Jungle Jaunt

Day 1: Arrival and First Safari

Tour participants converge at Bandipur by noon from various destinations and check in. After a brief rest, a scrumptious lunch beckons at 01:00 p.m. More rest will follow, and at 03:00 p.m., your Skipper will chair a mutual introduction session and brief you about the park’s natural history, other features and rules, set the tone for the Tour and orient you to the first ride.

At 04:00 p.m., we depart on our first safari of the Tour, acquainting ourselves with the geography of the park and enjoying the highlights on offer. Early fortune may produce the coveted sight of a cat and even otherwise, the bounteous floral and faunal riches of Bandipur should offer plenty of ‘target practice’ to prepare for more opportunities ahead.

Upon our return, tea will be served, and an hour later, we meet for the first photography session of the Tour. Following a fruitful day of exploration, learning and fun, we dine and hit the sack looking forward to more.

Day 2: Morning and Afternoon Safaris in Bandipur

An early wake-up call and tea will set us up on time for the morning safari at 06:30 a.m.

Cleaving through the nippy air and the deep woods, we savour the opportunity of making atmospheric images of any wildlife we may encounter. Early mornings are a wonderful time to look for big cats, for it is then that they are on the move. In the event of a fortuitous encounter, your Skipper will leave no stone unturned to ensure that you are in the best position possible to watch and photograph the subject of adoration, without undue disturbance to it.

Returning from the ride at 09:30 a.m., we enjoy a rejuvenating breakfast forthwith and then retreat to our cottages for an hour of repose. We meet again as scheduled by the Skipper for an interactive session before lunch.

After lunch and an extended discussion, a cup of hot tea will warm us up for the afternoon safari, during which we will pursue sightings and photographic opportunities of elephants, gaur, birds and the other beautiful denizens of the jungle, and as always, the possibility of a feline encounter lurks behind the curtain of fortune. A combination of timing and appropriateness of location can yield a memorable experience that is likely to never abandon you.

Another of our highly insightful and enjoyable interactive sessions ensues in the evening before we put our heads to our pillows at the end of another sublime day spent roaming the southern Indian jungle.

Day 3: Last Safari and Checkout

Starting early, we embark on the last safari of the Tour, keeping our fingers crossed for whatever luck awaits us in the final draw. Your Skipper’s knowledge of the Bandipur jungle is next only to the locals’, which allows him to team up with the driver in chalking out the strategy, watching the signs and listening for alarm calls to track predators on the last throw of the dice.

Following hopefully a productive ride, we return to the base satiated and after breakfast and the customary group picture shoot, we return to our abodes carrying many a picture in our hard disks and a wealth of memories in our hearts.

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