Jenny From The Bangalore Block: Kabini with Katie

To say that "we are fans" of Orange County Kabini is a huge understatement. We LOVE going to Kabini so when Katie was here we made sure that we squeezed in a quick trip with her.

Welcome Back, Sir!

Waiting to take a ride

Oh Boy! Here she comes!

Saddle up!

What a Sweet Gal!

David approached the elephant much like you would a horse, slow and steady and then she let him pat her trunk!

Holy HAIRY tail!

There they go!

Lovin' It!

Mommy & Katie's Turn! YAY!!

That's one super-sized-sniffer!!

Boys are using their super powered snouts to determine if the size of the terd increases the size of the stench because those are some

MASSIVE meadow muffins ;0)

Elephant Shower

Katie's Turn!!

Coffee Time while the sun goes down.

Serenity!

Getting the drums ready. It's almost time to DANCE!

The nightly tribal dance

So much fun!

Up bright & early for the jeep safari! REALLY hoping to spot a tiger this time around!!

Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed!

Doesn't she look like she has a bindi on her forehead?

They came out of the woods and then they went running across the path behind our jeep! SoooOOoooo CooOoooOoL!!

Do you see it?!

Zoomin' in a little closer....we didn't see a tiger BUT we were so excited to see a....

Leopard!!! Craziness! In the wild...we saw a LEOPARD! WOW!

Watch Tower!

Leopards aren't the only ones up in the trees!

This is what the locals build up in the trees to keep a watchful eye out for predatory animals that might have wondered onto their land and would do harm to their livestock.

He DID see the leopard but the "waking up before the sunrise" thing got the best of him.

See Katie's little treehouse visitor? Top left corner!?

He was a true life "Curious George" & Katie couldn't scramble off of that rope net fast enough to get away from him. I don't blame her. I am not a fan of those banana eating, fang-toothed, red-rumped, tree-travellers!

For the record, Fido is NOT a fan either!

It was actually comical to watch. The monkies were totally mocking the dog. They'd jump up and down on the rope net and "Ooh-ooh! Aah-Ah!" at the him and he'd reply by leaping up at them and giving them his most ferocious, "Arff-Arff!" If was perfect timing though b/c Fido kept the monkies distracted so Katie could scurry down to a safe distance from the disgusting imps.

I AM a FAN of this Fella :0)

Now it's time for the afternoon boat safari!

Busy Villagers on the Rivers Edge

No matter where you are from there seems to be a common tie between little boys and showing off for a camera!? They LOVE it!

Our mode of transportation through the river for the boat safari

The locals mode of transportation on the river.

This type of boat is called a coracle. As you can see it sits very close to the water surface and is shaped like half of a walnut shell. Haven't ridden in one myself yet but don't you worry! I'll make sure it happens before I leave India :0) Gotta try it!

Row, row, row your coracle...

Apparently, the coracle is not only from transporting humans. No kidding! They are putting a MOTORCYCLE (called a two-wheeler here in India) into their boat!

CRIKEY! Check out the size of that croc, Mate!

I'm just thinking if I was one of those guys riding in a coracle with a motorcyle I might be a little nervous about the boat tipping!? Shucks! You flip over that boat and you're swimming with this guy! YIKES!

Oh, Bother!! (said in my best Winnie the Pooh voice!)

Geesh! So nevermind the people in the coracle! We've got boat troubles of our own! I don't know much about boats but when it stops, sputters and doesn't start I think it's safe to say, "We've got a problem here!" I sinched my lifevest a little tighter but let's face it I didn't want to have to swim anymore than the next guy! I've just witnessed a super-size, sharp toothed, log rollin, carnivore crunchin... CROC in this river and I'd really like to take just take "swim in the river" off the "To Do List" altogether!! Oars! Yes, that's it!! Do we have oars?! I'd be happy to man a rowing station!!!

Dope! (Said in my best Homer Simpson voice!)

Oh, Yes Sir! That there be LAND!!! We may not be on the Titanic & we certainly did not hit an iceberg BUT we've definitely just crashed into the countryside! What do you think firstmate, Erica? Should I start to panic!?

Fantastic! Look! It's more signs of crocs!

See those fresh mud skids up there on the bank? Do you think they sense the nature of our "strandedness"?!

"Hey Pete! Got us some fresh meat just down the river a spell! You hungry?! Let's go check it out!"

Luckily, it just seems to be part of boat ownership. If you own a boat you must be prepared for random breakdowns and you must know how to fix them on your own b/c that's exactly what happened. The ships captain came be-boppin' on to the back of the boat, did a tweak, a turn & a twist and VIOLA! We were back in business. No croc swimming for us today! "See ya suckers!" ;0)