30th of October – 2nd of November – Pench

Shortly after arriving, at around 1630, we went out on a short walk where we were mostly introduced to the local flora, but we also managed to see a few birds and in particular quite a few fairly large and beautifully yellow spiders sitting and waiting in the nets often spanning a meter (or more), often crossing the path above us. A couple of owls flew past us and returning to camp we saw fruit bats flying above. Huge mammals that first looked like birds until you got a second look and recognized the profile of Batman.

The following three days were scheduled with three morning drives and one afternoon drive. The second afternoon was originally free but 12 of us opted for an optional drive giving us 5 drives in total here. The afternoon drive that day wasn’t included as “our” part of the national park was closed that afternoon, so we went to a different part of the park which was still open. This part was mainly bamboo forest and the road was mostly narrow two wheel tracks, sharp turns and steep ups and downs. The morning drives started at sunrise around 0600 and we returned to the camp just before noon, and included in that drive was a break where we got to have a breakfast that had been brought with us from camp. For the afternoon drives we left around 1430 and returned after dark at around 1800.

 

Leopard.

 

The group was separated in 4 different vehicles and with no phone reception in the park and no radios the guides and drivers relied on word of mouth when we passed another vehicle on the roads. This meant that unless you were present where the action happened to be you would very likely not get to experience an encounter. It was therefore all about timing and luck. And due to the forest you couldn’t see far so it was impossible to see a gathering a vehicles (implying an encounter) as a pointer to where to go unless they were further down the road in front or behind you.

 

Asian green bee-eater.

 

Groups were set for the stay but driver and guide was randomized every drive so we never got the same driver and/or guide twice. Not knowing exactly why I’m assuming it was to avoid favoritism among the staff and not getting aggressively competitive at a wildlife encounter as you could risk getting in front of/pushing someone away that you’d be driving/guiding with the following day. The interactions between the cars seemed very cordial and helpful with regards to where the last sighting had been. And if you felt you got a bad driver or guide you would be left assured it was a one-off. Also the cars were given a random road to start off on so the driver wouldn’t know where he would be going until start. I’m assuming it’s in part to force to spread the load of the traffic to all the roads instead everybody taking the same path because the drivers have found out that’s the best odds to see wildlife. 

 

White-throated kingfisher.

 

The wildlife was quite diverse and tons of different birds, some of them being very colorful. Everything from small bee-eaters to large eagles and carrion birds. We saw a few turtles in the distance, insects and spiders. And the most interesting part: mammals. Mongoose, jackals, wild boar, deer of various kinds and guar (basically a very muscular-looking buffalo), and the most interesting in my eyes: leopards and tigers.

 

Mongoose.

 

We were lucky; on the first drive we saw a leopard frolicking in the bush in the distance for a while. It turned out it apparently was two not quite adults playing. After that, though, our luck plummeted off a cliff. 

 

Painted spurfowl.

 

I know safari drives. I have experienced done them numerous times. Hope for everything, expect nothing. So not finding tigers wasn’t too bad – after staying here we would still have 11 drives at the two next places we were visiting. What DID frustrate me immensely was that by the end of the second day the group’s 3 other vehicles had had amazing encounters with tigers. When leaving the park on the first afternoon drive our driver/guide were in a hurry (our worst paring during this stay by far) and we left the park a few minutes earlier than the rest. Had they taken it easy like the others we would have seen the two cubs at the side of the road we had been on only minutes earlier.

 

Plumheaded parakeets.

 

On the third day’s afternoon drive in the bamboo forest our chances would be high to see tigers as they love navigating in bamboo. We were the only ones in this part of the park and the guides we able to communicate by phone. There were birds but due to the higher denseness of trees here they were almost impossible to see. We saw nothing but a few deer and guar. We did have an encounter with a large mail guar; we were driving behind it as it was lumbering along the road at a comfortable distance. Apparently not comfortable enough – at one point it looked over its shoulder and gained eye contact with us for only a split second, and it was the briefest and most intense “I will fuck you up” I have ever felt. Apparently the driver agreed because he instantly decided it would be a good idea to turn around and find somewhere else to drive.

 

 

 Eurasian hoopoe.

 

 At this point our tour guide was getting frustrated on our behalf for not seeing a single tiger yet.

On our last morning drive we told our guide and driver (who turned out to be an absolute excellent pairing) that our focus was tigers. An hour later at around 7 we bumped into 3-4 cars that had stopped due to… tigers. Two 9-12 months old cubs sitting on the road ahead, and soon after the mother showed up from the bushes. As more cars showed up as they incidentally came this way there was at times frantic but surprisingly polite navigating back and forth to either follow them, getting better angles for the passengers (but without being too much of a bother to the others) or giving them room when they came closer. 10-15 cars on a barely 2 car wide gravel road trying to give each other space was quite the puzzle.

 

Tiger!

 

  

 

When the tigers starting disappearing into the forest one of the group’s other cars arrived to spend a few minutes with the last tiger before that also went away. Even their comment about spending time with a leopard and its three cubs couldn’t wipe the smile off our faces. Our tour guide was with them in the car and he was obviously very relived and happy, too. When leaving the area I thought we had maybe spent 20 minutes with the tigers but it turned out we had been there for a full hour.

 

 

 

 

We went hunting for the leopard with no luck, and hearing a rumor about another tiger also didn’t pan out, but at this point it didn’t really feel like it mattered.

We returned early to the camp around 1030-ish where we had breakfast instead of in the park before we packed, checked out at noon and left for our second stay, at Kanha National Park.