During the second week of November we
decided to make the long awaited trip to Ganeshgudi/Dandeli – an armchair-birders’
paradise though I did not know it then (I mean the armchair part). I used to
see these beautiful bird pictures on the net, all sighted at Ganeshgudi and
wonder. Therefore, when Ajit our friend suggested we make a trip there this
year I was quite excited. November is the start of the birding season, the
weather is pleasant and it coincided with the Diwali holidays making it
possible for our friends, who unfortunately still need to work ;- ) to join us.
We drove down from Pune while Ajit and Anu drove up from Chennai. (The detailed
route taken to and fro is given at the end of the post).
The bookings for the stay
arrangements were made online. Our first choice was The Old Magazine House – so
called because of its history. In 1974, when the nearby Supa Dam was under
construction, 2 lightening protected rooms were built in the middle of the
jungle, far from human habitation, to store blasting material. One farsighted
forest officer had the idea to utilize the space for a tourist resort. Unfortunately, the 5 shacks in the Old
Magazine House are not currently being rented out as they need renovation so
they instead put us up at the Kali River Resorts (also part of the Jungle
Resorts). However, for anybody who does not mind community living dormitory
with bunk beds is still available.
We started at 7am from Pune on the 11th
of November and, comfortably, reached Kolhapur around 11.30am. We had decided
to stay the night with my nephew, Ravindra, and managed to do some local sightseeing as
well. After a rather oily lunch at a local restaurant we drove to Panhala Fort
some 25 kms from the city and put to rest one of Rajeev’s long standing complains.
We had missed seeing it a couple of times while returning from Ratnagiri and
Ganpatiphule.
PANHALA FORT or PANHALGAD
Built in 1178 by Bhoja II of the
Shilaharas, the fort has had a chequered history, passing through many hands. In
1659 Shivaji took Panhala Fort from Bijapur which was in a state of confusion
due to the death of its general Afzal Khan. The next year Adil Shah II of
Bijapur sent his army under the command of Siddi Johar to wrest the fort back
from Shivaji. After 5 months of siege Shivaji was all but captured but the
bravery of his commander Baji Prabhu Deshpande and his barber Shiva Kashid, who
impersonated Shivaji, saved the day. Ravindra told us a very moving story of
how, while Baji Prabhu kept the enemy engaged, Shivaji made his escape. Though
mortally wounded Baji Prabhu kept fighting till he heard the sound of the
cannon which signaled that Shivaji had safely reached Vishalgad and only then
breathed his last.
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| The brave warrior Baji Prabhu Deshpande |
One of the largest forts in the
Deccan, with a perimeter of 14km, it is in a relatively good condition. There
are a number of things to see in the fort. Teen Dawaza, (one of the three
double doorways) Andharbavdi (a hidden well), Ambarkhana,(consists of 3
granaries and also the palace), Rajdindi,( the third doorway to be used in case
of an emergency), Wagh Darwaza, (Another doorway with a prominent Ganesh motif
to elude invaders), Tabak Udyan, Sajjakothi, (viewing pavilion) Tarabai
Rajwada, Shivaji Temple, Nehru Garden, Moropant Library, Dharmakothi, Naykini Sajja (courtesans’
terrace room) are all important points to see.
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| With Ravindra |
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| Rittika posing in front of a solid inside wall of the fort |
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| The symmetrical arches | | | |
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| The Fort looking deceptively small from outside |
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| The Lion motif |
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| The Lotus motif of Raja Bhoj who built the fort. |
After spending Diwali evening with
Ravindra and his family we started again around 7am on a route chalked out by
my nephew and Rajeev after consulting Google maps (what else!). We flew! over
the Bangalore highway at great speed till we reached the bridge overlooking the
small town of Kittur. We got off the bridge with some difficulty after asking
some passersby, made a U-turn under the bridge then got on to a tiny village
road after taking a right from a small hotel called Gajraj. Rajeev complained a
lot after coming to a single lane from a 6 lane road. In retrospect, however,
it was not too bad because it hardly had any traffic.
KALI RIVER RESORTS
We reached Kali River Resorts by
noon, without much trouble even though we do not like using GPS and stopped frequently to ask the local people the way. All road signs were in Kannada only, thankfully the locals were helpful and spoke hindi. The last part of the drive was through
a forest and quite lovely. The resort at first glance seemed a little dry and
dusty but when we went into our river facing tents we felt rather pleased.
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| Kali Adventure Camp and Resort |
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| Our Tent |
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| It would have been nice if we had the time to just chill in a hammock |
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| Or even sit on the Machaan with a camera |
We
were informed that we would be treated like guests of the Old Magazine House
for 2 days and only the last day we would be part of the Kali Resort schedule. Our
friends from Chennai too joined us by lunch and so after lunch we were ferried 21
km by a safari jeep to the Old Magazine House for bird watching.
The RAMP WALK at the OLD MAGAZINE HOUSE
When we got off the jeep the sight we
saw took us by complete surprise. A row of tripods with high end cameras were
lined up behind a green netting with people busy clicking pictures. We joined
the group and saw the sight with absolute disbelief – small birds of all
colours were alighting on some bird baths and frolicking with abandon. One
would come and while I am focusing my camera on it another will take its place
in the bath – spraying water and letting out loud cheeps of delight. It was
such a delightful scene with just the sound of chirping birds and the rat-a-tat
of camera shutters. The birds incidentally, were unfazed by the machine gun like
sounds emanating from the cameras (Didi had a eureka moment and decided this
was the reason filming was called shooting!). Many of the birds I was seeing for the
first time. When a new variety came down a collective wave of excitement would
pass through the group and the camera sounds would go a couple of notches
higher. The ‘performance’ continued well into dusk. When there was a lull I
asked Mohan Babu who manages The Old Magazine House, if it was over – he said, no, since the
Orange-headed Rock Thrush had not made a second appearance yet. He has named the
spectacle a Ramp Walk so that would make the Orange headed Rock Thrush a ‘’Show
Stopper’’. Sure enough the peculiar little orange bird, with two black lines
down its face, made a second appearance and only then everything went quiet and
people got down to having their evening tea.
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| The Giant Malabar Squirrel thriving in these forests |
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| The languorous Langur |
When we got back, the lodge had a
bonfire going with evening tea and snacks. The food at the Lodge is excellent
without being too rich and spicy.
CORACLING
The THIRD DAY we were officially
guests of the Kali River Resorts. We would have liked to go for their river
rafting excursion but this year due to poor monsoons there was not enough water
in the river. So after another early morning bird watching session at the
timber depot, this time with Manjunath Ritti, another excellent guide, we went
Coracling in the Kali River after breakfast. It was fun floating in a basket on
the water while egrets, brahminy kites and pied kingfishers swooped on unsuspecting
fishes around you. The high point was seeing a colossal crocodile sun bathing
at an arms distance.
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| A reflection in the still waters of the Kali River |
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| An Egret, fishing |
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| Coracling in the Kali River |
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| The crocodile blending in with the rock |
THE DANDELI-ANSHI TIGER RESERVE
After lunch we were taken for a
safari to the Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve some 50 km away. Though not many
animals were sighted our driver and guide Prakash managed to make it a
memorable trip for us.
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| Abandoned Hornbill nests |
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| Tiger pug marks - proof of their presence |
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| A Barking deer as curious about us as we were about him |
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| crested hawk-eagle sighted at a distance |
Three days had passed without a dull
moment. It was not without a heavy heart that we bid farewell to the place and
started on the trip back. This time we came via Belgaum following our new found
friend Kaustub up to the highway. All went well till we reached Karad when we
landed into a nightmare of traffic jams and diversions. About 10 or 11
diversions on the highway due to construction activity and the returning
holiday crowd made us experience the worst possible traffic snarl. To cut a
very long story short we reached home well after midnight rather than sometime
around evening. It took me a few days to recover from that and get back the
fond memories of our trip and write about it.
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