We were at the gate15 mins ahead of time and there was already many jeeps waiting there. Our driver was Hanif, he was assigned to us by the lodge and will be with us for all four of our safaris.
The camera fees are also the highest here, typically fees are not charged if the lens is 200 mm or less but here a camera is a camera, at least cellphone cameras are not charged a fee.
After the formalities we were on our way, a forest guide Manoj was assigned to accompany us this morning.
Saw a few birds here and there but in general nothing sticks out as spectacular, the forest itself was pretty mundane as well.
Hanif was the bright spot, he had a keen eye and was able to do a great job of spotting, glad he has been to assigned to us for the duration.
Came back to the camp and went in for breakfast. Today is my Father in laws memorial and we eat vegetarian. We had already informed the staff about this last night, and they remembered and took care of us.
The food here is tasty with a large variety and we would soon realize that variety is pretty hard to get in authentic Gujarati cuisine. The coffee is also very good and much better than the ones we were to have later.
After lunch, it was time for the afternoon safari, we left at 3:00 pm with Hanif and picked up our assigned forest guide Thamsi for the entrance gate.
The afternoon safari produced 3 adolescent male lions romping in the grassland. The lions here are typically protected by armed guards, not only to endure their safety but also for crowd control. We saw a man with a mega lens, Sudip thought it was a 500 mm fixed lens, we kept running into him at other safaris and I kept wondering how he was shooting a large mammal with a birder's lens. Maybe he was photographing a fly on the lion's nose. He was dressed in the proper attire of a wildlife photographer so must be someone who knows what they are doing.
Other than the lions, the forest did not bare much, not even birds. We did see a species of tree with interesting root system.
Back to the camp at dusk, freshen up with coffee, and proceed to dinner. Dinner was tasty and served at the table tonight. On chit chatting with the restaurant staff it was obvious that the locals do not fear lions as much as they would a tiger. Very often a lion would be in the village taking a nap and the villagers would chase it out much as they would a stray cattle - interestingly not much different from the Masai in Africa.
Retired for the night shortly after, I couldn't help reminiscing about the tented camps in the Tarangire, they were in the middle of nowhere and lions paraded through them at night and you could here various wildlife on the prowl, a far cry from this congested place, where all one hears is people talking and partying.
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