Ranthambore, Day 4 (last)

All packing done during the night, we were off to an earlier start – by about 10 minutes – than usual. It was much cooler than the previous days, but somehow, all the animals seemed to be having a lie-in. Running up to the top of a hillock on the Aravalli range, we took in another look at the dhok clouds across the valleys before going back to what had become a restful spot – the ranger station at Padam Tal, where we could watch the Golden Oriole, the Common Iora and the Parakeets on a Ficus, as also various waterbirds. The muggers had come out in strength to bid us a goodbye; the other high point of the safari was our coming across tracks of a porcupine, its footprint looking like one of the flowers children draw, with a large central circle fringed with six or seven circular petals.

The large group had broken up; 7 of us were the first away, rushing to Jaipur – a two-and-a-half hour drive – to take the SpiceJet flight to Chennai, touching down at Ahmedabad and Hyderabad on the way. A few stayed on at Sawai Madhopur and some others were spending time at Jaipur. Our goodbyes were rushed, but that doesn’t matter: we’re sure to see each other again, on the GoogleGroup if not at the MNS meeting – or maybe on the next MNS trip!