We left Bangalore at 8:30am, after a quick stop for breakfast which we had packed, we reached Red Earth Kabini by 1:30pm, so we first checked in to the wonderful rooms red earth provides, where we quickly freshened up and we went to their restaurant where we had the most lavish spread you could expect in the forest, we loved the food from the continental to indian cuisine they have to offer and the desserts were excellent, after having a heavy meal we went back to the rooms and it immediately started raining, which just set the mood to cosy up on one of thier chairs outside the room and wait for the weather to put you to sleep. Later that evening we went down to thier cafe which overlooks the kabini backwaters and witness the most beautiful sunset with a hot cup of chai. After the sunset we walked to the campfire area and had a good chat with our family, after the campfire we went for dinner and the chef again surprised us with a fresh menu for the dinner which was again too good and the spread they offer will never get old! So all in all a great relaxed day in the property and a much needed break from the city.
The next day started early at 6am where we went for bird watching with the naturalist at the property and had a great walk and got a chance to capture the birds of kabini. After a good breakfast, they have a lot of activities at the property which you can choose from my family wanted to go for a Bullock cart ride which takes you to the kabini backwaters or you could choose to cycle down which ever suits you better, we later came back to the room and got into the jacuzzi and relaxed for a while.
After lunch was the most exciting part for which people visit Kabini which is the land Safari where you could get a chance to spot the big cats or the gentle giant of Kabini which is the tusker . So we set out for the land Safari where we first spotted the Indian Gaur and a bunch of mongoose, going further into the forest we got a lot of spotted deers after which came the most awaited moment where we had a chance to sight a leopard in the most iconic pose on a branch of a tree for more than 40 minutes, we also had the opportunity to spot a group of wild dogs which was amazing and after a drive through the forest we were almost at the end of our safari where it started to get dark and suddenly we came across a herd of elephants which had blocked the road and two more came from the bushes behind us, we were suddenly trapped between the herd and had to wait for the elephants to give way, this was pretty scary as it was protecting an infant which was apparently just 2 days old and luckily they gave way after about 15 minutes and reached Red earth after an exciting experience on the safari. And ended the day with a chat over booze and the wonderful dinner spread.
Day 3 started early again at 4:30am wake up call for the 6 am boat Safari where we got to to sight a lot of spotted deers, later we got a chance to spot the birds of kabini (osprey / cormorants / kingfisher and a lot more) we also came across an otter family on the bank of the kabini river. All in all a great experience on the boat. Then we headed back to the resort where we got into the jacuzzi for the last time and we were towards the end of our trip where we ended it with an amazing breakfast and headed back to Bangalore which is a short 4 hour drive.
