Bangalore to Wayanad - Part 2

Continued from Part 1…

The vehicle opposite to ours was closer to the elephant than us. The driver being a native of the place, shut down the engine, and waited for the elephant to move. After a while, he grew a little impatient, and started making some signals to us. We just couldn’t decrypt this sign language; sat inside the vehicle and enjoyed watching the elephant have its breakfast. Come on, how many times do we get to see something like this in real?

The driver opened the vehicle door, and yelled something at us. We looked hither and thither for any other wild animals or something that seemed dangerous; nothing at all. What was the driver telling us, anyway? Hearing the driver’s voice, for a moment, the elephant stood still. That’s when the driver quickly closed the door, and sat still. Ha ha! We all sat wondering the direction in which the elephant would move.

I tell you that this elephant was such a teaser. When he finished uprooting the grass from one spot, he moved two steps towards us to eat the next bunch of grass. Hubby started the vehicle, and reversed a little; shut down the engine and waited. It’s comical when I imagine the whole situation now. An elephant relishing its breakfast without a care of its audience; its audience holding their breath and heart beat each time the elephant moved.

After a few minutes, the elephant was walking in the middle of the road towards us. We sat still, refusing to reverse the vehicle any further. Period. We were saved by another bunch of grass tempting the elephant. It moved a little off the road, but now faced the opposite vehicle. I told you that the elephant was a teaser. The driver started the vehicle; all set to either zoom in reverse or zoom towards the elephant. In all this drama, another vehicle came behind us. Hubby and I frantically waved our hands, signaling the vehicle to stop. Oh God, we didn’t want him to horn or overtake us, and crash into the elephant! He stopped; too shocked.

Heading towards us

Holding grass in it's trunk

One more bunch of grass!

Slowly, the driver inched the vehicle towards the elephant; we reversed our vehicle so that he gets enough distance to zoom through and not crash into us. After he had reached a confident distance, he zoomed past the elephant. He stopped to talk to us, and said he signaled us to come while he waits. He advised us to follow his stunt. And we did! If only the elephant had turned towards us, and waved its trunk to bid us good bye, we would be literally flying or rolling with our vehicle. Of course, the camera was rolling; but captured only blurred images of the elephant.

Stepped aside; only to come back later!

After we crossed the elephant, we waited for the other vehicle to come, but I guess the driver wanted some time to digest what he had seen. As we continued our journey, we saw herds of deer, with young ones. The young ones were delicate, and stuck to the herd. A deer was licking her young one, and yes I’ve captured it in my camera. Indeed a mother’s love is the most precious. The drive, through the forest, until we reached the resort was a gratifying experience.

Herd

Mother's love

Such a joy!

Handsome and curious!

Where did we stay at Wayanad? Ah, you have to read the next part of this blog!

Happy traveling!

Part 3...

Regards,

Asha