Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA

James Riddle and I went on tour to the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. His keen eye spotted movement soon after we entered the park. We spotted a small herd of Rocky mountain big horn sheep in the mountains. These are wild animals which feed on the desert vegetation.

These sheep species are believed to have migrated from Siberia some 750,000 years ago when the Bering Land Bridge connected the continents of Asia and North America at Alaska.

In the video below, you can see these sheep feeding on desert vegetation.



The video is a bit shaky because I had to shoot at 20x optical zoom without a tripod with my Canon PowerShot SX10 digital camera. The quality of the video was much better before Google compressed it for this blog.

These sheep feed on the small poodles of water - as James explains in the video - that collect on hollow rocks in the desert mountains. These are the only sources of water in the otherwise barren land. You can see the big-horn sheep drinking water from a small poodle in this video:



We were following the White Domes trail in the Valley of Fire State park. The canyon walls slowly started to close-in on us until there was just a foot of gap between the two walls. This geological feature, as James explains in the video is called a slot canyon.



Here's a picture of the slot canyon:
There were numerous cavities and holes in the rocks caused by millions of years of erosion. This video has been shot from one of these holes.



This picture gives you a better idea of the place from where I took the video:

Bellagio Hotel & Casino - Giant musical fountain



The giant musical fountain in front of Bellagio Hotel and Casino is one of the major 'free' shows in Las Vegas. You can just stand on the road and watch the spectacle. The show is repeated every half hour.

You can watch these fountains dance to the tunes of other popular songs on you tube:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bellagio+fountain&search_type=&aq=f

An ode to a mountain

Our company recently undertook a trek to Kumara Parvatha in India's Western Ghats. Here's a lyrical account of our trek :-) Love it or hate it? Do post a comment.

An ode to a mountain

Shrouded in a blanket of mist and cloud
Your heights held a challenge we loved.
So we set out to conquer your slopes
With a beautiful view among our hopes

We marched steadily towards your peak
A glorious view is all that we would seek.
But, will you lift your cloudy veil
And let us savour your beauty so frail?

Battling blood-sucking leeches
With no time for songs or speeches
Along we marched into the dense jungle
Watching our step, so not to fumble

Carrying a heavy load on our backs
And trekking along the mountain tracks
We got soaked in heavy rain
Knowing our efforts will not be in vain.

Alas it was not to be...
Your beauty we could not fully see
You never lifted your cloudy veil
With all our efforts only to fail.

But we are not all that dejected,
As some mountaineer once suggested..
"You can never conquer the mountain
You can only conquer yourself and gain".

Jnana Teja

KSRTC to introduce Mercedes Benz buses

Do you like travelling by the Swedish Volvo buses? Then I am sure you would love to travel by the German Mercedes Benz buses. KSRTC which has the largest fleet of inter-city Volvo buses is planning to acquire Mercedes Benz buses by the end of March 2010. Mercedes Benz has expanded its Pune facility to churn out buses. MSRTC has also inked a deal with Mercedes Benz.

Soon, you could be travelling in buses such as these:


These buses have a capacity of 44/49 seats - similar to the Volvo buses.

For further information check these links:
http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedkingdom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/bus.flash.html

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Interview/Wilfried-Aulbur-Mercedes-Benz-India-CEO/articleshow/4685155.cms

Birds of Lalbagh, Bangalore

Armed with our new Canon SX10, we set out to Lalbagh on a Sunday morning in April to shoot some birds. We reached Lalbagh at around 9am. It turned out to be a cloudy day, not great for photography. Once inside the garden, we headed straight to the lake.

We saw plenty of Black Kites roaming about on the ground, close to the pond.

Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

As we reached the pond, the scene looked promising. Lots of birds. There were several Purple Moorhen in the lotus pond and one on a close-by tree.

Purple Moorhen (Gallinula Chloropus) with a duck

Purple Moorhen (Gallinula Chloropus)

Purple Moorhen (Gallinula Chloropus)

Compared to the Moorhens, the Pond Herons were less active. One of them stood like a statue for several minutes, posing for a photograph.

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)

I like the egrets, they are always majestic - in pure white. I wonder how they manage to maintain the colour.

Little Egret ( Egretta garzetta)

In contrast, Cormorants are the darkest black I have ever seen. I call them scuba divers as they dive deep into the water to hunt for fish. Here's one taking rest...

Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)

Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)

..and here's one just emerging out of a dive...

Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)

There were a pair of geese wading in the water and were a delight to watch...


Of course, who doesn't like the squirrels, especially if they obligingly pose for a photograph?


Finally, here's a lotus to sign off.

Weekend getaway: Cauvery Fishing Camp at Bheemeshwari

After some hectic work during the week, we wanted a relaxing getaway close to Bangalore. We wanted to go to a place where we could just relax and do nothing. Cauvery Fishing Camp at Bheemeshwari not only fulfilled these requirements, but also turned out to be one of the best places we had ever visited.

We booked our log-hut through the website of Jungle Lodges. We left Bangalore on a Saturday morning at 9AM. We had breakfast in the city and proceeded to Kanakapura road via Banashankari. Kanakapura road is a great road to drive. Though it is not as well constructed as the Bangalore-Mysore highway, it is mostly devoid of traffic and passes through scenic countryside. You will see several ponds dotted with birds and lotus flowers along the route.

After driving through a bad patch of road inside Kanakapura town and passing through Sathnur village, we finally reached Hallaguru. Here we enquired the route to the camp at a shop. An elderly gentleman, apparently eager to ostentate his English skills approached us with much pomp and gave us the directions. Although we couldn't fathom his utterances, we could comprehend from his gestures that he wanted us to drive 10 Kms down an adjacent road.

This 10 Km stretch from Halaguru to Bheemeshwari winds through hills and forests and is completely devoid of people. Occasionally though, you will encounter herds of sheep which test your patience as you try to teach them the niceties of heeding to a car-horn. It was getting just too beautiful for us to continue driving on. So we stopped and stepped out of the car to soak in the landscape. The trees were just shedding their leaves revealing their beautiful fractal shaped branches and the leaves were resplendent with colours of autumn.

After three hours of leisurely driving we reached the camp at 12 noon, just in time for check-in. After the paperwork and gulping down the welcome drink, we were escorted to our very own log-hut. The log-hut is actually a brick and mortar structure beautifully camouflaged with logs and a sloping roof. It is air-conditioned, has its own attached bathroom and a verandah. It is a treat to sit on the verandah along with your coffee and enjoy the melodious orchestra of bird calls.

Each log-hut has its own hammock outside where one can lie down and watch the undulating waters of the Cauvery river as it flows down the valley.

The resort is secluded as it is nestled between two hills. The Cauvery flows in-between these hills and along the resort cottages. After checking into our accommodation, we proceeded to check-out the river in front of our log-hut.

It was a wonderful experience sitting along the riverside with none but the birds to keep us company. We watched the antics of night-herons as they dove into the river at one spot and emerged out of a different spot. We then got a wonderful photo opportunity when a Stone Plover landed near us and went about its business searching for food. This bird is not too shy and allowed us to get some reasonably good shots. Several birds fly along the surface of the river taking advantage of the ground-effect phenomenon which gives them additional lift. We spotted some more bids which we could not identify.


It was 4 PM and time for our coracle ride. After strapping on the life jackets, we hopped into the coracle along with another couple. The coracle man took us some distance upstream. The ride was pretty uneventful except for the sighting of a crocodile swimming in the water.

After the coracle ride, we decided to do a bit of kayaking. Kayaking costs Rs.300 for a couple. You are your own although there will be a trained person following you in case you need help or advice. It was the first time that both of us handled an oar and we did manage to row some distance into the river. No doubt, it was fun. During monsoon, Bheemeshwari provides white water rafting at extra cost in addition to kayaking.

After the kayaking, we settled down on the river bank and enjoyed the beautiful sunset.
At 7 PM, there was a barbecue around a small, almost unnoticable camp fire. The vegans had bhajji and peanuts for the barbecue! It was a clear night and we could see hundreds of stars sparkling in the sky. We spent some time identifying constellations and then retreated to bed.

Early next morning, we went to the dining house at 7 AM ready for the trek. As we were waiting for other guests to arrive, we had a chat with Mr. Asif, the friendly assistant manager of the resort. He ushered us towards a small lemon tree near the resort office and showed us a beautiful bird unlike any we had ever seen before. It was the asian paradise fly-catcher with an incredibly long tail for its body size. It was white in colour and was restless, jumping from one branch to another, although the long tail made this activity look clumsy. Although we tried to take a snap of the bird, we couldn't get anything worth keeping due to lack of proper camera equipment.

Soon our guide arrived and we started the trek. The trek involved a walk along the forest and a trek up the neighbouring hillocks. During our trek, we were lucky enough to see a spotted deer. There was a watch tower on top of the hill from where we had a splendid view of the river and the fog engulfed mountains. We were taken along a different route on our way down the mountain. This route was along the Cauvery river and offered us spectacular views of the landscape.

After the trek, we had a sumptuous breakfast, not just because it was good but also because we knew that it would be very difficult to find restaurants along the way back home where we could stop for lunch. During the course of the breakfast, we met the assistant manager, Mr. Asif and thanked him for giving us a rare glimpse of the paradise flycatcher.

After breakfast, we again settled down on a rock along the river bank. The river water was sparkling against the morning sun. Sitting all by ourselves along the sprakling waters of the Cauvery and watching the birdlife was one of the high points of our trip.

The river is interspersed with rocks and on one such rock far in the middle of the river, we spotted what looked like a crocodile. It was well camouflaged against the rock. After a closer look through the binoculars, we could see its menacing teeth. Then we spotted another croc. Though it was wonderful sitting there, it was a bit disconcerting with the crocs around. As it was time for check-out, we took one last deep breath, one last look around the wonderful landscape and went back to our log-hut.

After check out, it was once again back to the hustle and bustle of the city, but not before another enjoyable drive along the beautiful Kanakapura road with memories to cherish.

Please post your feedback about this travelogue. If you could identify any of the birds, do drop in a comment.


THE GUIDEBOOK

Jungle Lodges and Resorts is a unit of Govt. of Karnataka. There are three camps in close proximity to each other of which Bheemeshwari is the largest and most easily accessible. The other two are Doddamakali and Galibore. Doddamakali is 7 Kms upstream and Galibore 15 Kms downstream from Bheemeshwari. Doddamakali and Galibore are really remote. They have only tented cottages and no electricity. Furthermore, you either need to trek or have a four-wheel drive to reach them. Bheemeshwari however offers air-conditioning and other comforts.

Getting there
Bheemeshwari is a remote place and it is better to hire your own transport. Take the Bangalore-Kanakapura road. Drive past towns of Kanakapura, Sathnur and Halaguru. From Halaguru you have to drive about 10Kms towards Muttatti. Don't be perturbed if you feel you are on a road going nowhere. You are on the right track! Most of the intersections are well marked to guide you towards the camp. When in doubt, ask the locals.

Accomodation
Bheemeshwari offers log-huts, mud-huts and tented cottages. Log-huts and mud-huts are air-conditioned with attached bath. Log-huts are a good option at Bheemeshwari as they are located close to the river.

Cost
Log-huts cost Rs.2750 per person per day and includes accomodation, food and all activities. You will have to pay extra for angling and rafting, though.

Best time to visit
Best time to visit is soon after the monsoon as the river is full and rafting is possible. However, if you are interested in birds, January is a good time. Water starts to recede from January onwards.

Best moments of the trip
-Stargazing at the campfire
-Birdwatching sitting along the river in the morning
-Glimpse of the elusive paradise fly-catcher