Naragarhole & Kutta

The best part of the journey is to drive slowly in the park and try to spot any movement on the trees or in the bushes and to alert the driver to slow down in case of any movement so that we could get a glimpse of whatever comes in our way.

We were greeted by Grey Jungle Fowl (Gallus sonneratii) which I think were accustomed to vehicles passing next to them regularly. As we inched forward we had a nice view of the Greater Racket Tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus). Very close to them were two Black Drongos (Dicrurus macrocercus) making noise and probably having a territorial fight.

As we moved on we could find several Black Rumped Flamebacks (Dinopium benghalense) pecking on barks of trees successfully picking out termites. Several White Cheeked Barbets (Meghalaima viridis) were calling alternatively as though proclaiming their territory.

We reached Spice Garden by 2:30 PM and were craving to have lunch. We got to know from Naveen’s father that Naveen was yet to reach kutta as he had not yet completed the formality at the function held at the Nagarahole gate.

We then started taking photographs of the plants and insects around the house. Mini spotted an arthropod (a spider – yet to be identified). It was fascinating for all of us to see our new found.

Seshu was busy clicking away photographs of all the plants for the website that has been planned for. He got several pictures of plants that are not to be seen in areas near Mysore.

As we settled ourselves near the ancestral property which was ready for our arrival very close to Naveen’s house we all were allured by the new tent that was built and ready for occupancy by Naveen. We had our lunch and by that time Naveen arrived and was happy to see us at his place. We requested Naveen for our accommodation at the tent, our wish was fulfilled and we moved our backpacks to the tent.

We then were ready for a walk around the 10 acre plot which was a private reserve in Naveen’s estate. Here all the living creatures are mosty protected from the evil hands of man as there is no or limited entry into this sector of the plot.

We could hear several Racket Tailed Drongos (Dicrurus paradiseus) as we approached the thicket. We then heard and saw many resident species of the area Malabar Parakeet (Psittacula columboides), they were resting before their flight back home. As we walked further, we came across several colourful spiders, each one of them with distinct patterns and colouration. We returned to the camp site by 5:30 PM through the coffee estate where Naveen has planted two kinds of coffee – Arabica and Robusta. The day ended with all four of us discussing about how to prepare camps for the visitors who would come through TheXplorerGuide.

The next day started with a wake up call from the nightingale of western ghats – Malabar Whistling Thrush (Myophonus horsfieldii) which was inspiring and thrilling. We got ready and left for the walk with Naveen, this time it was a different route but around the 10 acre plot. The walk was exciting with several spiders and various other insects which made the walk much more exciting. As we moved on we noticed a very rare sight of many ant hills which were left untouched by any of the people in and around the estate which made us feel very happy.

We then reached the center camp site where we intend to conduct regular camps from TheXplorerGuide. Naveen took leave of us here as he had to prepare for the guests who were arriving that morning at 11:00. We stayed at the camp site and then moved on towards the tent through the coffee estate. The path led us to the road that we had taken the previous day to reach Spice Garden. As we started walking on the road towards the tent we could see intense activity on a very old and big fig tree. The Coppersmith Barbets (Megalaima haemacephala) were having their time of the day. We spotted several small birds on the tree viz. parakeets, sunbirds, Ioras, orioles, small minivets etc. it was a feast to our eyes. After spending several minutes there we moved to the food court where we had our breakfast. We then spent time around the tent to check all the birds around the area.

It was 11:30 AM and we started moving back to the food court and to our surprise we confronted the harmless Striped Keelback (Amphiesma stolatum) which was our prize winning sight of the entire trip. Naveen then let us know that the local people would have immediately exterminated the snake in case they had seen it first. The snake got as lucky as us I suppose. We then rescued the snake and released it near the river (Lakshmanathirtha) which flows within Naveen’s property.

It was lunch time by then, we bid farwell to Naveen and his father and left Spice Garden with unforgettable memories. I hope to conduct camps at Spice Garden as early as possible.