. 12TH Fri. Bera Safari Lodge Morning/Evening Leopard Drives

Our host told us gleefully that the morning drive would leave at 5.30am as the driver would take us to a site slightly further out where leopards had been spotted yesterday. 

 For the morning drive we were issued with a blanket each which helped a little but, again, we were seriously cold despite wearing many layers of clothing, hats and scarves. It didn't get light until 7am so it wasn't possible to see much After unsuccessfully driving round hills/caves potentially housing the leopards we stopped for a hot drink around 8.30 at which point our driver got the 'heads up' from another spotter that a leopard with cubs had been seen. So we drove at breakneck speed to the site and were rewarded with the sight of Mummy and 2 cubs. They were quite a long way up the hill but our driver was very keen not to intrude and alarm her – the photos aren't the best … but we're so lucky to have seen her and her very healthy-looking youngsters who are around 12 weeks old. 

 The scenery here is really quite stunning with amazing rock formations and lovely lakes  ... a few pics

We got back to camp after 4 hours to a very nice breakfast – part Indian and part Western and then just chilled for a couple of hours.

The French couple have left, they were only here for one night.   A large party of Indians has arrived - I believe they are friends from college days who have decided to hold periodic get-togethers in different regions to get to know their country better.   They are a lovely friendly bunch but we're a bit 'out of it' when they converse in their own language.    One couple live in Orpington, Kent (near where I was born) but they have a home here in Mumbai also.  

Evening drive 4pm. We had a much nicer driver/spotter this time … he drove far more sensibly and we only went about 15 minutes away from the camp. We sighted leopards a couple of times but always from afar so our photos aren't the greatest – we did the best we could and at least we can say we've seen several now. 

Our Spotter pointed out a couple of mongoose(s)? playing on the hillside - goodness he certainly has good eyesight.  Even on maximum zoom our cameras barely picked them out as they were a long way out (probably quarter of a mile)

As the light went, we had the same rigmarole of the drivers/spotters driving around in the dark with flashlights trying to catch the 'headlamp' shine of the leopard eyes but thankfully the Indian contingent got bored and asked the drivers to return to camp so we didn't spend quite so long sitting around in the cold evening air.

Each night the outdoor fires are lit and all the guest sit around chatting and enjoying complimentary drinks.   Wine is difficult to get in India (at reasonable prices) but I really enjoy the local 'Old Monk' dark rum with coke and David has been happy with G&T.   Very civilised and a great way to get to know everybody else

11TH Thurs. Pali to Bera Safari Lodge (Rajasthan)

The Bera Safari Lodge is in the heart of the jawai leopard sanctuary.   there are 50+ leopards in the region and the 'boutique' lodge has just 5 cottages with outside seating areas from where we're told you can occasionally view a leopard. I think its more true to say you can view the mountains/hills where the leopards live!  The area was awarded Conservation Status in 2013 but apparently there are now moves afoot to allow more stone mining quarries in the area which will have a detrimental effect on the wildlife.

Quite basic but large and comfortable enough with 2 bathrooms and a nice terrace all round.

Our host is a keen conservationist and has worked with David Attenborough on documentaries about the leopards of India.

This area is one where the leopards live in reasonable harmony with the local humans. In some areas villagers put out poisoned bait to kill the tigers to prevent loss of their livestock. The Government does have a compensation scheme whereby it pays a sum to the villager/shepherd for each goat/sheep loss but this amount is equivalent to around 75% of a fat healthy specimen and must be supported by photographic evidence. As most villagers don't have cameras or phones capable of taking photos our host and his team have an arrangement whereby they will photograph any kills and take the evidence to the police to facilitate fast compensation payment so everyone is happy. Apparently its common for the villagers to put out older/non productive animals (the weakest) which wouldn't have a big market value so when they get taken by leopards the compensation is more than the worth of the poor sacrificial animal!

The drive here took just over 2 hours and we were given lunch immediately and told to be ready for the first 'leopard seeking' drive leaving at 3.30pm. There were two other guests, a lovely French couple and we were allocated different jeeps heading for different sites on the basis that whoever saw a leopard first would contact the other driver/jeep. In the event neither of us spotted leopards. Are going to be very disapppointed? On a previous trip we went in search of tigers. All we saw was a mark in the sand which the guide said was from a tiger - or his shoe, we thought.

We were joined in our jeep by the cousin of our host who was visiting for the afternoon. He spoke perfect English so was able to explain things along the way as our driver/spotter had limited English. The terrain here is amazing – its kind of volcanic with huge granite 'boulders' which were pushed out of the sea to form hills and mountains of varying sizes and strange shapes.

Our driver/spotter was very gung-ho racing the jeep forwards and backwards over seemingly impossible routes to obtain height so we'd get a decent view of the caves where leopards are known to go (they change their dwellings every couple of days apparently). Even David's faced paled a couple of times when he saw the rockfaces the driver intended taking!

I was seriously annoyed as we sped past a fabulous Eagle Owl who was perched on a rock (shoulder high) about 2 yards from our jeep but we whizzed past at such speed by the time the driver reacted to my shout for him to stop we were way past and had to reverse back so the owl took off for a perch much further away. It would have been a fabulous shot …. and the highlight of my evening drive!

This is the 'poor' shot we ended up with

After two hours of driving round and round the cave sites it became dark but our spotter wouldn't give up and we spent a further 2 hours driving in the dark with him using a large flashlight to highlight the terrain and spot the glow of feline eyes. Eventually we were rewarded with twin 'headlights' as his light picked up the eyes of a leopard … it was so dark we couldn't see the animal itself

We were absolutely frozen and I was very uncomfortable having started a grotty cold yesterday with streaming eyes/nose and not really relishing being bounced all over the place. We'd been told to wear warm clothing but nothing prepared for us how cold we would feel when the driver was speeding along in the open jeep. Every time I thought he'd give up and go back to camp he decided to take yet another look ….. until I was ready to throttle him (and David felt the same)

But, to give him his due, our driver/spotter did spot a nightjar on the track and I managed to get a couple of photos of it. I've never seen one before.   It looks quite amazing in flight.

It took 3 glasses of rum sitting round the campfire afterwards to thaw out!