As the jeep went in our expectations by views outside the actual park were of abundant wildlife. The path was through uneven and rocky terrain. The open SUV however made it through without much difficulty. The driver did possess quite some skill and manoeuvred the vehicle with ease. We did see a monkey or two as we went deeper. This was certainly one of the thickest forest cover I had seen in India. The one around Bhimashankar is close but sparse in comparison. We made it a point only to whisper when we had to and kept an eye in all directions. Unfortunately, we did not notice any animals other than a wild boar. Varsha, seemed to have a good eye and was the first to notice movement when we actually saw some animal.
At a river crossing one of the jeeps got stuck in the sand, as the area was slushy due to overnight rain. All vehicles came to a stop and visitors got down to enjoy the scenery and click some photographs. One jeep was parked below a half-fallen tree but had no occupants. Another, driver drove next to this one while another was towing away the jeep than was stuck. Just then the rest of the fallen tree came down crashing over the vehicle that had occupants in it. The horizontal bars over the jeep saved the driver and its occupants. All passengers were safe, one girl was slightly bruised. It just gave one an idea of how nature can put you to test with the least of warnings.
Our experience so far had reduced expectations for the rest of the safari. We noticed a peacock, on the way out and Nihar caught a glimpse of a huge lizard. We came out via the same gate that we had entered through. We were back at the hotel by 9 am and had breakfast. That's when we spoke to Daddy over the phone, wishing him a Happy 64th Birthday. Mom and Dad were on their Europe trip with Kesari Tours. The rest of the day until 4:30 pm was free for rest and other entertainment activities at the hotel.
Nihar swam in the pool for a while after which we played cricket in the lawns by the pool. It was fun playing cricket with Nihar. The joy of his face as he hit boundaries in an open outfield is something to be remembered for long. For once, all three of us took a nap after lunch. We were late to register for the Elephant Safari and the 8-9 elephants available for the 3pm and 5pm safari ride were already taken. The lack of sightings of wildlife in the morning had somewhat cast doubts in my mind about spending Rs 3K per person on this ride.
A quick snack and we were out by bus to a location to visit a temple in the nearby river. We then crossed the narrow river and hiked on the other side and back over a bridge. At the bridge we engaged in rappelling down the bridge over a rope tied to the bridge at one end and a tree by the river at the other end. For Rs 200 per person this was a fun activity.
We were back at Hotel Wood Castle at dusk where we made it up about 500 ft in a hot air balloon held in position by 6 ropes tied firmly to the ground in various directions. This seemed a bit expensive at RS 500 per adult.
Just before dinner was a small program where an artist some Hindi film songs and played the guitar himself. A few newly married couples danced to the nostalgic tunes. Dinner as usual was one with a varied menu. Many a family had been struck by stomach upsets and vomiting over the last few days. We thus kept our food intake to the optimal without consuming too much and also making the right choices in selection.
The I-Max movie titled "Man Eaters of Kumaon" had made it clear to me that getting a view of a tiger may take days in certain circumstances. Only a day or two back, people had seen tigers within the park. This was seen in the notes left at the register at the gate. The gate keeper mentioned that rain the previous night had driven the wild animals away from this area of the park. Thus ended an adventurous day that began with the initial disappointment of not getting any views of the tiger or any o the other exotic (acually out of the ordinary) wild life species.
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