At around 8ish we had to halt for breakfast, so we stopped by a local restaurant. We ordered for "Thatte Idlis" which was served with butter on top. I had never had this variety of Idlis before and I would say it is a must to try in Karnataka.
After the relishing breakfast we resumed the journey. I indulged myself for a while in the discussion the group had and then dozed off for some time. We reached the Jungle lodges and resort at 12PM where we had booked the accomodation for loghuts. The place welcomed us with a hug from the cool breeze, the gushing sound of the streams, the tiny birds singing a welcome song. The hillstation was very beautiful with greenery everywhere.
We had a surprise cake cutting for one of our collegues whose birthday we missed in our busy schedule. Then we were escorted to the loghuts we had booked and they were gorgeous. Anytime, a simpler set up looks great that the jazziness used. After some refreshment we played "Uno" which none of us knew properly and everyone had their own rules but it was fun. While we were engrossed in admiring the beauty of the beautiful forest, we encountered some deers, wild boars near our huts. It is quite natural that everyone takes their cameras and keep clicking the snaps of the wildlife.
The lunch was awaiting us at 1PM and it was quite okay. The safari was schedule for 4PM and we had a couple of hours to pass and we thought of taking a stroll. We came across a tree house and tried climbing on it and click snaps of each other, then came across some hammocks and again clicked pics here and there.
The time for the much awaited safari came and I wanted to take the last seat for whatever reasons. We were all set to encounter the wild life and as per the instruction we had to maintain silence throughout and not disturb the wildlife. Keeping that in mind we were talking to each other in sign language. We came across few tuskers, deers which included the sambhar deer(I could recollect this from the Geography text books), spotted deer, barking deer, bisons, mangoose...I was very much interested in seeing some carnivores however was unsuccessful. It was deers and deers everywhere and they were the center of attraction as everyone were busy clicking their pictures.
It was close to 2 hours and still our expectation to encounter a leopard/tiger kept increasing and all of a sudden the guide gets a call from the camp folks saying that a leopard was found near the closeby school. With high hopes we were searching for him all over in the freezing cold and it was drizzling as well. Almost all of us were numb and were struck to the seats and did not move a bit. Even then my only concern was what if a leopard jumps from a tree and gets into the jeep. That was quite possible but we did not have an answer. Well, I got the answer myself ( If something is destined to happen it will ;-)) After all the hungama of searching for the leopard, we had to head back finally without seeing him. Tough luck Leopard. You missed us.
We then headed back to our accomodation and assembled in one of the huts for some chit chat. We had some interesting conversation and had to have dinner bit early as there would not be lights after 10PM. Can you imagine being let in a jungle in the creeping dark with no lights and the animals happily roaming around near the tents and cottages. The experience was really good though.
Finally we had our dinner and saw some wild boars near the kitchen. We wondered if those were really the wild boars or its a spoof because there were roaming everywhere and we decided to call them as Pigs instead. Post dinner our conversation continued and then we had to get some sleep.
The next day early in the morning, we were woken by the sound of the mynas and I gotta say that it was the most beautiful thing to see in the morning. The forest was covered with mist all over and it was cold yet not so cold. After admiring the beautiful nature we played the card game while 2 of our collegues went to the safari again hoping to see the leopard and it was bad luck again for them. We then had breakfast and decided to head back to Bangalore.
The trip was tiring and I could sense World War 2 happening in my head while we were returning. I managed to take a small nap and finally reached Bangalore in the evening. Overall, it was a wonderful experience!!!
Best time to visit: November to January
For more details visit: http://www.indiatravelite.com/jungleriverlodges/kgudiinbrhills.htm
Accomodation: http://www.junglelodges.com/index.php/resorts/kgudi
