I had heard much about the Biligiriranganaswamy betta sanctuary and had read a lot about Kyatadevaragudi (better known as K Gudi) from Raman Sukumar’s Elephant Days and Nights. So when a friend offered to make a reservation, although just for one night, with Jungle Lodges, I grabbed the chance. The unpredictable nature of the weather, notwithstanding, we thought we would use it as an opportunity to get out of the madness that is Bangalore.
The 22nd night saw me running domestic errands, and I was exhausted by a two-hour journey from Hennur to High Point. I was utterly exhausted when I awoke at 4.30 am the morning, and a dodgy tooth added to my general inclination to call off my participation on the trip. However, I had just purchased a tiny digital camera and had decided to mount it on the bumber of my Gypsy using a Manfrotto super clamp.
In terms of game, Kyathadevaragudi was a bit of a disappointment. The only game of note were Barking deer which posed for us on the final, overcast, morning, thus giving us a chance to experiment with high ISo settings. I also found the Mahindra jeeps used by the resort quite unsuited to photography especially with a long lens.
Having said that, I was glad I went as this is one of the wildest forests I have ever seen. It is wetter than Bandipur-Mudumalai-Kabini and higher than Nagarhole. The vegetation is dense and the birdlife fantastic. A winter visit for migrants is a must and the area around the lodge should provide plenty of opportunities. Still further, the soft-shelled turtles that bask around the pond near the lodge are an added bonus.
By the by, the trip images and videos, come from a sort of visual diary shot using a 7 MP Kodak camera. The quality is not great, but it is small and silent, even though it eats batteries. Most importantly I had great fun shooting with it as I was driving.
The wildlife images are as usual, on a Canon 40 D and 500 mm IS lens, sometimes with the 1.4x II converter attached. ISO speeds range from 400 to 1600.
The first images are of the journey to KGudi:
The lakes outside Nanjangud are slowly being choked.
Traffic light at Chamrajnagar when you come in on the
Mysore road. Take a left for KGudi.
Our first views of KGudi
The entrance to the sanctuary and driving up.
Here is a long, and somewhat boring, video of part of the drive immediately after entering the sanctuary boundary. You may want to turn down the volume and fast forward through this vid!
The lodge at KGudi.
And now, some views inside the sanctuary.
The high ISO pics:
ISO 1600
ISO 800
ISO 400
And in parting, some random elephants shot on the Kodak.
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