There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
01-19-2019, 11:04 AM( This post was last modified: 01-19-2019, 09:57 PM by Rishi )
Day 2. Date: 03/01/2019
We drove from Lolegaon (not shown in map) back to the plain for Murti lodge, beside the river flowing through Gorumara NP & west of Chapramari, named after it.
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Before we left, sunrays falling on Kanchenzonga (world's 3rd highest peak) at India-Nepal border in the background.
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On the way down.
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Train passing through tea-plantation. Ours passed through this exact same spot on our way to Malbazar the day before.
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On the way to Murti by NH-31C, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary to the left (north) side of the road.
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From the national highway diverges a single lane through headed for Murti. Thankfully it now remains closed at night.
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The forest on the east of river Murti's pebbled bed.
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From Murti forest lodge we were booked for afternoon safari at Gorumara National Park.
BTW For ease of estimating size of animals by comparing to the vehicles by forum members, i took a fairly accurate assessment of the Maruti Gypsy. The front of the bonnet is roughly 105cm high & it rises to ±115cm where the windscreen starts.
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In Gorumara, only car-safari is done that too only within the buffer zone, the area where NH31 passes through (see map).
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And the safari itself was a really exciting but also bit disappointing at the same time! The undergrowth was super dense in most parts & we heard an elephant herd, less than 50m away.
Hanged around near the place for half an hour. From the absence of images you should be able to conclude that i did not manage to catch a glimpse of any of them.
Here's a peafowl though...
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...& this pond had rhinos that morning.
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The best i got was when we ran into a grazing herd of gaurs surrounding the vehicle from all sides. I could make out massive silhouettes of them inside the bushes all around us.
There are two in this photo, a calf in the center & an adolescent, both less than 10 metres away.
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The forest itself was very beautiful though.
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Tiny forest village of few hectares.
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Although i had mixed feeling about that day, little did i know that next one will more than make up for it (our guide called it "better than any sighting in all 2018")!