Part 1
Last Monday morning, we had a very early departure from the hotel in Delhi for the airport and the hour and a half flight to Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, in Northwestern India. Gujarat was the home state of Gandhi, and, although it borders the Arabian Sea, it is an arid area, at the southern edge of the Thar Desert. We were headed to The Little Rann of Kutch, an area that was once part of the sea, but which has been uplifted ever so slightly so that it is now seasonally wet during the monsoons and dry the rest of the year. The terrain consists of marshes, mudflats and vast salt pans and is a the winter haven for a vast number of bird species from Europe and Asia. We went there in search of birds as well as other specialties of the area, including the only remaining herds of the endangered Indian wild ass, which is a lovely chestnut and cream colored equine.
We were met at the airport by a driver and vehicle, and headed out of Ahmedabad for the town of Dasada. Along the way we were met by many wondrous sites:
- Camels with huge carts loaded higher than the camel is tall with straw
- Tractors pulling low wagons like landscapers use to haul mowers, but instead of mowers the wagons were full of women donning brilliantly colored saris and wraps
- A shrine with a giant statue of Hanuman, the monkey God
- Fields planted with cotton and castor beans
We arrived at our lodging at Rann Riders in time for a wonderful lunch - the food was quite good there, and on our way to the dining area we encountered the stunning star tortoise in their garden.
In the afternoon, we all bundled up to take the first in a series of wildlife drives in different habitats. Our guide and driver, was twenty-two year old Azad who had a quite impressive knowledge of the animals of his area. Our vehicle was an open air Mahindra jeep and with bench seating at along each side.
In the afternoon, we all bundled up to take the first in a series of wildlife drives in different habitats. I ur guide and driver, was twenty-two year old Azad who had a quite impressive knowledge of the animals of his area. Our vehicle was an open air Mahindra jeep with bench seating along each side. We bounced around in search of birds, the wild asses, and India's largest antelope, the nilgai, which has a rather horse like look and gait to it. We found them all and even joined jeeps of other photographers at sunset - all men - lying on the ground' trying to capture the perfect image of the wild asses silhouetted against the setting sun.
As is generally the case in arid regions, it got quite chilly after the sun went down, so we pulled on the layers and bundled up for the windswept ride in our open jeep home. How lovely it would have been to have been able to grab a nice warming whiskey upon our return, but Gujarat is a very dry state in every sense of the word, with the sale and consumption of alcohol banned since Ghandi's time, so we had to settle for some excellent masala chai and a very good buffet of tasty India dishes.
Last Monday morning, we had a very early departure from the hotel in Delhi for the airport and the hour and a half flight to Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, in Northwestern India. Gujarat was the home state of Gandhi, and, although it borders the Arabian Sea, it is an arid area, at the southern edge of the Thar Desert. We were headed to The Little Rann of Kutch, an area that was once part of the sea, but which has been uplifted ever so slightly so that it is now seasonally wet during the monsoons and dry the rest of the year. The terrain consists of marshes, mudflats and vast salt pans and is a the winter haven for a vast number of bird species from Europe and Asia. We went there in search of birds as well as other specialties of the area, including the only remaining herds of the endangered Indian wild ass, which is a lovely chestnut and cream colored equine.
We were met at the airport by a driver and vehicle, and headed out of Ahmedabad for the town of Dasada. Along the way we were met by many wondrous sites:
- Camels with huge carts loaded higher than the camel is tall with straw
- Tractors pulling low wagons like landscapers use to haul mowers, but instead of mowers the wagons were full of women donning brilliantly colored saris and wraps
- A shrine with a giant statue of Hanuman, the monkey God
- Fields planted with cotton and castor beans
We arrived at our lodging at Rann Riders in time for a wonderful lunch - the food was quite good there, and on our way to the dining area we encountered the stunning star tortoise in their garden.
In the afternoon, we all bundled up to take the first in a series of wildlife drives in different habitats. Our guide and driver, was twenty-two year old Azad who had a quite impressive knowledge of the animals of his area. Our vehicle was an open air Mahindra jeep and with bench seating at along each side.
In the afternoon, we all bundled up to take the first in a series of wildlife drives in different habitats. I ur guide and driver, was twenty-two year old Azad who had a quite impressive knowledge of the animals of his area. Our vehicle was an open air Mahindra jeep with bench seating along each side. We bounced around in search of birds, the wild asses, and India's largest antelope, the nilgai, which has a rather horse like look and gait to it. We found them all and even joined jeeps of other photographers at sunset - all men - lying on the ground' trying to capture the perfect image of the wild asses silhouetted against the setting sun.
As is generally the case in arid regions, it got quite chilly after the sun went down, so we pulled on the layers and bundled up for the windswept ride in our open jeep home. How lovely it would have been to have been able to grab a nice warming whiskey upon our return, but Gujarat is a very dry state in every sense of the word, with the sale and consumption of alcohol banned since Ghandi's time, so we had to settle for some excellent masala chai and a very good buffet of tasty India dishes.
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