Wildlife Safari Ranthambore Tiger Reserve India

There's no doubt that the thrill of seeing a tiger in its natural habitat drives people into the tiger preserve at Ranthambore (see tiger photos and video below). But there's more to the park than tigers.

Visitors enter the gates in approved vehicles, which are open air jeeps or trucks. One of 10 routes are assigned to the drivers and guides.

The landscape affords a variety of beautiful views with hills and valleys, ponds and meadows and a great variety of trees and plants.




A zoom lens is a must - it was difficult to see the Mugger (or Indian) Crocodile, Black-headed Ibis, and Indian Darter (or snakebird) with the naked eye.






Deer are ubiquitous. The park is home to both Spotted Deer








and Sambar deer.





Black-faced monkeys are prevalent.





Rufous Treepies are everywhere.






And of course we saw a tiger who wandered about for nearly half and hour on route 5 in the afternoon. Here's a collage and I will insert a video from my YouTube channel.

Tiger Collage. All photos by Geoff Sutton 2017

This tiger video is a bit shakey because I was atop a truck seat (sometimes moving) and using nearly a max zoom.

Tips
Jeeps are better than the large trucks, which can throw you out of the seat when sitting at the back.
Mornings can be cold in January- wear gloves, hats, warm clothes.
Binoculars may be needed to see some animals and zoom lenses for photos and videos.
Duck to avoid getting hit by branches on some routes.
Allergy/coughing alert - dust is everywhere, especially when stirred up by vehicles.
Afternoons are rumoured to be best for seeing tigers.
Bring toilet tissue and wipes. We stopped once for toileting behind bushes.

Connections

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Elephanta Island and Caves India

On our second day in India, we walked to  the India Gate in Mumbai where we boarded a ferry to Elephanta Island (World Heritage site).


The trip took about an hour to travel approximately 10 km to the islands located in Mumbai harbour of the Arabian Sea.


The ferry boats are well worn but the plastic seats are comfortable. We paid 400 Rs for two - you can save a few Rs if you but direct at the dock. On board we paid 10 Rs each to sit on the upper deck.

















You'll have good views of the India Gate and Taj Mahal Hotel from the back of the boat.







After arriving at the Island, it is a steep walk past numerous vendors to the park where the caves are located.














You pay to enter the small island village and again to enter the park near the top of the hill.





You will see a main temple with a long hall. Various stone sculptures are taken from stories of Shiva. These date from about the 6th century.

Along the way, locals offer to be your guide.

At the end of the trail is a toilet- plan to bring your own paper and hand cleaner if you must use it.


Monkeys are everywhere- and will steal your snacks if you put them beside you whilst resting (happened to my wife).

On the return, some locals fed the gulls, which show no fear of coming close.

BEKONSCOT A MODEL VILLAGE OFFERS A FINE DAY OUT

As the sign says, Bekonscot is a model village and railway.

We boarded a train at Marylebone London and headed west to Beaconsfield. A short walk took us to Bekonscot.

We followed the winding path in the miniature village to see a great variety of scenes- cottages, castles, industrial works, airports, waterways, a zoo, a circus and more.

Watch this video to get an overview of the village.

The circus tent




A lion at the zoo

The race




Trains continually run everywhere throughout the village.

And many scenes are animated like this model farm and windmill.

There's a lot going on at the Bekonscot circus.

Here, the children are on the playground by their cottages.

Enjoy a funfair in this creative scene.

And then there was trouble--in the distance, a cottage is on fire.

Enjoy some more scenes from our visit.

See more places to visit in the   United Kingdom

Bekonscot Model Village is located at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. 

Bekonscot in Beaconsfield on GOOGLE MAPS

Here's the link to their website http://www.bekonscot.co.uk/

There is a modest entrance fee.

You can buy refreshments onsite or enjoy a picnic lunch at their facilities.

It wasn't crowded when we went 6 May 2016

You might like this fun and informative guide to British words and phrases.

Mind the Gap 2 on    AMAZON      and    GOOGLE

Please check out my website  suttong.com 

KEW GARDENS ENGLAND

The Royal Botanical Gardens (Kew Gardens; www.kew.org) offers a floral feast, a pleasant place to walk, and a place to learn. The gardens are open every day except 24 and 25 December.

We visited in May 2016. We took the train from London to Kew Gardens Station, which is near the Victoria Gate. You pass several local shops between the station and the gate. There's more information on the website.








In addition to a variety of gardens, you can visit Kew Palace and Royal Kitchens. The first royals here were George II and Queen Caroline. Perhaps a more famous monarch is George III. His wife, Queen Charlotte has a cottage nearby. The buildings are not open all yar so check the website.








One of several interesting features is the Treetop Walkway.





There's a lot to see so we'll have to go back.




There are places to eat at Kew. And there are places to enjoy a picnic.

The shop has a range of affordable gifts.

You might like this fun and informative guide to British words and phrases.

Mind the Gap on AMAZON  and  GOOGLE

BLETCHLEY PARK ENGLAND

Bletchley Park is a beautiful campus famous for British codebreaking during World War II. It is the place where teams from MI6 and the Government Code and Cypher School performed intelligence work, including breaking the Nazi Enigma cipher system.

Enigma

Perhaps the most famous person associated with Bletchley was Alan Turing.



On our visit, we read story boards, examined machinery in the museum, participated in an informative tour of the campus, and looked at various buildings with restored rooms depicting various aspects of life at Bletchley during WWII.






When we visited in May 2016, props from the film, Imitation Game, were on display.





There's more to Bletchley than codebreaking- for example, pigeons served an important role in communication.





Plan on spending several hours. You can eat inside or enjoy a picnic lunch amidst beautiful scenery and local residents.








Tickets can be purchased online or onsite.

We obtained a discount using a Days Out Guide booklet available from Euston Station in London. That offer may not be good but you might search for other 2FOR1 offers.

Bletchley is within walking distance of the Bletchley train station. The trip from London can take 45 minutes or so.

You can purchase food and drink in the Coffee Shop at the Visitor Centre. And there is a cafe in Hut 4. Find out more on the website https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/

You might like this fun and informative guide to British words and phrases.

Mind the Gap on AMAZON  and  GOOGLE