Nightmarish. Probably this is not an appropriate word. I don't know how to explain. Suman, had warned me about this earlier. Being a lover of the wilderness, probably it didn't matter much to me. But it surely was a torture for my wife & daughter.
The temperature had soared by this time and according to me was hovering near 37 - 38 C. Sun was harsh & beating down. We returned back to the Bijrani Forest camp. It was deserted.
Now, everybody does not take the full day Jungle Safari. All the other jeeps that had only permits to enter in the morning headed out of the jungle. An another person who had booked a full day Safari and I with family were the only ones who stayed back. Since we came into the camp first, we got to occupy the only canopy available there.
The thatched Canopy
Can't the Forest department do better? They earn so much from the tourists who visit these National Parks. The least they could have done was to provide a Hall or big room inside the FRH for people like us to relax. Funnily, one couldn't go out of the jungle to your hotel to rest & relax and come back at 3 pm. The permit would become invalid. WHY? This rule for sure needs a change.
Under that canopy it was little relief. Hot winds were searing the face. Since the packed food stuff was not allowed, we had to make do with whatever that was available with this eatery.
The Eatery
While my daughter settled for some noodles, wife had Butter toast & eggs. I had simple Butter toast & Coffee apart from chilled Mineral Water.
I had carried a volume of Jim Corbett's book and tried spending time reading it and dozing off and on. It really was difficult to spend time. Every now & then we looked at our watch.
I hardly expected any wildlife to be seen in this heat, but was in for a surprise. I saw a movement from the corner of the eye and saw a Fox crossing the electric fence and coming towards the garbage heap of the camp. I was wondering what he would find there. A water tank complex stood between the animal & me. I picked my camera rushed to the complex and hid myself behind a pillar. The fox emerged and waited a distance before the heap looking intently. I was perplexed as to what it was looking. Then through the lens I saw a movement. It appeared to me as a rodent. Aha, so the fox visited this garbage dump to hunt for the rats.
The pictures shall explain.
Ready to Pounce The Look
Then after some time I saw this beautiful stag approaching. He however could not cross the fence. Captured him too in my camera. Came back satisfied and sat again under the canopy. Saw this avian.
Cheetal Stag Moving away The Bird
There are two resident elephants at the FRH for the guests who stay there for elephant safari. The mahout & his family too stays in the quarters. These two kids of the mahout family came to us and my wife struck a conversation with them to pass time. One of them is a girl and the aunt of the boy. I leave this to you all to guess the gender..
Mahout's kids
Finally it was 3 pm and the ordeal was over. The guide & the driver who had vanished somewhere, appeared out of nowhere and we were ready to roll. Learnt one more thing. If you stay at the FRH, you can go into the forest at 5:30 am giving you a lead time of over an hour before the other visitors come in. Similarly in the noon, if you stay at FRH or have a full day safari, you get a half-an-hour lead before the crowd comes in.
We went to some other unexplored parts of the jungle. Big cats move out either at dawn or dusk to hunt. Anticipating that we drove to some secluded area, waited, heard for alarm calls. Nothing. Except for the bellowing peacocks & the jungle fowl no sound whatsoever. Reached a Machan that overlooked a vast grassland, Daughter climbed up, while the Jeep's drive Deepak waited intently looking at some spot. Since I had nothing much to do, took some B&W pictures.
Sun Peeping Through the Slit in the Tree The Machan Grassland Deepak - Jeep's Driver
Inside the Corbett, lots of small streams of water criss-cross. They are called "Sots".
Sot is the local name for a seasonal stream. While traveling across the park you may cross several of these bouldery dry streams. Though most of them appear dry and lifeless, they are very important for the Park ecology. Animals depend on these sots for their drinking water requirements for a good part of the year. There are some sots in Corbett that are perennial, important ones being Paterpani, Laldhang, Kothirao, Jhirna, Dhara, Aam and Garjia. Since water is a limiting factor, these perennial sots provide water to wildlife during pinch periods. Many of these sots are covered with thick growth of evergreen shrubs and bamboo clumps which form ideal shelter for many animals including the tiger.
Aam Sot To be continued....!!