There is a lot to catch up on as the Singanawa did not have wireless and to use the computer, I had to disconnect theirs to hook to mine. So I just decided to wait til we got here to Delhi where there was free wifi and catch up. The only problem with that is, I crashed last night. By the time we got to the hotel, it was 11 and I could not hold my eyes open. So hope I can remember all I wanted to write about now.
Going back two days, we had the most amazing tiger sighting as we watched the alarm calls, saw the spotted deer running and heard the tiger growl and emerge from the forest and slowly walk toward us. She was marking her territory and she ambled slowly toward the cars and in silence, we watched her come closer and closer and cross the road and slowly go into the forest on the other side. She is the only tiger in the park with a collar on. She has been studied for the last 3 years and the time is up and the collar is supposed to drop off and it hasn't. So they are wanting the park rangers to get rid of it for her. After that sighting, we signed up for the tiger show where the elephants track the tiger and we get to ride on the elephant back to see where they found it. It was a big male asleep under the bushes. The trek was fun though and that made eight tigers we saw between the two parks. Amazing. No one has failed to let us know that we are extremely lucky! And we believe it.
That night, the owners of Singawa were home from going to a wedding and came and spent some time with us. They are both tiger experts and the wife is the only person in the world to have a Phd in tiger preservation. He is a member of the royal family of Napal and bought this which once was an old hunting lodge. He did a slide show on tigers which was fantastic. Then he took Jim and me and our guide Vijay on a driving night drive around the grounds. The only thing we spotted was spotted deer but it was great fun. Then we ended up to our surprise at a wonderful camp sight with big bonfire and were told that was where we were eating that night for dinner! He sat with us for about 15 minutes and visited and then left us to enjoy our meal which was very special! The food was good, the fire was warm and wonderful and it was neat to be jut the two of us on the last evening of our safari adventure! Really nice service!
Singawa could not be a better place to stay. THey took care of our every need and made sure we were happy all the time. The naturalist took us on a walk around the property one afternoon and of course, he did a grand job with the safaris.
The monkeys came to the camp that last day and were out in front of our cottage swinging from the trees. When we ate lunch that day, we sat on the upper patio and watched them as we ate. It was all just a beautiful place and a very relaxing special place.
We were scheduled for a morning safari yesterday morning but the person who made the booking said it was for the premium zone which is Kanha section and it takes 1 1/2 hours to drive there in the park. We had been there the previous two days and what we needed to do was drive through just mukki section so we could leave early and get back and on the road so we could catch our flight from Raipur. But once reservations are made you cannot change them so all we could do was drive in and out on the main road which we did not see much of course. But it was a pleasant drive and a nice way to leave the park.
We came back to the lodge and ate a nice hot breakfast and Neetu picked us up. Everyone at the lodge said the drive to Raipur should be no more than 5 hours. But Neetu took 1-2 hours later for each drive than they had estimated. I think he took alternate routes which meant dirt roads and one lane roads. I know he did yesterday. It took us 6 1/2 hours to get to the airport. And it was exhausting! He was so kind and nice and we surely could not have done it ourselves but after we got lost the second time, I was about to think we would never get to the plane on time. The plane was almost an hour late leaving so that put us getting in pretty late. The plane was very nice but the airport is old and you go out one gate. and walk out to the tarmac to go up. In the waiting room was one family with a cute little boy about 18 months old and a little girl who was about 5 who was LOUD and into everyone's face for attention. Naturally guess who sat in front of Jim! I was across the aisle so it was a little better til she ran up and down the aisles screaming and jumping up and down as she went. It was a long flight! We were met as promised at the airport and taken to our hotel where I crashed.
I woke early This morning to see if I had an email from Allen which I did! So we celebrated that we will have a new granddaughter in the spring! Can't wait to get home and hear all about the visit.
We are staying in the hotel til checkout because our plane doesn't leave til after midnight tonight and we will have a long time at the airport. So we want to do some shopping and all but mainly try to take it easy before we have to go and sit for so long. It has been a great trip, if you have not realized that from my descriptions. But we are now ready to come home and see everyone and celebrate the holidays with our family
our cottage at Singanawa
Going back two days, we had the most amazing tiger sighting as we watched the alarm calls, saw the spotted deer running and heard the tiger growl and emerge from the forest and slowly walk toward us. She was marking her territory and she ambled slowly toward the cars and in silence, we watched her come closer and closer and cross the road and slowly go into the forest on the other side. She is the only tiger in the park with a collar on. She has been studied for the last 3 years and the time is up and the collar is supposed to drop off and it hasn't. So they are wanting the park rangers to get rid of it for her. After that sighting, we signed up for the tiger show where the elephants track the tiger and we get to ride on the elephant back to see where they found it. It was a big male asleep under the bushes. The trek was fun though and that made eight tigers we saw between the two parks. Amazing. No one has failed to let us know that we are extremely lucky! And we believe it.
That night, the owners of Singawa were home from going to a wedding and came and spent some time with us. They are both tiger experts and the wife is the only person in the world to have a Phd in tiger preservation. He is a member of the royal family of Napal and bought this which once was an old hunting lodge. He did a slide show on tigers which was fantastic. Then he took Jim and me and our guide Vijay on a driving night drive around the grounds. The only thing we spotted was spotted deer but it was great fun. Then we ended up to our surprise at a wonderful camp sight with big bonfire and were told that was where we were eating that night for dinner! He sat with us for about 15 minutes and visited and then left us to enjoy our meal which was very special! The food was good, the fire was warm and wonderful and it was neat to be jut the two of us on the last evening of our safari adventure! Really nice service!
Singawa could not be a better place to stay. THey took care of our every need and made sure we were happy all the time. The naturalist took us on a walk around the property one afternoon and of course, he did a grand job with the safaris.
The monkeys came to the camp that last day and were out in front of our cottage swinging from the trees. When we ate lunch that day, we sat on the upper patio and watched them as we ate. It was all just a beautiful place and a very relaxing special place.
We were scheduled for a morning safari yesterday morning but the person who made the booking said it was for the premium zone which is Kanha section and it takes 1 1/2 hours to drive there in the park. We had been there the previous two days and what we needed to do was drive through just mukki section so we could leave early and get back and on the road so we could catch our flight from Raipur. But once reservations are made you cannot change them so all we could do was drive in and out on the main road which we did not see much of course. But it was a pleasant drive and a nice way to leave the park.
We came back to the lodge and ate a nice hot breakfast and Neetu picked us up. Everyone at the lodge said the drive to Raipur should be no more than 5 hours. But Neetu took 1-2 hours later for each drive than they had estimated. I think he took alternate routes which meant dirt roads and one lane roads. I know he did yesterday. It took us 6 1/2 hours to get to the airport. And it was exhausting! He was so kind and nice and we surely could not have done it ourselves but after we got lost the second time, I was about to think we would never get to the plane on time. The plane was almost an hour late leaving so that put us getting in pretty late. The plane was very nice but the airport is old and you go out one gate. and walk out to the tarmac to go up. In the waiting room was one family with a cute little boy about 18 months old and a little girl who was about 5 who was LOUD and into everyone's face for attention. Naturally guess who sat in front of Jim! I was across the aisle so it was a little better til she ran up and down the aisles screaming and jumping up and down as she went. It was a long flight! We were met as promised at the airport and taken to our hotel where I crashed.
I woke early This morning to see if I had an email from Allen which I did! So we celebrated that we will have a new granddaughter in the spring! Can't wait to get home and hear all about the visit.
We are staying in the hotel til checkout because our plane doesn't leave til after midnight tonight and we will have a long time at the airport. So we want to do some shopping and all but mainly try to take it easy before we have to go and sit for so long. It has been a great trip, if you have not realized that from my descriptions. But we are now ready to come home and see everyone and celebrate the holidays with our family
No comments:
Post a Comment