2 MID-LIFE CYCLISTS IN A MOTORHOME: February 2017

February 2017.

We have now been in Goa since the beginning of November and it has been great to meet up with all the friends that we meet here every year. The weather has been glorious as always and there have been the usual boozy boat trips and many parties celebrating various birthdays as well as the odd quiz night and of course my white elephant night which always generates a lot of laughter.

South Goa

We thought it would be nice to explore the beaches further south so in January Glynn decided to hire a scooter. Our friends Sean and Karen had visited the southern beaches many times and were happy to lead the way as I have no doubt we would probably have ended up in Bangalore!! We had a fantastic day exploring Agonda, Palolem and Patnem as well as the lovely little bay around Colomb beach. The beaches are lined with beach shacks where you can stay overnight for around 1500 rupees a night on average so we have decided that we will definitely be back next year to spend a night or two on the beach watching the sun set. We also did a wonderful day trip with many friends to Old Goa to see Crocodiles in the Mandovi River which included a lunch of gorgeous spicy samosas and cold beers, another fabulous day.

Crocodile in Old Goa

The biggest focus of our time in Goa this year was our much anticipated trip to Southern India to go on a tiger safari with our friends Paula and Roye. We had booked a 6 day trip that would take us back to Mysore which we had visited last year and then on to Nagarhole National Park for a safari and a ride on the 'toy' train from Ooty to Mettapulayam through the Nilgiri mountains.

the wonderful displays of dyes in the market

12th February. We had a taxi booked for 5am as we had an early flight to Bangalore so it was four very tired but excited people en route to the airport. After a trouble free flight we arrived in Banagalore shortly after 9am where we were met by our driver and were soon on our way to Mysore. I had deliberately arranged a Sunday flight as I was keen for Paula and a Roye to witness the illumination of Mysore Palace that takes place every Sunday evening. After a quick check in at our homestay and a catch up with our hosts Stephen and Manjula we set off for the city centre where we had great fun exploring the markets with all the amazing colours from the displays of dyes, fruit, vegetables and flowers.

tempting fruit displays

After watching the illumination of the palace we then met up at a restaurant with our host Stephen and the other guests from the homestay at a lovely rooftop restaurant that served great curries. After such an early start to the day we were glad to get to bed as our driver was picking us up at 9am to head to Nagarhole.

13th February. We were all really excited to set off this morning. We had booked 2 nights at Kaav Lodge in Nagarhole National Park. If it lived up to the photos and reviews it was going to be an amazing experience but the highlight for me would be seeing a tiger while we were out on safari.

Our luxury 'tents'

I have long had this on my tick list so I was was full of anticipation although I accepted that our chances were slim of spotting one. Luckily Kaav Lodge decided to phone our driver to see if we wished to be booked on a safari for that afternoon as the driver then realised he was driving the wrong way!! A quick about turn meant we had only lost half an hour so we were still on target to arrive in time for lunch. When we arrived at Kaav Lodge we were not disappointed. They must have been looking out for our car as before we had even pulled up they were waiting to greet us with cool flannels to refresh ourselves after the journey. Our accommodation did not disappoint and our luxury 'tents' were actually nothing like tents but more like large log cabins with a canvas interior.

Excited about our first safari

They were beautifully appointed and everything you could need had been supplied. After a quick freshen up we went back down to the dining area for lunch before heading out for our first safari. I was trying not to get too excited but that has never been my strong point. Barely 5 minutes in to the safari we saw a small herd of elephants with some babies and many deer. We travelled all over the park and saw many birds and animals, including a brief glimpse of a leopard, but the tigers remained elusive and as time had run out it was with some disappointment that we started to head back.

A beautiful tiger

As we headed down a grassy track our driver suddenly spotted a tiger just ahead of us. He was sat in front of the bush looking quite majestic and we all began snapping away with our cameras. It was a truly magical moment. The tiger suddenly got up and started to disappear in to the bush before apparently changing his mind as he suddenly turned around and flopped down, resting his chin on his paws. AMAZING!! After a good 10 minutes of watching him and taking photos he finally got up and disappeared in to the bush and what I didn't realise until later when I enlarged the photos was that there was another tiger just sitting in the edge of the bush.

Looking relaxed at being photographed

It was amazing that they were so well camouflaged in spite of their bright orange and black colouring. We returned to Kaav Lodge feeling absolutely elated and enjoyed the remains of the evening sampling the amazing food that was prepared for our evening meal before retiring to go over the photos and get an early night ready for a very early start tomorrow.

Photo taken on my iphone though the telescope

14th February. We had a 5am wake up call when a tray of tea and biscuits were brought to us. Glynn insisted he had arranged it especially as a Valentine's Day surprise!! After a very quick drink we dashed down to meet the manager as he had a powerful telescope set up and had offered to show us a close up of the Moon and Uranus before we set off on an early safari. It was fascinating to be able to clearly see all the craters on the surface of the moon and he then positioned my phone camera over the viewfinder so that I could get a photo of it. As time was getting on we had to leave so he offered to show us Saturn if we were happy to rise at the same time tomorrow.

Amazing leopard photo

We set off on safari just as the sun was starting to rise and we witnessed a beautiful sunrise. As we entered the park we had another wow moment on a par with when we had spotted the tiger yesterday. A leopard was stood clearly visible on a tree just beside the track. He was looking straight at us and we managed to get some amazing photos before he descended the tree and disappeared in to the bush. I was elated to see a leopard so clearly as it was still quite dark and misty. We enjoyed a couple of hours exploring the park and we saw mongoose, elephants, vultures, squirrels, peacocks, gaurs (Indian bison), spotted deer, wild boar and numerous birds.

We returned to Kaav Lodge in time for lunch and afterwards the manager walked us around the grounds to point out various birds and we also got to try tamarind straight from the tree. Our driver then drove us down to the Kabini backwaters so we could explore the area and we had a hilarious moment when he drove too close to the water and sunk in to the soft ground. After failing to get out of the mud Paula insisted the driver got out of the car so she could take over and much to his shock she expertly steered the car to drier ground while all the men pushed from behind.

15th February. Sadly we overslept after two early starts and missed the opportunity to see Saturn through the microscope. After breakfast it was time to leave and it was with some sadness that we got ready as our experience both at Kaav Lodge and on the safaris was going to be hard to beat. We set off for Ooty as we had booked tickets on the toy train from Ooty to Mettapulayam through the Nilgiri mountains.

Travelling through the Nilgiri tea plantations

The train works on a rack and pinion system and it is the steepest rail system in Asia. It was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2005 and interestingly it's youngest X class locomotive is more than 50 years old while the oldest is over 80 years old. The track travels through 16 tunnels and across 250 bridges and four first class tickets cost us only 860 rupees (approx £9). Our driver dropped us at Ooty station and assured us he would be waiting to pick us up when we arrived at Mettapulayam three and a half hours later.

Cheeky monkeys!!

We enjoyed spectacular scenery as we travelled through the tea plantations, a gorge and forests with little colourful villages dotted amongst the trees. It was a fantastic train ride and as we stopped at each station along the route monkeys would swarm the platform hoping for scraps of food to be thrown to them. We even saw a cheeky monkey make a dash in to one of the station kiosks making his escape clutching a bag of crisps. At each station it was possible to get out and stretch your legs while the train took on more water. By the time we arrived at Mettapulayam we were ready to get to the hotel and relax. It was a long drive back to Ooty and in hindsight we should have just got the train as far as Coonoor as we would have still seen the amazing scenery but would have had time to explore Coonoor too before returning to our hotel. We got stuck in a huge traffic jam as there were roadworks on the hairpin bends back down the mountain and extremely large trucks were trying to negotiate the narrow lanes. It was a relief to finally get to the hotel and relax. We were booked in to a lovely old heritage hotel which had individual villas around the grounds and the bygone grandeur was still evident in the tired decor.

16th February. After breakfast in the magnificent panelled dining room we set off back to Mysore. On our way to and from Nagarhole we passed through Bandipur Tiger Reserve where we saw elephants and deer as we drove by. There was a hilarious moment when we stopped at a shack for refreshments and a cow came up and stuck his head in my window, obviously used to being fed by visitors.

Hilarious moment!!

His great big tongue came out and I was killing myself laughing as I tried to lean back out of his way. On our return to Mysore we got the driver to take us to Chamundi Hill so Paula and Roye could see the Nandi bull and get a panoramic view of Mysore. We then returned for our final night at our homestay and Manjula cooked a wonderful vegetarian Indian meal for us all.

Nandi Bull on Chamundi Hill

17th February. As well as doing fantastic cycle tour of the area, Stephen of Mycycle Tours fame also arranges tuk tuk tours for those that don't fancy or are unable to cycle round Srirangapatnum. As we didn't have to be at the airport until late afternoon we took advantage of the time left to do just that as although we had done the tour last year on bikes we were happy to accompany Paula and Roye to see the jaggery factory and all the other sites again. After a final morning exploring Srirangapatnam we stopped for lunch before heading to the airport at Bangalore for our flight back to Goa.

What can I say about this trip except WOW!! I can't believe I was lucky enough to not only see a tiger but for it to remain in front of us for so long while we took photos and just admired its strength and beauty. It was an incredible trip and we had a truly wonderful time. The sighting of the tiger and seeing the leopard in the tree in the early morning mist will stay with me forever and were the absolute highlight of the trip. We now had one more month to relax in Goa before our flight home.