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11th February 2007
Our day trip to Velavadar was much anticipated. I packed dunny wrap, sucked slowly on a lolly and crossed my fingers that I didn’t turn inside out. Velavadar National Park is a unique grassland ecosystem that has attracted fame for the successful conservation of the Blackbuck, the wolf and the lesser florican. Once found in open plains throughout the country, the blackbuck’s largest population occurs in this park. The park is spread over an area of 35 sq.kms, its grassland, the greenery and the quadrapeds are visible as far as the eye can see. The park has more than 1,000 Black Buck that can be viewed on the open grassland from very close range. It has ringed horns that have a spiral twist of three to four turns and are up to 70 cm long. The body's upper parts are black and the underparts & the ring around the eyes are white. The light brown female is usually hornless.
The fastest of the Indian Antelopes, they move-off in a series amazing leaps and bounds when threatened, and then break into a lightning run. The wolf and the jackals are the main predators in the park. Wolves here use shrub land for lying, dining and for rendezvous and depend on blackbuck, hare and other small animals as their prey. Another rare sight is that of the lesser Florican, which migrate and settle here to breed in the grasslands. After arrival, the male bird marks the territory and displays to attract the female. The courtship display of the male is a spectacular vertical leap up to a height of two meters and may display over 500 times in a day! Velavadar is also an excellent place to see a large number of harriers. The park is very rich in other birdlife as well. We arrived at Velavadar National Park at 0715. This park is also known as Blackbuck National Park on account of very large herds of this beautiful animal. The first bit of excitement was when Max and the guide sighted a small group of striped hyaena. A few minutes later I spotted an animal with sharp teeth slink into an isolated patch of grass next to the road. We directed Max to the site on foot while we sensibly stayed on the roof of the bus (this is why it is always good to travel with people who are relatively new to wildlife watching). Five minutes later we found three wolves hunting blackbuck. The blackbuck herd included a stunning albino male. Although we had paid for a four hour safari the guide announced after 75 minutes that the tour had ended and that was it. Pig’s arse it was. So we went back into the park for another 45 minutes, after which time the park had been apparently been abandoned by the rest of the staff. We determined that we could have a better experience walking along the public main road that bisects the park. So that’s what we did, picking up a few birds and another wolf in the process. I would certainly highly recommend Velavadar. Much wildlife can be easily seen from the road that runs through it and you would not have to pay for this option. Lunch was at Bhavnagar. The Jimmies, Mayette and I wandered the town, exchanging money, marveling at the number of painted storks nesting in a city park. 12th February 2007 Another early start for our eagerly anticipated visit to the Jain Temples at Palitana. The hill on which the temples are located requires a climb that ascends 3600 steps. I was proud of Mayette. Although the Taj Mahal is much more beautiful than the Jain temples (and possibly any other buildings), what you see is what you get with the Taj. It really does look like the postcards. The Jain temples on the other hand provide for more personal experiences. I found them fascinating, complicated and much more human than the Taj. I think we all agreed that they were second on our list of cultural sites of interest. As the Jains kill nothing – even to the extent of masking their mouths against the involuntary inhalation of microscopic insects – there were quite a few good birds to be seen on the rocky vegetated slopes of the hillside. Amongst all the Jain temples, Palitana temples are considered to be the most sacred. Located on Shetrunjaya hills there are 863 exquisitely carved temples. No one is allowed to sleep overnight including the priest, because the temple city has been built as an abode for the Gods. It is also one of the greatest tourist attractions in Gujarat for foreign tourists. The act of ascending a path to reach a place of pilgrimage is a part of the Hindu and Jain consciousness, which is why many of their holiest temples are located along hills and mountain ranges. The Jains have five separate hill locations for their holiest clusters of temples and Shatrunjaya Hill, Palitana is considered the most important among them. Another group is in Junagadh, not too far away, while others are in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Palitana houses perhaps the largest cluster of Jain temples anywhere. These temples were built in two phases-the 11th and 12th centuries as a part of the resurgence of temple building all over India, and in the 16th century. Some of the earliest temples built in the 11th century were destroyed by Muslim invaders in the 14th and 15th centuries. The current temples date back to 16th century onwards. Not any one person or group was responsible for the construction of these magnificent temples. It was the effort of the wealthy businessmen who were followers of Jainism that these buildings came into existence. Dinner was enjoyed in the palace garden. 13th February 2007 After breakfast we negotiated the convoluted hotel check-out procedure and faithful Babu delivered us reasonably intact to the Bhavnagar Airport for our flight to Mumbai. Babu was very fond of the bus’s horn, and as a parting gesture he entertained us by playing tunes on it. The Jet Airways check-in was slick, the aircraft modern and the 737-800 departed and landed earlier than scheduled. On Arrival at Mumbai Airport a Sea Princess Hotel limo arrived with instructions to pick up just two passengers. The nice man promised to use only the finest surgical steel and get a good price for the body parts on those that were to wait for another vehicle in “five minutes”.
The seafront outside the hotel was surprisingly clean and sandy and by late afternoon it was well stocked with happy people.
After lunch we were picked up and taken to Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which is located very close to the centre of Mumbai City. This park is full of good forest, deer, monkeys, a healthy population of leopards and the 2000 year old Buddhist Kanheri Caves. These were very accessible, simply stunning and not to be missed. Raju, our local guide, made the visit more interesting by his expert commentary. The caves are scattered over a monolithic hillside. The rock carvings were exquisite. I could have spent the whole day there, looking at the historic and the natural. I am guessing that a great diversity of birds could be seen if we had more time. KANHERI CAVES: Rock-cut structures are one of the most primitive forms of architecture found in several parts of India. The Kanheri Caves in Maharashtra are one of the finest examples of this architectural style. The Caves are located high in the surrounding hills. A narrow winding path, leads up to them. Built by Buddhist monks, the caves are in keeping with the Buddhist ideas of simplicity. The caves are characterised by many halls and a huge stone stupa along with the 2000-year-old teak wood ceiling, which is still intact. Outside the cave is a pillar crowned with lions. This was an emblem of the Buddhist King Ashoka, now adopted by the Indian Government as the state emblem. Mayette and I passed on the “lion and tiger safari tour”, which I understand was little more than a drive past some open-air cages. So we added quite a few birds to our trip list as we ducked and weaved between restrained Indian lovers in the parkland outside the “big pussy in cage” place. Beers beside the hotel pool adjacent to the beach were enjoyed before a lovely meal at a restaurant across the road. The hotel is located in the ritzy Bollywood strip so there was no shortage of places to eat. 14th February 2007 Our wake-up call was for 0245. We caught a Jet Airways 737-800 flight to Jaipur. We finally arrived at the very swish Jaipur Hilton for check in. It was late morning the elephants plodded us up the incline to the Amber Fort on the outskirts of the city. AMBER FORT: The Amber Fort in Rajasthan was built in 1592 by Raja Man Singh, and is one of the finest examples of Rajput architecture. Perched high obarren ridge, it commands extensive views over a deep narrow valley and the wider plains beyond. The building was finally completed in the early 18th century when the threat of Mughal domination was receding. From the 16th century up to the foundation of Jaipur in 1727 the Rajputs, both for defensive purposes and as a residence, use the Amber Fort. Thus behind the mighty walls you'll find charming gardens and magnificent palaces made from marble and precious stones, richly decorated with elaborate stoneworks and paintings, representing royal splendor and luxury. Guests have the chance to ride an elephant up to the entry gates. Our guide was the font of all wisdom when it came to his special subject – Local Amber Forts of the Jaipur Region. The scale, majesty and sheer effort that would have been required to build the thing made me wonder about India in 2007. The “Pink City of Jaipur” was visited after lunch. This must have been good because the photos look nice but we were starting to suffer temple / fort malady and having serious trouble absorbing new information. I decided that my immediate future lay within the realms of single malt whisky. Max and Dave agreed. An open-air restaurant resplendent with colourful all-singing and all-dancing local women was made all the more interesting (and safe) by Mayette’s non-attendance.
A Wildlife, Culture An Lifestyle Experience Trip
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