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03.02.08 Sultanbatheri
Quick omelet then tuk tuk to bus station where locals kindly pointed us to the right bus...no english signage here. I thought we had a bit of time so queued up for some mags and quietly walked back to the bus only to see it moving off and Paul looking for me and Julia ready to jump off with hers and Paul's packs...no matter...I scrambled on and crawled into the nearest seat as did Paul only to be told they were womens only seats so we sat in the bumpiest of all seats in the back. Julia found an empty seat and had the conductor sitting next to her the whole way...yes you guessed it ...she was in the designated conductor's seat but he wasn't going to ask her to move! The bus filled at various times to capacity and it seemed at times there were about 10 of us sharing the back seat..all very cosy.
The trip was about 3 hours inland with some very steep climbs and hairpins all taken as fast as possible. The landscape was dramatic with rubber plantations, paddy fields, papaya and banana plantations oh and more palms of course. The side of the road had precipitous drops but this doesn't seem to deter thr driving habits, as we rose to about 1500m passing lots of monkeys along the way who were more than a little interested in motorists who had overcooked their radiators on the way up. As we reached the top the landscape changed to tea and spice plantations as far as the eye could see.
We could spot our hotel from where the bus stopped so walked there. The rooms were probably the most expensive we'd had (at 542R) but they were excellent with tv hot water and towels and linen so it was good to have a good clean up.
Julia organised a jeep trip at reception for the following morning into the Muthanga portion of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
A 6:30 meeting with our jeep man ensured we had a minimal sleep. However because of the altitude the temps were down a bit to about 18 overnight so we all had solid sleeps. The park entrance was only 14Km away and we were there in no time organised a guide and payed all entry fees etc. First up was a peacock just after seeing some domestic working elephants. Then Indian deer, flying squirrels, but not much else. The sun was just rising so it was the best time and our guide was very passionate about the whole thing and seemed determined to find us what we wanted. We stopped for some photos and there beside the obvious elepant footprints were fresh tiger ones so we went to the furterest watering hole but nothing, no elephants. our guide spotted some vultures in the trees about 100m away so we walked towards them and found the interest for them was a freshly culled antelope type animal which had been taken by the tiger and finished off by the vultures...and eerie sensation...all of us in the middle of nowhere 100m from the jeep and no protection...and a guide with illfitting shoes and not even a stick for protection!
We headed on back via a loop and finally spotted three elephants grazing in the undergrowth about 100m away but too small to photograph...so carried on back to the main road and there as random as most things in India were a whole family of elephants at the side of the road. Three crossed slowly about 50m or less from where we were parked ...absolutely magical then father and a smaller one broke into a trot to join the others, hollering and moving so astonishingly fast yet so very gracefully. They just seemed to glide over the ground. They were in lovely condition ...not like the craggy beasts we see at the zoo. A super experience and our guide was almost as excited as us so this really was quite a treat! In the afternoon our jeep took us to a couple of landmarks ..one a granite outcrop called the phantom and the second the Edakal Cavescontaining petroglyphs believed to date back to 4000BC. It was a big climb but well worth the effort as we entered these ancient caves. The impressions were very clear and are being well looked after...I guess it helps that they were all carved into solid granite which is such a dominant part of the landscape here.
All in all a great days experiences and lovely to get out into the fresh and slightly cooler air. The views from above the cave structure were quite spectacular though spoilt a little by the constant haze/smog which seems to hang in the sky.
Had a well deserved rest and dinner in the hotel restaurant and then a HOT shower...wow!
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