7am... Saturday morning... hit the road to Kabini. Driving along with my camera, for company, and the hope to see a Tiger. The best part about the drive was that I stopped nowhere. 236km drive, non-stop, 3hrs & 45 min (The last 12km took over 30min).
Reached Kabini Jungle resorts and I must say, they are extremely courteous and an ever-smiling face takes away even the slightest discomfort from the drive. Checked in to the Maharaja Bungalow and boy was I impressed with the 100 year old building and its upkeep. Took a shower and hit the "Golghar" for lunch. The spread was extremely good and I truly enjoyed the food with a bottle of beer. Hit the bed for an hour and was ready for an evening safari.
For company in my Jeep, I had four seasoned gentlemen with bazooka sized lenses and a strong Brit accent. Two Indians and two Brit's, later i got to know, where friends from Hull visit India for some serious bird photography. David had exceptional knowledge about birds while others joked about how rich they were before taking up photography as a hobby. Doctor Koshy was an extremely friendly person with a serious intent to capture some "Dhole", the wild dogs. Gordon and Amit were more engaged with their camera & surroundings and had occupied the first row. Our spotter for the evening was Kishore, an extremely good spotter with an eye of an eagle.
Upon Entering Nagarhole, we were greeted by the vibrant hues of a Peacock trying to charm the hens with his shrill and frequent voice. Further into the jungle and closer to the banks for Kabini, we noticed a very large gathering of Storks. David tells me that this is a rare sight since one normally does not find the "Wolly-necked Stork" in such large groups. There were 100's of them, all taking gentle strides towards the bank of the river. To the right of our view, was a large Gaur. He arrogantly looked towards us with his head held way above his shoulders. Although a bit on the leaner side, the Gaur was still all muscle and looked extremely strong. We also found a group of Wild Boar and a lonely tusker while waiting at the same spot. I was thinking to myself, just one place with so many strong and wild animals, yet so much harmony.
After a near half hour gaze, we decided to move further into the jungle. We saw a family of elephants with the head of the pack not being comfortable of our presence. Without irritating the big girls, we decided to silently pass by. This time we headed to the banks again to a place known as sunset point. From here we could see a large gathering of deer and a lone tusker walking towards the bank on the opposite side. He must have been pretty thirsty since he drank for 10 minutes nonstop. We were hoping he would bathe to get some good snap, but the guy had his drink and walked away into the forests.On our way back, we found this amazing Malabar giant squirrel running up the tree. With a better lens, I could have managed better shots, but it was an amazing sight to see the speed and agility they have.
With luck running out on cat sightings and darkness falling on us, we decided to head back to camp. A nice hot cup of tea and a shower and I was off to the bar. A couple of drinks into the evening and a nice conversation with the Barman and the manager of the resort and the evening was looking good. Later that evening met up with my doctor friends and some other guests. All were very candid about their life and why they were there. It was as though the jungle brings out your feelings, emotions and takes you into a different zone in itself. It was nice to be with complete strangers, of such different age groups, and still be able to connect with them so much. An extremely eventful day, I must say!
We started off well the next day morning with a dancing peacock as soon as we entered the forest. A sambar deer walking by our jeep, many hoopoe wandering in search of some worms, a little scally-bellied woodpecker tapping on the bark of a dead tree, grazing herd of Wild Boar and a serpent eagle couple basking in the sun. 
Speaking of Serpent eagles, while we were heading towards Tiger tank (a water hole), we noticed this serpent with a fresh catch of a green Barbet. What a lovely sight of bird predation it was! Spectacular I must...With time running out and no sighting of the cat, I was getting impatient and going farther into the seat of the jeep. A shrill call of a sambar dear 50 meters to my left shook me of the seat and back on my legs. With our engine switched off, we moved slowly down the slope. As we neared the tiger tank, we saw some movement behind us.
There it was, a large male Leopard crossing the road. Magnificent strides and watchful eyes... that’s all I can say. He crossed and went into the bushes as though we were not around at all. Didn't even stop to look at who is invading his privacy.
As we moved closer to Tiger tank, we noticed nothing. Then another Leopard to our right. Carefully scanning the water hole and walking around the south side towards the eastern tower side. The boys with the bazooka lens would have got some lovely pics and I had to do with the limited equipment I carried. So I decided not to shoot and just gaze at the beautiful predator. He was amazing... marking his territory, smelling the scent on the trunk of the tree and taking gentle steps around the water hole. The best part of the entire thing was when he walked; there was not one clip of a twig or rustle of dead leaves. Pin drop silence... I would have missed all this if I was focusing on getting a shot of the cat. It was a wonderful experience.They say it is easier to see a Tiger as they are less afraid and difficult to see a leopard as they are the most elusive of the cats. Well, the Tiger can wait for now and I will get them some other day. For today and always, the Leopard will continue to be my favorite cat.
