Early in May, I was feeling a little cooped up and felt like taking a few days break. It wasn't possible on an immediate basis, with some personal responsibilities coming up, as well as a trip to Kabini which was planned earlier (read about that
here (Kabini | After a long gap)). So it would have to be the first week of June. It was peak summer and the heat showing no signs of abating. The initial idea was to head for the hills, and none in South India would work because of (a) the predicted early onset of the monsoon and (b) the crowding in those places is unbelievable. Called up my friend in Gurugaon to check if he was free during the same time frame and having confirmed that, it was mutually agreed that we will go to Corbett. He had been there some time ago and quickly did the hotel and safari bookings. We weren't able to get Dhikala zone permit as it was already too late for that. But for me, it didn't matter since this would be my first visit to Corbett. And what a visit it turned out to be!
Flew in to Delhi the previous day, stayed over at my friend's home and started early. We took the standard route to the resort via Hapur, Moradabad, Kashipur and Ramnagar. Roads are very good throughout, except for a few kms near Moradabad where some work is in progress.
Nothing much to report about the drive, we were in a Hyundai Alcazar which is quite a good car. Feels a bit underpowered for its size and in Sports mode it just revs high without much resulting power. The automatic gearbox is also very reluctant to downshift after 4th gear, I'm not sure if any other Alcazar owners have felt this. I kept having to manually downshift to keep the revs down. Other than that, very smooth and very comfortable car overall.
The Riverview Retreat Resort
We checked in to this lovely resort around 1:30 pm and quickly headed for lunch in their restaurant. The food here is very good, we never went out anywhere else for food. There are a ton of eating places right outside the resort and on the road to Ramnagar, the nearest town of any size. Here are some photos of the resort, the property is quite beautiful and green even in this heat. The temp when we checked in was hovering around 40°C.
The Kosi river flows right next to the resort and the bar deck is located on the banks of the river. It was too hot to enjoy sitting there at this time, but I can imagine this being a wonderful place to relax when the heat has gone and the river is flowing full.
Towards evening, it had cooled down a bit (read 33°C) and we were able to step out on to the river itself.
After some cold things to drink and a hearty dinner, we retired for the day in anticipation of our first safari. They start pretty early here, pick up from the resort is at 5:00 AM. So we did turn in around 10:00 pm to get a good night's sleep.
The first safari, Garjiya zone
We are picked up promptly by our driver at 5:00 am. We are going to Garjiya zone, which is only ten minutes driving distance from the resort, so we reach there pretty quickly. The park gates open at 5:30 am, so we have to wait for about 15 minutes. While waiting, I see a Red Vented Bulbul sitting on the fence just in front of me. Nothing special, very common bird, seen in most cities too. But this opportunity is too good to miss.
We head into the park and immediately pick up fresh pug marks of a female tiger who has walked on the path maybe half an hour earlier. We are following these marks and we come across a wild boar and its little one dashing across the grass.
A shy Barking Deer is eyeing us timidly from a
naala. The forest is pretty green, even in peak summer. Evidence of abundant ground water being available throughout the year.
An elephant herd is grazing in the distance and the only way I can capture the immensity of the landscape is to try a panorama on the DSLR. Basically, you shoot several photos in sequence vertically and let Photoshop do its stiching magic while post processing. This pano is made from a set of ten photos, taken left to right in sequence.
A not so common River Lapwing is moving about on the path, looking for early morning food. IUCN lists this bird as "Threatened". It's more common cousin is the Red Wattled Lapwing which is seen near almost any water body.
Another Barking Deer, this time it is much closer and out in the open. They are extremely shy animals and disappear at the slightest disturbance. Needless to say, we didn't disturb it much!
A Paddy Field Pippit, another common bird that looks very much like a sparrow, but thinner and slightly larger.
While driving around, I spot a Serpent Eagle flying by with a freshly caught frog in its mouth. The D500 is amazingly fast to acquire focus and retain it on a fast moving object.
A Golden Oriole is up high in the branches, we track it through its calls and finally spot it quite a distance away. This is a crop of the frame at 500mm.
And then we come cross the colurful Indian Pitta, also called the
Navrangi in Hindi because of the nine colours on its body. We can see only about five of those from this angle, the reds and oranges are more on the front.
Notice the red ant near the bird's right leg? Maybe it bit the bird, because it flew away almost immediately after I took this photo!
A White Indian Paradise Flycatcher. There is a brown version of this too.
A Rufous Treepie. When there are no tigers to be found, I tend to shoot anything that moves! Especially birds.
We return from the safari with no other sightings. The pugmarks in the first few minutes are the nearest we get to seeing a tiger. As a consolation, I find a beautiful tiny Purple Sunbird at the resort, as soon as we get off the vehicle.
The second safari, Jhirna zone
The afternoon safari starts at 3:00 pm. It is 45°C in the shade. I'm sure it is close to 55°C out in the sun. Intolerable heat. We debate skipping the safari altogether, but decide to experience this mainly so that we can have a tale to tell. We are very sure no tiger in its right mind will ever step out into the sun. My friend has forgotten to pack a full sleeve shirt, so we make a hurried stop at a cloth store in Ramnagar. This is the best we could get there. That's me on the left.
The cold water bottles given by the resort turn hot half an hour into the safari. I don't mean warm water, I mean hot. I'm unable to even touch the metal bars on the Gypsy. I worry that my camera gear will melt internally, but nothing happens to it. They are built tough, these pro grade equipment.
As expected, this one is a complete washout in all respects, we don't see anything of note. Not even elephants, let alone tigers. Most animals have better sense than we do! But there are always some interesting things in the jungle to photograph. Like this almost fully eaten Langur hanging from the branches above. Our driver thinks it is a Yellow Throated Marten that has finished off its meal and abandoned the carcass. It isn't a very fresh kill either, looks like it is a few days old.
At a watering hole, there is an Emerald Dove and a Black Headed Bulbul having a drink together.
A whole flock of Yellow Footed Green Pigeons roosting on a tree. Someone completely ran out of ideas while naming this bird! He simply described what he saw literally!
We return to the resort with parched throats by 7:30 pm and urgently order some cold refreshments as soon as we get off the vehicle. With nothing else to do, we have an early dinner and turn in quickly hoping we'll see at least a glimpse of a tiger in the morning.