My room in Courtyard House is spacious, but at night it gets a little chilly. Fortunately they supplied me with a space heater, which not only warms things up a bit but also supplied white noise to cover up the silence of the countryside.
By 6:30 we were outside the park gate and ready to go. I found that cell reception was much better there than it was back out at the lodge, which was much farther away from town. So I took advantage of the down time to catch up on email and messages.
Once in the park, Uday and the guide spotted tiger tracks sometime around 9:00 (I forgot my watch that morning). Male tigers have bigger feet and broader toes, so they could tell that these were left by a female tiger. She wasn’t anywhere to be seen, though.
We continued our search through a part of the park that was thick with peafowl. Then we paused in an open area to listen for calls.
We drove a ways further to where some langurs were making noise. I thought maybe they were agitated by a nearby jackal pack.
But no ...
... it was a tiger.
My first tiger photo ever seriously wasn’t portfolio material. However, I got some better pictures a couple of minutes later when she made her way around to a better spot.
Even though I saw her only from a great distance, it was still a breathtaking experience. I kinda don’t have words for it.
We stayed long enough waiting on the tiger that we were a little late for breakfast. By the time we got to the meal-safe area (food’s forbidden in most of the park) most everyone else was gone. We ate in the semi-outdoor snack bar area of an interpretive center, notable primarily for a large arch made of discarded deer antlers.
Indeed, we ran so late that by the time we finished breakfast it was almost time for lunch. Though we needed to get back to the gate fairly directly, we did see a barking deer on the way out.
Lunch was served at a small table under a canopy on the veranda. I worried that it would be chilly in the shade, but it proved to be quite comfortable. And the food was delicious as usual.
The air did get a little cold toward the end of the afternoon drive, particularly speeding around in an open vehicle. However, I layered my clothing and managed to stay comfortable throughout the day.
The highlight of the afternoon was a good view of a gaur, also known as the Indian bison. They’re the largest of all extant bovine species, and though the ones we saw were peacefully chewing on some foliage, they were clearly big enough to make messing with them a pursuit not for the faint of heart.
During tea I observed to Uday that he seemed to get as excited as the guests did about spotting tigers, to which he replied, “Even more!” At the bonfire we conversed about single malt scotch and spaghetti westerns, one of several if-you-told-me-a-year-ago moments I had throughout the trip.
Having amassed a significant number of photos, I took advantage of post-dinner down time to run file backups, switch cards and charge batteries.
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