22.02.2019
My flight landed perfectly on time in Nagpur and my bag arrived quickly. Initially, I had planned on taking the local bus to Chandrapur and then Moharli, but decided differently and went for the prepaid taxi counter. Finding the local bus stand and then hoping a bus would go right away and also catch a timely connection to the village of Morhali would take much time and I did have my first safari scheduled for this afternoon.
There was no ola or uber going to outstations outside the city here, so I had to book with the airport taxi service – and they knew it … They charged Rs 3000 for the 150 km. I had to pay half of that at the airport and the balance on arrival to the driver. In addition there was a Rs 175 return toll payment for the taxi on the highway and Rs 100 forest entry to actually get into the village. Oh well.
But the taxi was comfortable and fast. The main highway south was good, but once we turned off towards the national park and the village of Moharli, the road was more deteriorated. But we reached Moharli after 3 hrs around 10:30.
I had prebooked a room at Hotel Tiger Inn at MakeMyTrip and it looked as if I had chosen the best option in the village. The hotel was a brand new several floors high building in the center of the village. Fortunately, I could already check in and move in my room, which was very spacious and comfortable.
Once I had settled in I had a siesta until 12:00 noon. It had been a short night and there was not much else to do in the village other than safaris in the national park. My Indian SIM did not work here, there was no network reception here in the wild – at least not for the one I used. But they had good WIFI down in the lobby of the hotel. There was a restaurant in the hotel as well, but I did not feel like lunch yet. I wanted to check out the village first.
Taking a walk through the small settlement in the midday heat made me thirsty … I asked at hotel reception, where I can have a beer – Oh nowhere! This is a dry area! – You mean no alcohol? No beer? – No alcohol. It is a dry area! – Are you sure? Beer is the best thirstquentcher in this heat, you know! – Maybe I can organize you beer for tonight, if you want! – Yes please! 2 beers! – OK, Kingfisher is Rs 400 for the big bottle. – No problem!
There was not much in the village other than some guesthouses, home stays and a couple of resorts. I had initially booked Tiger resort on booking.com, which had been more expensive than Tiger Inn. When I walked past there I did not regret cancelling that reservation and booking the slightly less expensive, but brand new Tiger Inn, which did not have any reviews yet. Definitely a good choice. There was also a Food Plaza near the park entrance gate. The restaurant was totally deserted, but when I walked in all of a sudden waiters got busy and hurried around to accommodate me. I had a Fresh Salty Lemon Water – no Soda available around here – and ordered some Vegetable Noodles. The food came quickly and was very good, but way too much and I could not finish it. It was very cheap here, too.
When it turned out that I was on for the 3rd Brahmaputra Cruise Tour as well, I had started thinking what to do in the break in between – quickly I had come up with the idea to go somewhere to see tigers. I had tried once before in Mudumalai National Park and Wildlife Reserve in Tamil Nadu in 2017 – without success, though. This time I was tending to Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, but my peeps in Assam had told me to come here to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. Most of Indians and international tourists as well associate great tiger sightings with Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Ranthambore or Jim Corbett tiger reserves, but when I talked to hardcore tiger lovers and wildlife enthusiasts – like my peeps in Assam are – they said that Tadoba is the best place and it is possibly the place where “The Jungle Book” in today’s era could be scripted.
Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is located in Chandrapur District of Maharashtra and is Maharashtra’s oldest and largest national park. Created in 1995, the area of the Reserve is 625 km². This includes Tadoba National Park, created in 1955 with an area of 116 km² and Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary created in 1986 with an area of 508 km². Tadoba is taken from the name of the God Tadoba or Taru, worshipped by the tribes who live in the dense forests of the Tadoba and Andhari region, while Andhari refers to the Andhari river that meanders through the forest.
Annual monitoring and camera trapping between February and July showed that the tiger population in Tadoba and its buffer zone is stable at 86 individuals, with 58 in the forests immediately outside the reserve. Aside from the Bengal tiger, Tadoba Tiger Reserve is home to other mammals including Indian Leopards, Sloth Bears, Gaur, Nilgai, Dhole, Striped Hyena, small Indian Civet, Jungle Cats, Sambar, Barking Deer, Chital, Chausingha and Honey Badger. Tadoba Lake sustains the marsh Crocodile, which was once common all over Maharashtra. Reptiles here include the endangered Indian Python and the Common Indian Monitor. 195 species of birds have been recorded. The Grey-Headed Fish Eagle, the Crested Serpent Eagle and the Changeable Hawk Eagle are examples of raptors seen in the park. 74 species of butterflies can be found here as well.
Knowing that safaris have to be booked online in advance, I had done some serious research on the matter and had come up without a booking, because the official website does not accepted foreign passport or payment details … I know that from my visit to Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat to see the last Asian Lions 2 years ago in 2017. Back then it was also impossible and I just went to the Park Gate and begged. A helpful guide there pointed me to the Forest Officers bungalow and told me to go there and ask permission. That I did. They made me wait for an hour and then I was granted an audience with the officer in charge who spoke no English, but had gotten word already of what I wanted. He made some grumbling noises while checking my passport and visa and then picked up the phone and presumably called the gate office. He then gestured me to go back to the gate. When I reached there, they already waited for me and waved me into the back office where the gate officer in charge had his desk – he spoke English – and he told me I was granted a specially VIP permit which is usually reserved for government officials. But since none were coming at the moment, I could have a permit. Yippee! Of course I had to pay cash and for the entire jeep plus guide, permit and camera fee – back then and there it came up to Rs 7800 per safari. I did 3 safaris in total back then – every time after a safari when I again had not seen a Lion I had walked back into that office with a sad face, put more money down and just said that I wanted to do it again the next day. They always laughed and thought I was crazy. After 3 unsuccessful safaris that helpful guide from the first day told me to try the Gir Interpretation Zone – also called Devalia Wildlife Park – Canter Bus Safari on my last morning there, instead of shelling out another Rs 7800 for a safari with no guaranteed Lion sighting. They had no sighting in the last few days, so it might not happen on my last day either. I did listen to him and took a tuk tuk to the Wildlife Park a few kilometers away and for a fraction of the fee I took the Canter Bus Safari. And I saw at last some of the last Asian Lions – mainly because the interpretation zone was widely fenced off and a spotter jeep went ahead to find the lions in the vast expanse.
So, after that experience I had hoped to be able to do the same here in Tadoba – sneak a permit. I e-mailed the Divisional Forest Officer maybe a month before my arrival asking for my options and complaining that foreigners could not book online. I was lucky that this DFO was a very nice man, could write excellent English and was promptly answering e-mails apart from being very helpful. He did tell me there is absolutely no chance of booking jeep safaris last-minute at the gate – especially not on a weekend. Approx 4 weeks before my arrival, the dates I wanted to book were already sold out – weekend! – and only 3 days before a date the Tatkal – last minute online booking – would open and nobody knew how many bookings would open then. But since I could not book online myself, that did not help me much and he could not do anything for me either. What the DFO did do was reserve me 6 Canter Bus Safaris for the duration of my stay starting today in the afternoon. The Canter Bus had 22 seats and costs only Rs 400 per seat plus Rs 250 camera fee. He assured me with 6 safaris I would have the same chance of seeing all the wildlife like on the much more expensive jeep safaris.
I did a lot of research and also wrote many e-mails to different resorts asking if they could book Tatkal for me or – better even – let me share jeeps with their guests. But either they did not reply or they wanted horrendous amounts of money for their services. Again the DFO stepped in. After many e-mails going back and forth he told me, he knew somebody that would book me Tatkal – if available – without extra fee, just to make me happy. I had contacted that Mr. Shubham Dhimole of Tadoba Tiger Valley Resort and he agreed to try to book for me once the Tatkal opens. He actually had succeeded and scored 2 afternoon jeep safaris for me. Now, those were for the next 2 afternoons. I had confirmed my Canter Bus reservation for the 4 other safaris with the DFO.
After lunch I showed up at Moharli Gate, which is the main gate for the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, around 13:45 and presented my passport. First there was some confusion – the lady officer there did not understand that I had made a Canter Bus reservation with the Divisional Forest Officer. Some back and forth and helpful translations of other people waiting and she finally found it in her whatsapp lists and soon I had my ticket for the first Canter Bus Safari – Rs 650 including camera fee and seat # 1 on bus #8160! She said to wait by the gate, it would start maybe 14:30. I briefly walked back the 500 m to the hotel for some more WIFI and then waited with other people – no foreigners, all Indian tourists – by the gate. It was very hot here in Tadoba and I had to go to the Food Plaza just in front of the gate and bought myself 2 small Mango juices. They gave me the bottles straight out of the freezer and those were more slush than juice. So good! I needed the sugar and the cold.
Eventually something was happening – everybody got moving and we got on the bus. A Canter Bus is an open top bus for wildlife viewing. It is quite high, but not gated up like the busses in Siberian Tiger Park Harbin were – I guess, since there it was more like a zoo, they had to close up the busses completely. Here in the National park everything was open. My seat – not sure if it was the actual seat number I had or the sequence of the ticket – was right in the first row behind the driver. I was not sure if it was a good seat, but remembering the Canter Bus from Gir Forest, where I had the same seat, I sat tight and sure enough it was the perfect seat for me!
In Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve mobile phones are strictly prohibited following incidents of selfie-taking Indian tourists hanging out of the jeeps to take photos with and of tigers. Now there was a metal box lined with padding for each jeep or canter bus and all mobile phones had to be deposited there. The box was locked with a big padlock and stayed on the jeep or bus, but the key was kept at the gate with the officer on duty. The thing on the bus was, that often people forgot to put their mobiles on silent and that box kept ringing and beeping until we reached the core zone and reception faded. The key stayed at the gate, so no chance to open the box and stop the annoying noise.
Nobody asked me for my mobile, so I left it in my backpack. It was not working anyway, absolutely no reception here. I was the only foreigner on the bus and they probably thought I would not take selfies anyway.
At 15:00 the bus was packed to the last seat and my first safari started. From Moharli Gate the route followed the paved road only for a few minutes before turning off onto a gravel track into the dense forest. There were 2 forest guides on board – one woman in the front and one man in the back – both as wildlife spotters. The driver was as good in spotting. Tigers do not come out on the road during this time of the day due to the heat. They are found in watering holes – the guide said.
The first circuit was through the forest and along the northeastern shore of Telia Lake. We already saw many Spotted Deer, Sambar Deer and some Hanuman Langurs – no big cat, though ….
The Chital (Axis axis) – widely known as Spotted Deer or Axis Deer – is a species of deer that is native in the Indian subcontinent and was first described by German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, the species is sexually dimorphic – males are larger than females and antlers are present only on males. They are active throughout the day. Their upper bodies are golden to rufous and completely covered in white spots. The abdomen, throat, insides of legs, ears and tail are all white. We saw many oft them, they were most everywhere. And they were not at all spooked by the bus or jeeps.
The Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor) is a larger deer that is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, insurgency and industrial exploitation of habitat. Therefore we did not see as many as of the Spotted Deer, but there were still plenty here in the National Park. They are much bigger than the Spotted Deer and are nocturnal or crepuscular. The males live alone for much of the year and the females live in small herds of sometimes only 3 or 4 individuals.
Finishing the circuit around Telia Lake we reached the asphalted road again which seemed to be the main road through the Tiger Reserve. We had to pass a secondary gate to reach the inner sanctum of the National Park. While the guides signed the bus in, the majority of the passengers went to use the facilities – it seems that Indians are no different from Germans in that matter. It is the herd instinct … one starts going and everybody else follows … I stayed on the bus.
There was a bunch of Hanuman Langurs playing around the buildings. Hanuman Langurs – also called Gray Langurs, Sacred Langurs or Indian Langurs (Semnopithecus) – are Old World Monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent. They are fairly terrestrial, inhabiting forest, open lightly wooded habitats and urban areas on the Indian subcontinent. Most species are found at low to moderate altitudes.
These Langurs are largely gray with a black face and ears. Typically all North Indian Gray Langurs have their tail tips looping towards their head during a casual walk whereas all South Indian and Sri Lankan Gray Langurs have an inverted U shape or a S tail carriage pattern. Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on the ground and the other half in the trees.
Having reached the core zone, the bus still kept following the paved road and sometime later turned off onto red gravel tracks again. The forest was relatively dry, red earthed and dense. All of a sudden – we had not seen many other vehicles yet – the driver started speeding … everybody was being thrown about in their seats when the bus flew over the bumpy track … The driver turned into a very narrow path through a bamboo forest. We all had to lean in so not to be hit by the bamboo branches. He mumbled something like – Maybe Tiger! Tiger! – We were maybe 45 min into our safari, but did not have time to get excited … all of a sudden the bus popped out of the bamboo thicket and just ahead of us were jeeps and busses clustered together. Our driver almost had to do an emergency stop as so not to crash into the last vehicles.
He squeezed the bus into the jam of jeeps and busses – I counted 30 jeeps at one time – I think the maximum number of jeeps allowed into the park per safari from all 6 gates in total is 36 – 3 Canter Busses and a Forest Bus. Pretty much everybody who was in the park at this moment was here in this particular spot. That is the difference to some other National Parks in India – while for example at Gir Forest National Park specific routs get assigned randomly per permit and have to be followed, here in Tadoba all jeeps and busses had free rein. Hence, they all tend to end up in the same spots all the time, especially if there is a special sighting.
The jeeps were lined up like in a theatre with the busses behind and on the side. There were mostly Indian tourists on the jeeps, only very few had foreign tourists I saw. On the busses I was the only one anyway – foreigner, that is.
There was a small water hole here. It seemed to be an artificial water hole – they have solar-powered pumps on many water holes to provide water to wildlife in dry season. The water hole was medium full. While the guides shushed the Indians on the bus, the driver motioned me to get up on the seat and look over the roof. There was supposed to be a tiger sleeping in the grass at the opposite bank.
It took me a while staring through my long camera lens until I spotted it. YES! There was definitely a tiger sleeping in the tall grass over there! I saw a tiger! Even though it was only the stripes of his back and the tip of his ear! I SAW A TIGER!
By now I had climbed up on the rail behind the driver’s seat and had a good spotting position. Of course the others wanted to have a glimpse, too and therefore I moved over to the side basically straddling the side rail. It was the best spot! My fellow passengers were anyway exited to have a foreigner on the same bus with them, now they were basically freaking out – there was apparently a tiger! It was however very very hard to sport with the naked eye … they all were so excited when I showed them the zoomed-in photo on my camera display!
The Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008. There are 50 tiger reserves in India which are governed by Project Tiger and administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). India is home to 70 % of the Tigers in the world. The total number of wild Tigers worldwide has risen to 3890 in 2016 according to World Wildlife Fund and Global Tiger Forum. As per Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Tiger population in India stood at 2226 in 2014. Karnataka has the highest number of tigers in the age group of 1.5 years with more than 408 big cats. Other states with significant populations included Uttarakhand with 340, Madhya Pradesh with 308, Tamil Nadu with 229, Maharashtra with 190, Assam with 167, Kerala with 136 and Uttar Pradesh with 117 individuals. Around 440 Tigers are estimated in Bangladesh, 163 to 253 Tigers in Nepal and 103 Tigers in Bhutan. The Tiger is threatened by poaching, loss and fragmentation of habitat and none of the Tiger Conservation Landscapes within its range is considered large enough to support an effective population of more than 250 adult individuals. The Royal Bengal Tiger ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today and is considered to belong to the world’s most charismatic megafauna. It is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh.
Our bus stayed there for almost an hour. The driver and guides told everybody to be quiet and most of all patient. Some jeeps left and the bus had to be moved, but the driver kept moving it forward into better viewing spots. One of the Canter Busses parked ahead of us also left and eventually we were front row and center stage near that water hole. Most of the jeeps were still lined up and everybody was excitedly waiting if the Tiger would move before the safari time was up and we had to get out of the park.
While waiting I chatted with other passengers and the driver, took photos of birds and listened to the alarm calls of Sambar Deer and Spotted Deer in the vicinity. The Tiger was not moving, but plenty birds were around.
The Green Bee Eater (Merops orientalis) is a richly coloured, slender bird, resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distributed across the subtropics and throughout India. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. They are mainly insect eaters and are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water.
The Rufous Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) is native to the Indian Subcontinent and adjoining parts of Southeast Asia. It is long-tailed and has loud musical calls making it very conspicuous. It is found commonly in open scrub, agricultural areas, forests as well as urban gardens. The main colour of the body is cinnamon with a black head and the long graduated tail is bluish grey and is tipped in black. The wing has a white patch.
I asked the driver to take a photo of me – I needed proof I was here. But all of a sudden a loud excited murmur rolled through the crowd – the Tiger was moving! Just at the exact moment when the driver clicked my photo.
The Tiger rolled over on his back like the big cat that he is. He rolled back and forth and then lay down again. Another – this time disappointed – murmur could be heard from the waiting crowd.
The guides said it was Matkasur T54, the 8-year-old dominant male of the region and Tiger King of Tadoba. Matkasur is well-built – a handsome male in his prime. The forest guides are clearly proud of that Tiger and our driver was absolutely excited to be able to show us this one.
In 2017 Matkasur had killed a person who was on census duty and had squatted behind a bush to relieve himself. Speculations ran high whether Matkasur would be branded a man-eater or not. As per government guidelines, there has to be 3 killings before a Tiger is labeled a man-eater. Matkasur was given the benefit of doubt – also he did not eat the body. Some experts feel when humans squat, Tigers often get confused and accidentally kill thinking them to be monkeys or deer both of whom are regular prey. Most of the time it is a case of mistaken identity. Therefore Matkasur remains the pride of Tadoba – and getting off safari vehicles in the reserve or taking selfies hanging over the side is strictly forbidden for visitors.
Our driver kept gesturing to be quiet and patient and believe it – he was right! Eventually Matkasur did us the favour – That Tiger moved! Another synchronized excited murmur from the onlookers – The King sat up blinking the sleep out of his eyes, glanced lazily in our direction and then did what all cats do best – He licked his balls! He was busy with that for a good 5 minutes …
By now everybody was totally freaking out! The guides and drivers had hard work to keep shushing the crowd constantly – Be quiet! Clam down! No talking! BE QUIET! – Indians in large groups like on the Canter Bus are especially vocal. Sometimes I think to compare them with Italians who are very noisy as well. When Indians get excited the noise level rises automatically. But as soon as Matkasur was lifting up his head again and stared across the pond towards us, everybody silently peered in awe back at him.
The Tiger apparently decided there was no threat coming from our direction – Tigers are known for usually not attacking humans on four-wheelers and we definitely outnumbered even the biggest male of the park. And most probably he is somewhat used to the vehicles stalking him. Matkasur was in a lazy mood on this hot afternoon anyway. To our all delight he got up and walked down the bank to the edge of the pond. Only the constant clicks of cameras could be heard now – I think everybody was holding their breaths as well – as if not to scare him aways now. He could easily just turn around and disappear into the forest in a blink.
But he did not! The magnificent cat strolled along the waters’ edge looking into the water as if checking out his own reflection. The hulk probably holds the record for commanding over the largest territory by a male Tiger in the region. He is the undisputed ruler of Tadoba. And he rules this particular water hole.
Once Matkasur found the right spot he walked backwards into the water and then settled comfortably in the shallows up to his shoulders. It seemed as if he showed us his bum deliberately as if he wanted to say – What do you want? I do not care about you people! This is my territory!
And he sat there … and sat there … and sat there. He put his head down on his front paws and closed his eyes. I guess, sleeping in the water is his favourite in this afternoon heat. He did not have a care in the world.
Every now and again he would lift up his head and look into the direction of an animal sound – there were alarm calls from Sambar Deer coming constantly from the bamboo thicket surrounding the water hole. Sometimes only his tail moved in the water, the tip of the tail came out to flick at insects.
Our bus stayed there until approx 17:00, then the driver motioned everybody to get down from the rails and take their seats. We had to get going. The park closes at 18:00 and it was a long way back. The Forest Office is strict in keeping the time. The guides had to sign out at the secondary gate by 17:30 latest and at Moharli Gate by 18:00. I had one last look at Matkasur – my first Tiger! First safari here and straight away a Tiger sighting … Awesome!
Soon we reached the asphalted main road again. We spotted more Hanuman Langurs, and deers of all kinds, also some Peacocks. The Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is large and brightly coloured. The male – or Peacock – is predominantly blue with a fan-like crest of spatula-tipped wire-like feathers and is best known for the long train made up of elongated upper-tail covert feathers which bear colourful eyespots. These stiff feathers are raised into a fan and quivered in a display during courtship. Despite the length and size of these covert feathers, peacocks are still capable of flight. Peahens lack the train and have a greenish lower neck and duller brown plumage. The Indian peafowl lives mainly on the ground in open forest. Their loud calls make them easy to detect and in forest areas often indicate the presence of a predator such as a Tiger. They forage on the ground in small groups and usually try to escape on foot through undergrowth and avoid flying, though they fly into tall trees to roost.
The Peacock is the national bird of India and commands a lot of attention, because its colors are synonymous with Indian identity. All my fellow visitors on the bus got almost as much excited when spotting a Peacock as when we saw the Tiger!
Once we had passed the secondary gate, however, the guides and driver got all excited again and pointed straight ahead. In the distance there was a small herd of Gaur crossing the road. But not only those they wanted to show us. No! There was also a pack of Wild Dogs just ahead of our bus walking along the road side. A rare sighting as well.
The Dhole – also called Asiatic Wild Dog, Indian Wild Dog, Whistling Dog, Red Dog or mountain wolf – (Cuon alpinus) is native to Central, South and Southeast Asia. The Dhole is a highly social animal, living in large clans without rigid dominance hierarchies and containing multiple breeding females. Such clans usually consist of up to 12 individuals. It is a pack hunter which preferentially targets medium and large-sized ungulates. In tropical forests, the Dhole competes with Tigers and Leopards, targeting somewhat different prey species, but still with substantial dietary overlap. It is listed as Endangered by the IUCN as populations are decreasing and are estimated at fewer than 2500 adults.
Today we were lucky and in the waning light of the day we watched several Dhole on and next to the road. They did not seem to be overly bothered by the 2 Canter Busses stopping next to each other on the narrow road. One of the dogs calmly did his business right in front of our bus – maybe marking the territory … or just following nature when it called …
Other individuals were walking along glancing at the visitors, but not being alarmed. They moved along and into the thicket.
Further ahead the herd of Gaur was still crossing the road and grazing nearby. The Gaur (Bos gaurus) – also called the Indian Bison – is the largest extant bovine. This species is native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. Population decline in parts of its range is likely to be more than 70% during the last 3 generations. However, population trends are stable in well-protected areas and are rebuilding in a few areas which previously had been neglected. The Gaur is the tallest of wild cattle species.
The Gaur is strong and massively built with a high convex ridge on the forehead between the horns, which protrudes anteriorly, causing a deep hollow in the profile of the upper part of the head. There is a prominent ridge on the back as well. The ears are very large. The adult male is dark brown, approaching black in very old individuals. The upper part of the head, from above the eyes to the nape of the neck, is ashy grey or occasionally dirty white. The muzzle is pale coloured and the lower parts of the legs are pure white or tan. They were also not disturbed by us, just kept on going about their thing. They munched on the grass alongside the road and on the fresh green leaves of the bushes. Every now and then they would send an alert look in the direction of the busses, but soon there were eating again.
We could not watch them too long, time was running and the driver had to step on the gas to make the closing time of the gate. Otherwise he and the guides would get a penalty. I chatted with the guy in the seat next to me. He did not take a photo at all, because he had to give up his mobile phone. He worked for Telekom and would be going to Germany in April for a work visit of nearly a month. Already I had to show the tiger photos to many of the people on the bus, now that guy asked me if I could send him some of them. Of course I can – once I have WIFI and time. We exchanged whatsapp numbers and sure enough when I got to the hotel, already he had messaged me, reminding me to not forget to send the photos. I did later that evening.
Just a few minutes after 18:00 we reached Moharli Gate again. I checked for the Canter Bus the next morning and they told me to be here 06:00. Back in the hotel I pondered over the cool photos I had taken – I had seen a TIGER! I was still so excited! – and then went for dinner. I had preordered Veg Noodles, Paneer Butter Masala and Plain Curd. It was very good, very spicy and way too much. I could not even finish half of it. Apologizing for not eating much, I picked up and paid for my Kingfisher at reception and secretly carried my bottles to my room.
I slept very early. Last night had been short already and tonight was not going to be much longer. It was less than 5 min walk to the gate, but I did not want to be late for the morning safari.
Now that I had seen already the cool Matkasur, I could however skip the rest of the safaris – What else was there to see? Can this sighting be topped? Maybe not, but you never know …
