I woke up early on Day 2. My eagerness and enthusiasm had not been dampened after Day one. And to my absolute delight, my
morning safari was booked on a jeep/gypsy. This miracle was due to the fact,
that, a couple of guests had to back out due to health reasons. With due
respect to those guests, it was a good omen for me.
Safaris on Gypsies offer better wildlife sightings than Canters due to multiple reasons
1. Gypsies/Jeeps enter the park on time as there are only 6 seats to fill. On the other hand Canters have 21 seats and filling up these seats can take time
2. Gypsies/Jeeps make far lesser noise than canters and therefore do not scare away the wildlife
3. Gypsies/Jeeps can access narrower paths and are more manoeuverable.
Safaris on Gypsies offer better wildlife sightings than Canters due to multiple reasons
1. Gypsies/Jeeps enter the park on time as there are only 6 seats to fill. On the other hand Canters have 21 seats and filling up these seats can take time
2. Gypsies/Jeeps make far lesser noise than canters and therefore do not scare away the wildlife
3. Gypsies/Jeeps can access narrower paths and are more manoeuverable.
Morning Safari
We entered the park gates at 7 am
sharp. We had been allotted Zone 1 for the safari. As soon as we entered the
zone, the naturalist was on red alert. He could sense that there was an element of tension
in the air. And then the alarm call of a Langur monkey shattered the silence.
We were now more or less sure that a predator, either a Tiger or Leopard, was
in the area. We strained our eyes to spot any movement.
The next 15 minutes of the safari
will be etched in my memory for the rest of my life!!!
A Tiger came out of the foliage
and crossed the path in front of the gypsy. “Tiger! Tiger!” whispered the
naturalist. The blood rushed to my head, I was
breathless and my mind went numb.. Excitement was at it’s peak!
The Tiger was absolutely beautiful
and majestic. The Tiger sat on one corner of the path. We twisted and stretched
to get the best view. The cameras started clicking fast and furious. By now, we
had been joined by a couple of more gypsies. The Tiger observed the tourists on
each gypsy carefully. My heart was pounding but my Index finger did not stop
pressing the camera shutter.
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| Momentous Occasion - My first tiger sighting in the wild - Tiger T-39 |
