Kapama Safari

Lion Safari

Recently had an opportunity to go on a bush safari at Kapama Reserve - a private game reserve near the world renowned kruger national park in south africa.

the forest was unlike the visuals one sees on tv-of wide open grasslands (savannas) with hordes of wild animals. this was more like an indian jungle , low lying dense trees with thick bushes, termite hills.

during the safari on customised land rovers we saw lions, zebra, wild boar, giraffe, impala and the white rhinos. a pride of 3 young lionesses seemed to have no fear and posed at a distance of some 10 ft away from the vehicles. also at a water hole came across mother and baby rhino.

the safari was guided by a reserve ranger with a tracker sitting in front.

we missed seeing a leopard..scanned all trees..probably a future visit destined.

Sultanpur Birds

Last weekend the entire family with some relatives visited Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary near Gurgaon ( some 40 kms from Delhi). Spread over some 300 acres of swamp land it attracts lots of migratory birds.. ..including Siberian Cranes.

Had packed lots of eateries from homes. The kids had fun, taking a complete walk around , playing cricket, picknicking …..however the road leading is in bad shape (Farroukh Nagar Road) ....its surprising the Haryana Govt hasn’t done much despite lots of foreign tourists who visit the place . Have a look at the Pics.

Kala Sahib of Kumaon

Durgacharan ( DC) Kala was amongst the old school of journalists who had a log stint at Hindustan Times..he was also a Kumaoni who spent his childhood amongst wooded colonial bungalows & himalayan hills ( his father was a DC during the British Era).
He is the acclaimed 1st biographer of Jim Corbett ( a childhood hero of Kala's ). Later after retirement he settled in Ranikhet and spent time researching on another colorful legend of Garhwal..Frederick Wilson of Hursil(near gangotri).
Both books are delightful tales which give you insights of the life/environment of that era. http://www.scholarswithoutborders.in/item_show.php?code_no=ECL024