I had heard about Kabini since many years but always postponed visiting it thus far. Here on Team-BHP as well we have seen it covered extensively by many of the visitors. Finally this year in April we decided to visit Kabini. This is a travelogue of our Kabini visit.
Trip Planning:
Was looking for some place to visit for the May Day time period and felt this place would be ideal. We have a toddler who is 2.5 years old and so we have been avoiding the longer drives since he gets impatient sitting belted up in the Baby Seat. So Kabini seemed like a good place which was not too far away and we could also halt in between as needed given that from Bangalore one has to go via Mysore to reach Kabini.
The trip was planned from 27.Apr.2019 to 01.May.2019. We decided to stay a night in Srirangapatna at the Mayura River View and then proceed along to Kabini from there. The plan was to spend 2 nights in Kabini (28th and 29th) and then head back to Mysore on 30th Apr. Stay a night in Mysore and then head back to Bangalore on May Day. The breaks were added to ensure my son does not feel the drives to be too long.
Booking The Stay:
Initially I went thru some online reviews and booked Red Earth at Kabini for a night and also booked another night at Kabini Lake View Resort. Finally after reading about the exclusive access that Govt. Of Karnataka owned Jungle Lodges has on the Jeep Safari here on Team-BHP, I cancelled my Red Earth booking and booked a night at the Jungle Lodges facility in Kabini,
The Kabini River Lodge. The pricing for the Kabini is on the higher side and it costed Rs.21,000 approx. per couple for a night. My son was not charged additional as he is below 5 years of age. I have to admit that this is possibly the highest I have paid for a single night stay anywhere in India and so was hoping it would be worth it. To keep budgets under control, the second night at Kabini was booked at the Kabini Lake View Resort which worked out at around Rs.7,000.
What's Included: The charges for the Kabini River Lodge included stay in a room in the East Bungalow, Food which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner and also the charges for 1 Boat Safari and 1 Jeep Safari.
My Photography Experience:
Thought I will cover this aspect as well more as a disclaimer, I am not much of a photographer and have remained a wanna-be photographer for a long time now. I do not own a D-SLR but a Mirrorless Camera – the
Panasonic Lumix GX85. I have 3 lenses at my disposal, the 12-32mm Stock Lens, a 45-175mm Zoom lens and a 25 mm F1.7 Prime lens. The 45-175mm Zoom ( equivalent to 90-350mm in 35mm format) I felt should help me take some wildlife photography shots though I know that this has its own limitations.
The advantage though was that the camera itself comes with 5 axis In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) and the lens too has its own IS which when combined provides an excellent still shot which Panasonic calls the Dual-IS Mode. So, all the photos that I would share as part my post would be from the configuration that I called out here. There are of course some pictures that were taken using my Mobile Phone - these do have the watermark on them to indicate that the picture was shot on Mobile.
And the Trip Starts - Day 01: Bengaluru to Mayura River View, Srirangapatna
We started lazily in the afternoon on Saturday. The destination was to reach Mayura River View which is a nice resort located on the banks of the river Cauvery with access the river bank from within the resort. We had gone here once already before but we had planned to visit again as we enjoyed the calm atmosphere a lot. On the way to the Resort we stopped at a Highway Restaurant called "Ruchi Mane" and finished Lunch there. Post lunch we reached the Mayura River View Resort close to 4 PM.
Access to the River Bank from within the Resort
Coracle Rides can be taken from within the Resort itself
View of the River Cauvery - the sound of the water flowing is peaceful and serene
Landscaping & Greenery at the Resort
Some Birds at the Resort
More Landscaping
Lush Green Lawns
My Son running about on the Lawns
Restaurant with View of the River
The restaurant and its placement is a highlight of the Resort. They have built this at a height with an excellent view of the river. One can be seated with a good view of the river and have food seeing the river flowing and also hearing the sound of the flowing stream.
Walkway from the Restaurant
Lighting at the Resort in the Night
Addl. View: Lighting at the Resort in the Night
Restaurant with Lantern Type of Lighting
Close Up of the Lights
Restaurant Entry Sign
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangapatna Consecrated in 984 AD
Just 2 kms away from the Resort is the famous Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. This temple is part of the "Pancharanga Kshetrams" and is the first one of the five also called as the "Adi Ranga". The name of Srirangapatna for the town comes from this temple. We decided to visit the temple in the evening. There was not much crowd and we had a good visit to the temple.
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangapatna - Addl. View
After returning back to the resort we had dinner at resort and ended the day with a walk nearby.