I made it to Ranthambore National Park for first time. It was April 16 and we were on our first morning drive. The weather was nice. I love it here. The smells, sounds ,and sights are just amazing to me. We were heading into Zone 8. It was a little out of the way, we drove for about 20 minutes to get to the main entrance. This part had been added to the reserve. It was pretty bumpy but refreshing to me. The color of the dirt always fascinates me. It is rich in iron. As we were heading up one of the hills, another jeep had drove by us and told us there is a tigress on her way down. We got so excited. Wow, my first drive, first day and already being blessed to see a magnificent tiger. A few of us had already gotten situated in an area where we knew she would be walking through. A couple more jeeps came and parked. Then we all waited quietly until we saw the female coming through all the dry shrubs. I got a couple nice pics of her. I used my phone to record her while she walked through the crowd.. I like having live footage of these beauties for my memories. She had snarled a little as we probably crowded her. She crossed from one side of the track to the other side. I think she was hungry and looking for a meal. As she sat down and was pretty concealed for a few minutes, we were totally in awe. How can any human being who spots a wild tiger not be under the spell. Their beauty and strength is unexplainable.

Eventually she rose up and was on a quest for some food. We had seen Sambhar in the area and she had spotted them as well. She slowly started walking in their direction. Every step she took was as quiet and focused. I love it when big cats are in hunting mode. Their muscles are tense and eyes are locked on a target. The further she got behind the dry shrubs, all the spectators couldn’t see her for about 10 minutes. All of a sudden we heard the bushes rustling and loud hoof prints stomping close to our area. She was in ambush after the deer but it escaped. She was unsuccessful this time. I almost witnessed a true live hunt. I was happy and I know there will always be other times. What an amazing morning we had. I will cherish it always. We went back to our lodge and had some lunch and delicious chai tea.

Ranthambore Reserve Second drive (Zone 7)

This was a different area of the reserve. Nice and hot, but I like this heat.
When you enter the reserves, there always seems to be a cooler breeze or feeling because of the trees, shrubs and hills. We heard there was a male in the area, laying by the small pool.
When we arrived at the scene, the pool was empty. We could make out where the male had walked to with water droplets still on the ground. He must have been resting for a while as it was the afternoon. Usually they go back for a drink when it cools down more. His pugmarks were all over the ground too. So we circled a few times, ended up waiting quietly but the male tiger never showed up. But at least on this trip we saw Chinkara, blue bulls, spotted deer, Sambar, and peacocks.

I have yet to see a sloth bear also, or a leopard in this area. As we were heading back to the lodge for our delicious food, lots of little kids were waving at us. There was a gecko in my bathroom that night stuck to the wall. Interesting little creature. Also saw a snake the first day I got to the lodge, but I didn’t find out what species it was.

Ranthambore Day 2,morning drive.

This area is called Zone 10. A male tiger named Fateh(T42) resides there. A very big handsome male. I have seen many pictures of him.This zone is way in the back of the reserve. It took a long time to get there. Then when we got closer we had to stop by the gate and a guide was supposed to come with us. It was a hot day but the ride felt refreshing to me. I always enjoy just being out in the jungle whether I see a tiger or not. Well, we weren’t able to see him anywhere. He must have been sleeping off the heat somewhere.We saw Sambar,bluebull, Chinkara ,peacocks and one of the bluebulls was hurt. He had a ruptured belly and wasn’t moving very fast. He was probably in pain. Maybe it was a tiger who had hurt him. Ranthambore is very dry at this time of year. When the monsoon comes around it becomes very green for a few weeks. I would also like to visit once when the rains are pouring down..

First I want to thank God for my blessings. And second I would like to thank Manoj Sharma. He is always looking out for me when I visit India. Without him my trips would not be possible.

He is a great friend, and I look forward to seeing him when we visit the jungles together.
So our train ride was not bad at all. We were able to get some rest and eat a good sandwich with other snacks.
I lost my little pouch that I kept my phone in, but that is O.K.

After the train ride , we were picked up by one of the drivers from his company. The ride was approximately 5to 6 hours long. We had stopped for some ice cream after a few hours and it was very tasty and great. I had vanilla and also butterscotch flavor with chocolate syrup, and nuts. So we had arrived at Infinity resort. Such a beautiful view we had with Corbett Reserve right in front of  the lodge.This place is nestled in between Ramnagar and Bijrhani gates. These are the things I love about Manoj. He always chooses the most relaxed and comfortable lodges for me. I took lots of pictures, fell in love with my room, and sat down by the water for a while soaking in the peacefulness of the forest. Our dinner was amazing. I always get so full from the meals. Very tasteful all the time with the spices and flavors. Inside the restaurant were some statues and informative writings about Jim Corbett. 

Also in the evening I had seen a jackal run down the bank but he was too fast for my camera. I was going to go for a swim but I had  seen some macaques down by the pool and decided to let them enjoy it. I slept like a baby, when my alarm went off at 5:45am. As I headed down to the water to watch the sunrise it seemed the forest is endless here in Corbett. The white rounded rocks, the river, the huge sal trees. Manoj told me it is the last remaining green belt of Great Sal trees. No wonder Jim Corbett loved it so much as a kid and as he grew up. On our way into Dhikala there were some guys who wanted to take a picture of me, but I talked them into having one of all of us. They were also visiting for the first time there. There was another statue of Jim Corbett at the entrance. It is such a beautiful place to drive through. The freshness and intoxicating smells of the forest are so invigorating to me. We had reached an area where we pulled over and ate some lunch. As we looked to the right across the river we could see some gharial basking. There were at least seven of them.

Where we ate lunch was very peaceful, and it was pretty close to the compound. The area where we stayed is surrounded by an electrical fence to protect the people inside from tigers, elephants, leopards, and other dangerous predators. I always felt very safe.
One time I was walking back to my room at noon and I saw two macaques grooming eachother on the cement path. As I was walking towards them the bigger one started coming towards me with anger ,but I stood my ground and walked around them. I think he only wanted my bag.  This area is an original forest rest house and it has been kept up very nicely. The only thing with your mobile phone,is most of the rime we don’t get service. Which is not bad to me. I love my peace and quiet.   One of the new mammals for me to see for the first time was wild elephants. It was amazing, such big herds they have here. And an elephant can surely make you jump in your skin. At one of the roads we saw an elephant family crossing the track with a little baby…. She was adorable. Elephants are very protective of their young at all times.
We drove by the famous Dhikala grasslands, but today it was kinda hot and little hazy. There is a giant tree trunk which was struck by lightning years ago. But today it still stands.
We heard from some other people that there was a tigress in the area, but we missed her.
But if the Lord is willing I will get a chance to see many tigers and animals here.

A morning drive in Dikhala  (Jim Corbett)

It was a beautiful cool, refreshing  morning drive through Corbett reserve …I cannot express how happy this makes me feel when I travel to Indias jungles. We went on a road that we have not travelled on yet. It was opposite of the camp, where we stayed. You can see it from across the Ramganga river. There we saw a ficus tree which had numerous bee hives. It was pretty amazing to hear all the bees buzzing around .Also Manoj showed me where a sloth bear had climbed up to try and reach the bee hives. That is probably one of their sweetest treats to eat.

Who doesn’t love honey? This reserve has so many different trees here. The sal trees here are the last of the green belt and are enormous ….The vibrant green color and mesmerizes me. You can just imagine how many birds live in these trees. Peaceful, tranquil, serenity… when the engine is off you could easily take a nap….

So soothing for the soul definitely. The herd of elephants had made their way back to the water and just loved playing together and cooling off in the river. Too bad we couldn’t join them..
Earlier in the grasslands a tusker was chasing a female around preparing to mount her and mate. But of course when we showed up and quietly turned the engine off he lost interest. Or a while they just watched us watching them, but he did not want us there bothering him so he slowly turned towards us and inconspicuously started heading towards us and suddenly at a very fast pace. Quickly we had to dart our way out of there. Elephants charging are not to be messed with.
Also that same morning I saw my first brown fishing owl sitting in a tree real high up. I tried getting a couple pictures but he got away too quickly. He was such a fluffy cute strong raptor.

There were some pug marks of a male and female tiger, but the couple was being elusive and didn’t care to be seen by us. It was a beautiful day to remember….