A night out is always fun: but what about one where you’re surrounded by darkness, trees, shadows and unknown sounds in the jungle?
Well, that type of a night out is easily found at Satpura. With night safaris, leopards and tigers along with many more endangered species, Satpura National Park (3 hours drive from Bhopal) is a dream destination for all safari-lovers.
We reached our riverside hotel on the fringes of the jungle late in the evening, and we were quite tired from our hour-and-a-half-long drive from Bhimbetka Rock Shelters.
Almost at once…
Dad and mom said they were going to rest for a while in the room, and it would be good if I joined them.
That left me with pretty much no option but to sit stonily and wait for my parents’ nap to get over.
How fun…until it was time for our night safari.
All three of us grabbed jackets, put on a fresh coat of insect repellent, and packed a backpack with a torch, a camera, and couple of bottles of water before heading outside.
It was still only around 6 p.m., but the air was already a little chilly. We met our jeep driver and guide, and then set out towards the jungle.
We took in the fresh forest scents, the sounds of the birds twittering, and enjoyed the soothing calmness of the surrounding foliage.
After at least an hour of trundling through the jungle and what seemed like going through the same routes over and over again, my dad and the guide spotted tiger pugmarks – fresh!!!
A tiger had just been here and we were super close!
As we turned the corner around the tall dry grass, lo and behold!!! A majestic Royal Bengal Tiger was sitting magnificently right in front of us, just meters away. Wow!!!
What a rich orange-red coat with royal black stripes it had. I had never seen a tiger so close by before!
After a few quick pics, we moved on to a different place to try our luck out there. We were really lucky, though!
Soon, dusk fell and we shined our torches into the trees, hoping with all our hearts to spy something worthwhile. But all we got was a jungle nightjar.
Oh, must time go by so fast when you’re having fun?
I could see the fields in the distance, so that meant we were definitely getting closer to the resort. Just then……
What was that? “There it is! It’s a jungle cat!” our guide pointed excitedly at what looked like a slim shadow in the trees.
It was very shy, and quickly maneuvered away from us, but I was still thrilled about sighting a jungle cat and a tiger in one day!
The next night safari; we spotted 2 leopards, a Ruddy Mongoose and an Asian Palm Civet! And a rusty-spotted cat, the world’s smallest cat! Wow!
Our hopes were pretty high after sighting so much in the night safaris, so we hurried off in a frenzy for our morning safari.
It was barely sunrise by the time we reached the forest entry checkpoint, and we were all charged up. Within the first few minutes, we spotted a honey buzzard and a black kite!
We trundled around everywhere, and were extremely happy with what we saw and experienced. We saw another leopard, and a crocodile eating a cow’s carcass!
The jungle has so much to offer!
I was very excited with our list of sightings; but I still wished time didn’t fly when I had fun! I will certainly return to Satpura someday!
Enjoy Satpura National Park!!!
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