Journey of life...!: Karnataka

Showing posts with label Karnataka. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Summer in Sirsi

How often do you get a chance to witness Sunrise, Sunset, Moon rise and Moon set within just 24 hours? Perhaps, it was such a wonderful occasion during a road trip to Sirsi this summer. We started off our journey witnessing a breathtakingly beautiful Orange-Moon-Set. The orange moon dip very soon painted the beautiful colors of dawn followed by the sunrise. The flatter horizons towards the north gave a very different perspective to what was happening around. It was a musically colorful summer morning that set the right tune for the trip. And if one has to listen to varieties of mind blowing music, there is no choice but to travel with Ravee.

It does not take too long to realize that you are in the western-ghats region. Its just a matter of 3-4 hours drive from Bangalore towards north-west. At Haveri junction on the NH4, Swapna joined us from Mumbai and very soon, we were driving in the woods. When we start holding our necks up through the windows, we know we've entered the land of orchids. There's no joy in driving fast either. It has to be slow, like a walk; if not, you will miss all those wonders. We reached Ravee's home by 14:30, followed by a heavy scrumptious lunch and fun time with Ananya and her pets. We were to climb the small hillock near by to do some justice for the food we ate, but unfortunately, Ravee's brother drove us all the way up to the top of the hillock.

The panoramic views from the top were absolutely spectacular and the habitat around was just great. We ate some fruits, witnessed some flora and had wonderful discussions. We could see the dense woods of western ghats all around us and the dusk was soon taking us over from the day into unimaginable evening colors. It was a double treat to witness the sunset followed by the gorgeous moon rise, bringing our day to a perfect closure.

The next day we went to Muregaara falls to walk around the place. We sighted many orchids and a lot of wild flora and fauna. For me it was absolutely a fun learning experience, that I was with my botany teacher and an orchid expert anyway!

Cottonia peduncularis - Also known as Bee Orchid

Oberonia sp

Flowers of the tree Hopea ponga

Canscora diffusa

Pandanus sp

Vitex leucoxylon

Buds of Capparis rheedii

Male flower of Ochlandra Scriptoria (A bamboo species)

Gastrochilus sp

The last day of the trip we went around the beautiful Shivagange falls in Sirsi taluk. On the way we stopped at a lot of places to see the flora and took a lot of time to photograph some of them. By the time we reached the falls it was almost 14:00 and we had to climb down the steep valley for about 40 minutes to reach the waterfall. Waterfall was breathtaking and I was surprised to see so much water even during the summer. We witnessed a lot of fauna and huge Ficus trees on the way to the falls. I had not seen this place during my previous visit to Sirsi and hence it was all the more exciting for me.

Green vine snake

Hump nosed pit viper

Shivagange falls

Dendrobium crepidatum

Summer in Sirsi was absolutely fun and I learnt a great deal from Swapna and Ravee. Hopefully it will all be stored properly in my brain cells. Ananya and her pets were very entertaining, Ravee's place was magical and the food was scrumptious. Those discussions we had and the fun moments we spent reading books and reference materials were unforgettable. And wonderment never ends!

Zephyranthes candida

For more pictures visit my flickr set here.

Cheers!

Srik

Friday, March 23, 2012

Blissful Anashi Nature Camp

Ah, so I'm finally getting to write here about my latest (a month back already) trip to Anashi Tiger Reserve. That I was longing to go out of Bangalore and eagerly waiting for my first camp with my BNHS Field Botany course members, I now can say that it was doubly worth the wait. And yes, to all those learnings in the field out there and the good times spent with the like-hearted people left me in a serene awe. Hopefully I have captured some of the key highlights here.

Ravee and I left from Bengaluru and joined the team lead by our Botany teacher Swapna Prabhu (I call her Boss) in Belgaum. She had a good company of her BNHS colleague Mirium as well. We reached Anashi Nature Camp on the late afternoon of the February 25th, 2012. Strong fragrance of Ixora pulled us to them inside the camp. And hence our 4 blissful days of field botany camp started and ended within a blink. Boss had organized the whole trip so perfectly that the nostalgia has taken over all of us so quickly after coming back from there!

Following are some nostalgic glimpses of our camp: (the below lists are only based on the key highlights; the rest are updated in my flickr album)

First day after reaching the Anashi camp, we set out for a short walk in the evening. The trail was no longer than 2km and it was a cool and breezy evening. For me, personally, it was a first time experience with the group of Botanists and Botany enthusiasts. I absolutely was thrilled and excited to be with the team and learn loads of stuff. We saw some interesting trees along the trail and took some notes as well. The following are some of the interesting sightings for the day.

1. Anashi camp was full of Oberonias in bloom.
2. Luisia macrantha
3. Entada rheedii
4. Terminalia trees
5. Dilinia Indica
6. Holigarna arnottiana
7. Cinnamomom trees

Holigarna arnottiana leaf appendages

Luisia sp

Oberonia sp

Second day was a trip to Ulavi which was about 25 km from our camp. As we started from our camp, first stop that we could not miss was when we saw the Flacourtia fruits. They were absolutely delicious and that set the right mood for the day. We had some amazing sightings and a great experience. It also ended in some fun that caused an hour of delay in getting back to the camp. Ulavi forest is very dense with huge evergreen trees reaching to the higher canopies. The tranquility of the place is at its best. Back in the camp, evening was very pleasant and we all took a walk towards the Anashi village. The moment we saw the huge fig tree, we all tried to hug the same. It took 8 people to hug its trunk completely. The following are some of the highlights of the day and amazing sightings:

1. Colebrookea sp
2. Artocarpus trees
3. Tree ferns
4. Southern Birdwing butterfly
5. Flying lizard (Draco). Was in trance observing it for a while.
6. Xylia xylocarpa
7. Flacourtia montana fruits
8. Drosera burmannii
9. Rotala sp
10. Wallichia (Palm) sp

Colebrookea sp

A viewpoint at Ulavi

The draco

Asclepias sp

Entada rheedii

Flacourtia montana fruits

Artocarpus fruit

After a serene early morning walk on the third day, we were taken to the place called Syntheri Rocks which was about 30 km from the camp. Kaneri was gorgeously flowing through the rocks and it felt heavenly just to look at it flowing (although it was very hot). It was a beautiful day and we had a lovely time at the rocks. We returned back to the camp and were soon went into the classroom mode. Boss took us the 'typical' classroom session on different aspects. Leaf morphology was the highlight during the session. We were given some exercises to perform and all of us were very excited and best behaved like good students. After the session, we went out on our usual walk. It was a very long and absolutely enjoyable walk in the dark wood. Some highlights on the day three are as under:

1. Paradise flycatcher early in the morning.

2. We saw honeybees everywhere and it was yellow spots all over every place and everyone of us :)

3. Bombax malabarica and Bombax insigne trees.

4. Red ant nest

5. Fungi with fur like material all over the tree

6. A session on Bryophytes and Epiphytes

7. Sighted many Bulbophyllums on the rocks. Thanks to Ravee, we had some good learning on Orchids as well.

A dried stream behind the Anashi camp

Kaneri river at Syntheri rocks

Bulbophyllums on the rock

Fungi and fur like substance?

Habitat around Syntheri rocks

Mirium and the honeybees

It was supposed to be a five day camp; but Ravee and I could not get too many leaves and hence we decided to get back to Bengaluru after the 4th day's trail. We missed out on the morning walk on the fifth day. Fourth day we all reached the Kulgi nature camp and the plan was to do 2 trails around the camp. While we were on the way to Kulgi, we were surprisingly welcomed to a small water body where we sighted many interesting things. It was a beautiful small lake full of Nymphaea lotus and Nymphoides. After a nice short session on the aquatic plants at the lake, we headed out to Kulgi. Here are some of the key highlights of the day:

1. Disappointed to see the ash all over the forest and the leaf litter was burnt out completely because of the fire.

2. Nymphaea lotus and Nymphoides hydrophylla.

3. Malabar giant squirrels.

4. Greater flame backed woodpecker couple.

5. Cassia grandis

6. Acacia (shikakai)

7. Bracket fungi and Fruticose lichen (small talk about them)

8. Multiple orchids species on every tree. Acampe predominantly on most of the trees.

Silhouette of a giant squirrel

Nymphaea lotus

Cassia grandis

Paradise flycatcher

Tall trees of Kulgi

It was a blissful Anashi Nature Camp expedition for sure. It was absolutely fun learning for me - mixed with a great fun loving team and the serenity of Anashi - Dandeli forest area. After our second trail in Kulgi, Ravee and I headed back to Bengaluru in the night.