[abirnale]

Some wise soul said this: there is no such thing as work-life balance. You only need to navigate between work and life!

I was scheduled to visit Chattisgarh, steel town - Bhilai for work. There was initially no option for travel by road but with some effort, I made that as an option! And the rest was all easy!

The goal was to travel onwards on weekend, return on the following weekend with a leisurely visit to some wildlife sanctuary in between. Kanha being farther away from the route was ruled out - Tadoba and tipeshwar were two easier options to choose. We been to Tadoba earlier this year, hence picked Tipeshwar as my choice.

The parks typically open on Oct 1st and the online bookings for Oct 15 onwards are preferred. This year, for Tipeshwar, MahaForest website opened up on Oct 3rd itself! A trusted contact at https://safaribuff.in/, got me two safaris at Tipeshwar for Sunday! Tipeshwar is located on the boundary of Telangana and Maharashtra. Its a relatively smaller sanctuary and has good number of tigers. Tipeshwar is famous for being the home of tigress Avani, on whom the Vidya Balan starrer 'Sherni' was loosely based.

Alright, here is the summary of all you need to know about Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary and planning a trip for Safari there:

About the TWLS: https://www.tipeshwarswildlife.com/ [This is not an official website]

There are two gates: Mathani and Sunna. Sunna is closest to the NH44 - just about 2 kms from highway. In the Sunna village, there are some Farmstays, Resorts as well as homestays. The nearest town to seek stay options would be Pandharkawada.

Booking Safari online is cheaper than offline. The offline Safari's are subject to availability and requires you to carry your IDs, fill a physical form and submit along with cash. The online website to book Safari for any WLS in MH is: https://safaribooking.mahaforest.gov...booking/index/

There is a regular booking and there is a Tatkal booking at some cost. Booking includes everything - permits, guide, gypsy. You only need to pay for the Camera at the time of entry. Mobiles are not allowed to be used in the park.

The farm-stay I was booked into by the Safaribuff was Junglee Bageecha - https://maps.app.goo.gl/eW8KtcP7qk1vM9h79 This place has about three or four spacious rooms with AC and Geyser. They have generator backup too. The property has a nice open area and sit-outs, hammock/ hanging chairs and chairs outside two rooms. Its fun watching the birds in the property. Food is good and service is descent.

Below are some specific details that might be of interest to readers:







Here is the summary video of all sightings:

https://youtu.be/O_yH2er2UcQ?feature=shared

I did two safaris in total - Sunday morning and evening. The morning Safari was eventful while the evening was super dry! So essentially this trip is quick and easy to sum up in next post along with pictures

[abirnale]

The forest comes alive early in the morning. After the monsoon rains, its very pleasant and beautiful to simply roam inside the jungle on a safari, let alone sightings. if you are the forest safari vehicle in the park to enter, the road in front of you without dust is worthy of a frame! Since the park has just opened to public and the tall green grass is everywhere, the sightings are little harder yet pleasant feeling being there.

There are a few famous tigers/ tigresses in this forest - 4mark, Daisy, Talabwaali, Archie, Zanjeer are some of the known names. Daisy has cubs too. Archie had given "darshan" on Saturday and everyone was going after her, our relatively newbie guide - Sagar advised us to search for Daisy. I did not object. The gypsy driver we had was not an expert one - he couldn't even easily change a flat tire, let alone driving and positioning vehicle with a vantage point for pictures!

A lot of routine birds we spotted. We kept circling in areas where guides thought tiger could be spotted. After hearing a news that the Talabwaali Tigress is out on prowl in her lake area, we rushed to that side. On the way, we sighted a pack of wild dogs - the most relaxed bunch I ever noticed in the jungle! These guys were just lazy today - not moving away, not trying to hide or run away. They just sat at one place and stayed slightly active. As the luck would have it, Talabwaali tigress was headed straight in tho this pack. Tigress was walking inside the forest, away from the safari path. We could only have glimpse of her - like a yellow dot moving in the bushes! When she noticed the dogs, she trying to intimidate and chase them away, never came to road! The dogs without the fear just kept moving around her - it took good 10 minutes of this hide and seek game and then finally the pack and tigress went even more deeper in the jungle.

This is the exact moment, were realise, our gypsy has a puncture! talk about luck - the tigress is on the prowl and here we are needed to head back to safer spot and change tire!

Anyway, I got only the glimpse of tigress, a good footage of wild dogs and some good bird photos - satisfied and happy, I returned. This is my first visit to this WLS. It would be worth visiting there again in February or March - grass would have turned dry and tigers would move towards the prey and closer to the open areas.

Enjoy some of the pictures clicked during safari:

Morning ride in jungle is always beautiful. The misty roads, cool breeze and green all around makes you feel the vibes!











This "Dhondya" snake probably searching for food in the roadside stream!



A lot of common and uncommon birds:





























The roads were filled with such spiders and their webs - the light passing through them was a different feeling! Amazing how they setup the web in the middle of jungle safari paths hanging above the 8-10 feet of height!



This pack of dogs created a good nuisance for Talabwali tigress making her stay inside the jungle:





While some were alert as well as relaxed, there was this guy was super sleepy!

[abirnale]

And to conclude, no thread is complete without my workhorse and milemuncher #TheRedSparkle:

At one of those Dhabas:



Beautiful jungle view:



Sunset on NH44:



The roads more travelled:



The roads less travelled:



Inside the Farmstay property:



Evening sky is so clear, just to watch it the at night when lights are out would be fun.



Watching the sunset sitting on the porch while sipping the evening chai!



Thanks for glancing through the thread! hope this was a quick and pleasant read! See you again with another #TheRedSparkleStory soon.

[KarthikK]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Air Cav]

The farm-stay I was booked into by the Safaribuff was Junglee Bageecha - https://maps.app.goo.gl/eW8KtcP7qk1vM9h79 This place has about three or four spacious rooms with AC and Geyser. They have generator backup too. The property has a nice open area and sit-outs, hammock/ hanging chairs and chairs outside two rooms. Its fun watching the birds in the property. Food is good and service is descent.

From the above as you have mentionedas bageecha Homestay, I would be grateful if you could share some details of the homestay. I have been thinking of visiting Tipeshwar but have not come across a decent looking place to stay except a mighty expensive resort which I did not find worth for a short stay.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by Air Cav

From the above as you have mentioned as bageecha Homestay, I would be grateful if you could share some details of the homestay. I have been thinking of visiting Tipeshwar but have not come across a decent looking place to stay except a mighty expensive resort which I did not find worth for a short stay.

Here you go:
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bgTuJEawHsoZ1gWq8
Book Via: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...MthmA/viewform

The google maps has a lot more pictures of the place in case you want to see them. The Farmstay is within a km distance form the Sunna Gate. The supervisor Akshay is from the Sunna village and Owner is based out of Hyderabad. Both are very much reachable and friendly to talk to as well.

If you need the number of the owner, PM me please.

[bblost]

Lovely travelogue.

Originally Posted by abirnale

Some wise soul said this: there is no such thing as work-life balance. You only need to navigate between work and life!

These words are GOLD.