanting dinner just for us, out on the patio under candlelight, warmed by the fire pit with blankets across our knees. Aubergine, tomato, steamed rice, paratha (2) and non-veg mince. Pudding was profiteroles – but I was truly stuffed with spicy goodies by that time. The ever lovely loved them and I seem to recall made a significant dent in my ration.
A couple of observations on Indian food:
- In India the chocolate has a very high fat content to stop it melting. Even mass produced bars like Mars, Snickers etc are made to “hot climate” recipe.
- Indian food comes as vegetable and non-vegetable. There is no reference to Meat, Fish, Vegetarian etc. The type of protein can be determined from the name for example dahl are lentils and gosht is meat (usually goat or mutton).
By the end of the meal I noticed my nose was running. Perhaps it is the grass I mused (it was not). I went to bed early just before 21:00 and the ever lovely wrote up her journal.
Join me next week as I ride with the Black Riders, before casually encountering a tiger…
Missed an earlier Blog? Read about it here