One Night in a Forest - Our short weekend trip to Kabini

One of the lovely sights during the Safari at Kabini 

Pre-Work and Bookings

So, short on leaves and with limited options, given that several hill stations have already been ticked off, we decided to do some animal spotting – Masinagudi, Bandipur, Kabini came up in most searches and Kabini seemed to be a good option, with the whole river front stay and itineraries designed for a full day’s stay. So Kabini it was and from several blogs and searches, the Government run Jungle Lodges was the more preferred one, perhaps because of permits for safaris or because they’ve done this since forever, before Orange County and Serai came up and so on.

We went on to book online, because that is apparently the only way to do it now. The basic option is the tented cottage, but it was sold out, hence the next category had to be picked which is the room. Above which there are two more categories in the slightly better view/better interiors categories I’d imagine. Our room cost us Rs. 17,500 (After a Rs. 750 discount). This included stay for two people, all meals, two safaris, forest entry fees, all taxes and charges.

Reaching there

The Entry toward Jungle Lodges Kabini

Using Google maps! But in short, you need to take the NICE Road from Bangalore and reach till Mysore. Then turn left at the Mysore bypass and after about 20 kms, you need to turn left on SH 33 towards Manantwadi.

Continue straight and after a while the boards for all the Kabini lodges will start popping up and you can safely follow all of them except Orange County which takes a little detour. You will reach a dead end where the forest gates close for tourist vehicles, where there is a compulsory left and off you go.

The approach is really not bad – from a couple of blogs it seemed to be that the last 5-8 km is bad, but there is a tarred road up until the resort and it is in much better shape than several mainstream roads of Bangalore in fact!

Checking In

You drive into the reception after convincing the guard that you have a booking and at the Reception, your name is checked and a brief introduction to the resort is provided. The basics – where is your room, parking, food, etc. The parking area is pretty large under huge trees, so not much stress there. The rooms are across the resort. We had the Cottage Rooms – in the East Bungalow. Food was to be at the Gol Ghar which is also the location for all group briefings, huddles before safaris, etc.

The Room

The Tented cottage is mighty huge for two people – had two single beds joint to form a double bed, plus a third person cot. The roof is high and the furnishing is quite minimal, basic and vintage Indian. There is a fan in the room but as promised, no A/C or TV. There is a defunct fire place, but somehow adds a little charm to the room. The bathroom is decently spaced out as well and includes a tub and a shower that sprays more everywhere else than in front. There is also a backdoor in the bathroom, which opens out into some lush greenery, but not much else.

The rooms in the East Bungalow are attached closely side by side and if you walk past the rooms, good guess you’ll be able to hear what the occupants are saying. Zero marks for privacy!

There is a water filter at the portico of the Bungalow and ample place to sit outside and drink the chai you can make with the tea maker inside.

Food

• Lunch was decent and included a healthy mixed of boiled and stir fried vegetables. Day one Lunch was Carrot Peas, Jeera Alu, some Channa sabzi, Sambhar, Rasam, Dal, Rice, Pulao, Rotis, Chicken Curry, Mutton Curry and a sweet. Sumptious for the traveler who’s just reached and attacked the buffet.
• Dinner was a little more special (maybe because of the high post Govt. official who was visiting and enjoying his VIP treatment). There was live chicken barbeque, sweet corn soup, Alu Mutter Sabzi, Beetroot, Something resembling Maggi with vegetables, Rice, Sambhar, Rasam, Curds, Gulab Jamuns, Salad. I’m sure I’m missing something, but this is pretty much what stood out.
• Day 2 Breakfast was a healthy mix of Idlis, dosas, upma, omelettes, some baked potatoes, cutlets, toast, sheera and fruits.  
• Before the safaris (in the evening and morning), we got tea/coffee and biscuits
• After the evening safari, we also got Mirchi Pakodas and Tea/Coffee

Snack time

Animal Spottings

Well, this is the whole point of being here, I suppose. The safari starts with a spotting of the Sambhal and the spotted deer.

The Sambhal

We saw so many of them along the way, I can believe the guides might be able to tell them apart in fact. Some good clicks from a close distance later, we spotted a lone elephant, a female elephant just taking a walk. A bit further into the woods, we spotted a couple of beautiful birds – the Kingfisher, the Long-tailed bird, Woodpeckers, Eagles.

We saw so many deer, it stopped being a novelty after a bit!

The lone female elephant, wandering in the forest

The road then opened into a beautiful plain, by the side of the river – where we returned later and spotted a huge congregation of deer and wild boars and elephants.
Interesting to note that the wild boars and deer are mighty friendly with each other, but the boar can come for your throat if you’re wandering on foot. We then heard a sudden call and the guide whizzed us off into another side where we sat and waited and watched hoping a tiger was on the kill – that’s what the call meant apparently. But we had no such luck. A little more driving around to see at least one predator landed us in a part where wild gaurs where grazing. A couple of more langoors on the way and a mongoose and the safari was mostly done. We then headed back to the lodge with the sun setting behind us.

The lazy Gaurs

An animated and fun langoor!

Tip: If you really really just want to see animals, do not do the boat safari – It is better you opt to do to the jeep jungle safari on both occasions allowed.

Why you shouldn't do the Boat-Safari

We did the Jungle safari in the evening and the boat safari in the morning – besides the little ouch of not being able to spot any predator (leopards, panthers, tigers), what really irked me is that the next morning the boat safari turned out to be a giant sham. We were told by the safari guide in the evening that you might be lucky enough to see some predators during the boat safari also and there we were with high expectations. However, just a few 100 metres out on the river, the boatman started having trouble with the people who had laid fishing nets. The nets would oft get stuck in our boat and much time was spent maneouvring around the nets. Worse still, at a point someone threatened to complain to the police if we didn’t turn back and we were forced to turn back. A 6:45-8:30 boat safari reached the shore at 7:40 am. All we saw were a few birds – the same ones over and over again which the boatman had to point out to make the whole situation look less bad. There were some wise ones who opted to do the jungle safari in the morning as well and as luck would have it, at the breakfast table I heard them discussing the leopard they saw. My biggest tip for your stay is – Avoid the boat safari if you haven’t seen any predators and that is the highlight of your trip. You may have better luck if you do the normal jungle safari twice instead of spending time on the boat fighting with the fishermen.

Some birdwatching in the morning safari

The Good and the Bad

Pros:

• Great property and location – Tucked away in a corner, pretty large and lush with greenery, with very good access to the river
• Punctuality with regard to timings of safaris, meals etc – A little too punctual sometimes!
• The staff is courteous and helpful at all times.
• Food – is pretty good and offers a very decent variety of choices for the Indian palate. 
• Clearances – From what I’ve read and heard, they have exclusive permits to go into the forests
• Systematic – there is a plan to everything, food is at fixed hours; Briefings and commencement of Safaris are at fixed hours; There is no running a round
• Provision to buy mineral water, a soft drink, etc for pretty decent prices (a 600 ml pet bottle of Coke was Rs.50).

A beautiful Sunrise as we headed out on our boat safari

Cons:

• The rooms are not exactly paid much attention to – One may argue that staying in a forest, we can’t really expect luxuries, but it would help if the not so modest charges would justify atleast a better furnished room, given that the rooms are pretty large. Eg: the All out in the room exists, but has no liquid. There is a shower, but it is almost like a fountain, spraying all over the bathroom. Fittings are loose in some places and threaten to fall out at the lightest touch.
• Everyone is asked to watch the wildlife movie in the evening – We are expected to assemble at 7:45 for the movie. When you reach at 7:40, the movie has already started. And when you enter, you realize the room is full. The movie hall is not big enough to have all guests watching. Have two shows maybe?
• Coracle rides should probably be allowed at any time if possible – Allowing it in the morning just after the boat safari, just before check out, makes it less desirable to do.
• Boat Safari – Refer my note (rant) above, but they should tell people what it contains so people can make a more informed decision on what to do in the morning.
• During the safaris, all guests are not given enough attention – especially if you’re seated at the back, you will half the time not be able to hear what the guide/driver is pointing at until he stops and gets up and says it like 5 more times. They need to be a bit more considerate, since everyone pays for the same thing and everyone expects the same communication.

Conclusion

All in all, it was a worthwhile trip, a much needed break. Though we didn’t see as many animals, living by the river for a day and soaking in some green really helped!