my "Island"

Saw Scaled Viper

Bhadrachalam - Sileru - Vizag (City Of Destiny)

After all these days of journey I wanted to give rest to my bike. So I stopped at Bhadrachalam. I had relatives there with whom I stayed took rest for the day &  again set off. I was back on track by 7.30 in the morning.

As I just reached the outskirts of the town,

everywhere everything I could see was fog which was so heavy that I could barely see anything 15 feet away from me.

I put on the headlights of my bike & went slowly.

 

 After sometime the fog cleared I thought I could move on fast from there on. But as I went ahead the road was becoming narrower & narrower. The road was also in a bad state. So I had to go slowly.

As I was proceeding through the forests it was cold & calm, couldn't see or hear animals or birds chirping .

Finally I was getting so bored that I stopped the bike by the road side & went into the forest.

I chose to follow a stream going through the forests, so that I wouldn't get lost & even have better chances of spotting some animal.

I was carrying a heavy bag, at one place I left it & went further. I went & went but all I could see is hoof marks on the banks of the stream .

As I went ahead I could hear few birds chirping I felt good & went further but couldn't find anything & I returned back. 

As I was going further at many places I could see teak plantations.

It was already 10.30. Till now I came through the forests & I was supposed to go through them ahead also, but what I came across was shocking. I came across a small village after which for the next 17 Km's there wasn't any forest on both sides of the road.

On the way I even came across two hunters going for a hunt with their daggers, bow & arrows & their sniffing dogs.

I spoke to them, they were hunting just for sake of habit & passing their time as they have already harvested their crops & they were free.

 It was a regular routine for them . Having spoken to them I left, after I crossed the 17 km's of encroachment area, finally I reached Chintur.

There was forest dept office there I met the Range officer there I made some inquiries regarding the wildlife under his area.

I asked him if there were any tigers he told that there were two ,one tigress & a cub.

This report was according to the census taken in Jan 2006 after that they never saw again as it was huge area to cover.

I took the sketch of the pug marks taken by them on glass block.

After I left this place then again I saw the forests. I was a bit happy to see them . After 45 min's journey I reached Mothugudem . I had my lunch here. 

As I was going I was inquiring the locals about the wildlife, mostly about tigers & leopards.

A Lovely Home

As I went further again I came across hunters . This time they were in a huge group roughly around 15 people.

I entered lower Sileru , this place was completely different from all the places I have been before .The surroundings,the climate, The terrain , Everything was different here .As I proceeded further ghat road began.

I heard from someone that Sileru was heavy ghat section . But after just 4-5 kms the Ghat road was over.

There was heavy stream of water gushing down from a higher altitude area. I saw kids playing there. 

When I went close the water was so pure & I could clearly see the floor of the stream , it just clear.

I wanted to get in for a swim but I couldn't as it was already 4.30, I have to reach the Sileru forest guest house for my night stay, before its gets dark because it's not good to travel after its dark & the roads are not in a good condition.

If I had any problem in the middle of the forest you'll get stuck in the middle of the ghat section without any help for the night. So I just took some pics & the kids told me that there was a water fall ahead I was so excited to go to it  but it was getting darker so I couldn't go to the water falls.

After another one hour journey finally I made it to the forest guest . I was planning to go take some rest & then go out in the dark. But when I reached there, I was shocked to see that the forest guest house was locked I inquired with the locals about the watchman, they said they don't know where he could have gone.

So left with no other option I started my journey again , it was 5.30 already It was around 6.10, then I reached the ghat section.

Now I could see truly a ghat section it was very steep. In the next 15 mins it was completely dark, I was going through a unknown place, that too through a heavy ghat section & an agency area, not knowing what lies ahead. I was a fearful & on the top of that it was so cold that even my jacket & gloves couldn't help me from the bone cracking cold.

If anything happens in the middle, god only knows when I can get help. I kept going  for the 4 hours.

Finally I managed to reach Narsipatnam safely. I had my dinner & went to get a room in a hotel , but being a festive season, there wasn't even a single room available. Now the time is already 11.30. I was tired, took rest till 12.30 & then again  started my journey with great difficulty to Vizag.

My eyes became so heavy, I was so sleepy that even while driving I had closed my eyes  at times. I managed drive like that for the next 110 kms till Vizag. I was lucky I made it to Vizag safely. I was happy that I made it safely without any problem.