In the home of ‘The big five’

The thrill began around January when a friend proposed a trip to South Africa. It seemed a bit long and high budget trip, however it was an opportunity to see wildlife in another continent.

After researching where to go and what to see and getting a few estimates and budget planning, we asked Swapnil (Daffodil holidays) to plan the trip for us and accompany us to Kruger national park.

We reached Johannesburg, South Africa really early in the morning on 1st May, and had breakfast at the airport. Swapnil had hired an eight seater van for all of us and we immediately started for Kruger. The most convenient way to travel in South Africa is Self drive cars and there are many companies who rent cars. On the way to Kruger, Swapnil briefed us about how we were going to go, where we will be staying and once we enter from the Kruger gate the safari will start etc. 

Since we were going to stay in the core area, there was a higher possibility of seeing wild animals anytime anywhere. We entered Kruger around noon. The first animal we saw was an Impala. A beautiful animal with a shiny golden brown skin and wavy horns with a design of rings on them. After that it was a treat for the next 4 days :D. 

A well spent day at Doha

We had planned a trip to South Africa. Due to rescheduled flights we had a 15 hours lay over at Doha.

We started early morning on 30th April from Mumbai. It was a long night with 3 children, 4 sleepy adults waiting to board the flight. We reached Doha at 5 am in the morning Doha time. 

We were worried how we will be able to keep children engaged and happy for that long, considering certain restrictions in public place. But they started playing the minute they saw an empty area on airport :).

We had checked whether we can go out in Doha city and visit places. By the time we reached Doha we knew 'On arrival' visa was possible for Indians with certain bookings in place. 

A memorable trek to Ratangad

We went to Ratangad, near Bhandardara on 17-18th June 2023. We had taken Shravya, our 4.5 year old daughter for the trek. We have been following 'say and do' with her since we learnt about it. We love trekking and have introduced it to her since she was 11 months. We took her to Lohagad then and fortunately there was very less crowd and she could crawl on the steps of the fort. We have been blessed with a child who is eager to climb wherever possible and she enjoyed it. 

We have been taking her to different forts since then and she has climbed very well considering her age. We have seen how powerful 'Say and Do' is every time in this case. 

Himalayas calling...

As it was Shravya's first long school break during the summer, a trek in the Himalayas was the first choice. Although we had considered a trek the previous summer, we had hesitated due to concerns about Shravya's age.

Then, in February, our friend Mithali shared details about a kids and parents trek near Manali organised by Mountain Fit. Our friend Apoorv was going to be one of the leaders and he expressed confidence in Shravya's ability to complete the trek. I was still not sure whether we should go for it. But we hadn't been to Himalayas over 6 years and it felt like a calling...

वाघांच्या राजधानीत...

काही महिन्यांच्या उपासानंतर जंगलात फिरायला जायचं ठरलं. आज उद्यात तारखा ठरवू म्हणत माणसं ठरेपर्यंत दोन आठवडे गेलेच पण १६-१९ नोव्हेंबरला भाचेकंपनीसकट १० जण ताडोबाला जायला गोळा झालो. 

ताडोबा आणि अंधारी अभयारण्याचं  (Tadoba and Andhari Tiger Reserve - TATR) मुख्य वनक्षेत्र (core) हे ६२५.४ स्क्वेअर किलोमीटरचं आहे. आजूबाजूचं काही (buffer) क्षेत्र मिळून एकूण क्षेत्र साधारण १७२७ स्क्वेअर किलोमीटरचं आहे. कोअर भागात जाण्यासाठी कोलारा, नवेगाव, मोहारली गावातून दारे आहेत. बफर भागात जाण्यासाठी, कोलारा, पळसगाव, अलिझंझा ही प्रवेशद्वारे आहेत. आणखीही काही प्रवेशद्वारे आहेत पण वरील प्रवेशद्वारे प्रामुख्याने वापरली जातात. कदाचित या दारांपासून एका वेळी आत जाऊ शकणाऱ्या गाड्या जास्ती असल्याने किंवा या ठिकाणी पोहोचणं त्या मानानी सोपं असल्यामुळे तसं असावं.