Ngengpui in a Dug Out II- Some Images

For a post on the trip itself- Visit the previous post

The road in the campus of  Lawngtlai Wildlife Division - A baby flying squirrel seems to have tumbled from one of these trees, much to the delight of the people on campus. The mother was around and the two were united soon , hearing the delightful descriptions itself was a treat. 

Ngengpui Guest House - A great place to stay at - apart from the treasure that the campus itself is a highlight is  the forest and a small  bazaar being just a hop skip and jump away. 

Ngengpui River- Surreal on a winter misty morning- just enough water for our trip

Sanga- Leading the Dugout , Niam is rowing at the rear end . Enthusiastic and informative guides on our trip 

Sambar the Dugout- Brunch Break

Ngengpui in a Dug Out I

Massive , Large , Generous , Awe-Inspiring , Humbling, Wise , Ageing, Giving , Secure , at Peace

The trees were too large for me to hug and so much in awe of them i was that I didn't even contemplate trying as I will not attempt either to string a passage together of the words that come to mind when I recall what I felt. I decide to just give you some  words and this image instead of forcibly trying to compose a psalm.
   

At the edge of Khawmawi (Dist Lawngtlai) on the banks of the river Ngengpui, snuggled and comfortable between these mammoth trees is  the Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary's Rest House. Multiple calls of birds reach out as you enter its gates and i squinted  against the golden sun to catch a glimpse of the plenty frolicking around. Like these trees, the birdlife around seems to know that its safe within these boundaries , for while the village settlement offered only few well hidden treasures, trees in the campus I understand played host to a large flock of oriental pied hornbills! These trees were unfortunately not in fruit currently and the Hornbills had moved on to some other haunt.  I’m left constructing for myself the feel of what would have been the case had I actually seen them. Of course, I’m sure I’m not in even close.

Left largely un tampered, the space lends the feel of being well within the sanctuary,  while you aren't even half a kilometer away from the Khawmawi bazaar.An office building and a few staff quarters is all that is concrete apart from the rest house itself.  The highlight of the space is of course the balcony of sorts , just the kind of place you'd want to return to after a walk in the sanctuary or a dug out ride like us.

We seem to be pre -destined to see Ngengpui from the river itself. On our last trip to the Bungtlang beat , we found ourselves camping on the river bed and walking on it through the day.  We got caught up in a storm of sorts last time and couldn't explore at leisure but this trip seemed to have the blessings of the rain gods! A long monsoon spell ensured that there was just enough water left in Ngengpui for us to venture out with the dugout.

But first things first, we needed to have tea and make some sort of brunch arrangement and this seemed to be no problem as the forest guard had predicted. Hotel Din Din was more than happy to do it. So , at five in the morning  after some refreshing morning tea and a packed brunch from the hotel we were ready to be on the move. A word about Hotel Din Din – its possibly the cleanest and one of the more enterprising hotels/teas stalls we’ve visited. The woman who runs its is a powerhouse of energy with a chubby baby sleeping soundlessly on her back while she cooks , instructs and spares more than a minute to converse with the customers. As discussed on the previous eve, she was ready for us with 5 in the morning with tea and puris and a lunch waiting to packed. The rest of Khawmawi including the roosters seemed to be still asleep.

Sanga , Niam  and the two of us , set out quited excitedly for the dugout ride , the first mist covered sight of the river made me feel we might be a bit too early for the birds but I was wrong and thrilled to be so. Anticipation was high with our companions too , they kept speculating on what we might come across and what they had previously seen while on a dug out patrol. Like on the road, wagtails seemed to know the bends of the river and ....well, were hell bent on leading us through with their dippy flight!

Through the trip , this convoy duty was taken over by a Great Bittern, a Black Crowned Night Heron , a Spotted Forktail and some more. What startled us out of our silence was the noisy scramble and flight of Jungle Fowls. So startled were we as they raised alarm and flew across the river , i feared that we would manage to topple the dugout!
Watching quite peacefully  from the sidelines were White Throated Kingfishers and we did catch sight of the Brown Winged Kingfisher too. On the sidelines again was the activity of a lone Malayan Giant Squirrel , guided by Niam  i could spot it scuttle around its tree. For more on what we saw ,  wait for Nimesh to update his blog.

We got off for a bit and walked along a smaller river meeting Ngengpui inside the forest.  Wild banana growing along the banks and most of us bent over looking for tracks. We didn't venture out too far in as our  growling stomachs were scaring of much of the life around. But the Greater Racket Tail Drongo would not have us leave till we had seen it. It called till we were able to spot it, danced around on the pretext on grabbing insects and having got our attention and its ego satiated it left just as we were pleading for more! Tease.I found my self muttering.
Lunch was lavish- some resourcefully wrapped beans, eggs, rice and chicken. We ate silently against the sounds of the river. Post lunch we crouched around the field guides to confirm what we had seen. A bit thrilled about this part  cause I seemed to be getting a little better with my observations. That just means that I'm able tell the difference between a woodpecker and a Kingfisher, well maybe a little better than that :)

Talking to Sanga and Niam was quite a treat. They were disappointed that we weren't able to see any mammals apart from the Malayan Giant Squirrel and a the shadow of a Palm Civet.They repeatedly pointed out some tracks and suggested that we move further downstream in the hope of sighting something bada! Speaking of which it seems that while ago a new elephant has made its presence felt in Ngengpui , coming in from the neighbouring Mara district , they were of the opinion that it had given quite a fright to the resident four and that these four had changed their hang out for the time being! I don't have a clue about how elephants behave , but I quite enjoyed how this bit was narrated to us. Also , the honest fear with which Sanga told us of how he had fled from his path when he realized an elephant was somewhere ahead made me  happy not to have encountered them.

We returned to Hotel Din Din ( I love this name- we have a kid in the neighbourhood who is called the same and we adore him too) around noon. Sanga and Niam  should have been dog tired with all the rowing , pushing and pulling they were required to do. The water became a lil too shallow in places and the dug out needed to be dragged off those patches. Nimesh jumped off to help whenever he was quick enough but I wasn't quick enough most of the time. That left me sitting in the middle of the dugout feeling every inch ganpati like, wondering if i tick them off they might chose visarjan as an option!! Jokes aside... they did have to put in quite an effort and I'm embaressed and grateful. I enjoyed thumbing the fieldguides with them looking for a particular 3foot long animal which seems to have made the logs in th campus its home. We didn't find it , maybe next time. I sure do hope there is one.

Thanks Pu Tlana for helping us do this!

Listing what Nimesh and I saw on this trip
Black Crowned Night Heron , Black Drongo, Blue Bearded Bea Eater, Brown Winged Kingfisher, Emrald Dove , Great Bittern , Greater Racket Tailed Drongo , Red Jungle Fowl , Rose Ringed Parakeet, Shikra ,Spotted Forktail, White Throated Kingfisher , White Wagtail , Yellow Wagtail
Common Palm Civet and Malayan Giant Squirrel 


P.S  Kestrels we've seen gliding above our home in Saiha and finally we got some time to see them perched in Peace. our drives through this trip were filled with such sightings of these and we Finally saw the Lesser Kestrel nice and proper instead of just hearing its calls!! I'm more than content. For more on Kestrel Sightings visit Nimesh's Post http://mizoram-samrakshan.blogspot.com/2010/11/kestrels.html

Ngengpui and a storm

I was fortunate to be a part of a very educative experience, which got cut short midway but nonetheless proved to be more beautiful than any planned exercise.I’d been busy with some work of my own when planning for Ngengpui began and though I knew I would be travelling with the group I was not able to spend time in understanding what they were planning to do. Well turns out that the group would be part of a census excercise and would be making observations and recording signs related to some carnivores and animals they prey on along with documenting various details of vegetation.

Bungtlang village was the Beat within the sanctuary that we were headed for. Huge tall trees dotted the landscape way before the sanctuary began. Increasing in number with every bend in the road. Clusters of these loomed above us as we passed.Our first stop was the Ngengpui village and the Range Office of the sanctuary.  An open space with the standard sofa’s that we’ve found in most homes and offices- including our own (I love it). Unlike many a rest house or office spaces, this one seemed very at home with its surroundings. There were trees around the campus, which did not follow any human landscaping or design dictate. Children were running about freely and friendly smiles of the people working there added to the feeling of the overall un-starched comfort.

But we had to get going as Bungtlang was our destination. About a two hour drive from Ngengpui which was equally if not more beautiful.  We were in a soft top gypsy and open to the breeze and minty wisps in it. Just before we reached the sanctuary viewing point I saw a movement on a tall tree in front of our car, I thought I’d recognized it but couldn’t believe my luck so strained out of the window and over the top and watched it again as we rolled to a stop- yup sure enough it was a hornbill! Excited but embarrassed as I’m sure for our companions this was not a new sight or cause for such jubilation. We looked through the bird guide and figured out it was the Brown Hornbill.

From the sanctuary view point

Next stop was the sanctuary view point, it offered what its name seemed to promise a magnificent view of the sanctuary. A flight of stairs lead to the platform and the breeze coupled with the brilliant view ahead had us all quiet for a while. We reached Bungtlang in the evening, had a sumptuous dinner in the market and proceeded to the LADC guest house. I watched Nimesh run through with his colleague the census process made some notes on what I would find exciting and then crashed for the day.

Waylaid

By six the next morning we were ready and on our way to the site of the camp. We reached it in what ideally would have been a half an hour’s drive, had it not been for a tree fallen across the road. I hopped out and squatted around watching the clearing process. As there was no way that one could even nudge the tree for a millimeter , the driver of our companions dug up the path under it, repeated attempts later after increasing decreasing the depth under the fallen tree and scraping of a part of it bark we were able to move on and reach our destination. The pick up was to come back in about three days to take us all back.

Home for a night

A hut built last year was used by the department to camp at when they stayed in the forest and the same was where the six of us were housed. Beside a stream (the portion closest to the hut was now dry, awaiting the monsoons) it would be a perfect place to return to after a day of walking around. A flat piece of land with the hills slopes beginning very close at hand.

First things first- we got our meal ready and then post some discussions decided what was to be done. Walking the search line was on the agenda- which was along the stream, or rather in/on it in some cases. We walked through the stream bed looking for signs of carnivores. Squishing along the puddles and soon wading through a steadyish stream, climbing over some fallen trees we made our way.

A little ahead of us I saw jack wildly gesturing and not making a sound. He kept pointing to the ground and there by the stream was a swarm (do you use this to describe butterflies?) of butterflies, blue tones dominating. I understand it’s called mudpuddling. I could get relatively close to get some images , but yours truly was so nervous of the whole bunch taking off if alarmed much that I’m afraid nothing very impressive could be achieved.

Soon enough the sky became heavily overcast and we could hear the rumble above, we treaded on for a while but the Forester with us , considered it best that we return as it was definitely to be a storm. A tad reluctantly we made a retreat but not without the sighting of another Hornbill, which definitely helped in washing away a bit of the dismay.

It was it was one in the afternoon and in the cloud cover everything around looked like ash smeared. Getting back seemed to have been wise as the pretty soon rains and thunder lashed down.  Heaven drums one of us said and mimicked what must have been the percussionist god! A side of the hut had been wall-less, and as much as it seemed practical on dry day (you could throw out kitchen trash, brush wash and spit etc) it would definitely prove to our disadvantage considering the raging showers. Soon a half wall was constructed by weaving strips of bamboo through each other. Speaking of bamboo, we had ladles, a chutney mixer and glasses all made of the same.  

Dinner was done by 5 and we laid out our sleeping bags and soon the hut was transformed into a dormitory, six of us under three mosquito nets.  Post midnight I woke up to the sound of grunts of disturbed sleep and thunder claps. The storm it seems was not done with. Lightning made us all look like characters straight out of a Ramsay film. Soon the rain was lashing in and we all huddled away from the open edges and doors of the hut. There was nothing much to be done other than watching the glowing embers of cigarettes smoked, the fire in the hearth was lit again as one of us was terribly cold. He huddled close to it after putting 3-4 shirts on, while we talked and there was an occasional nervous half giggle. Strangely in a similar stormy night in Saiha, I remember being scared, this time I just felt curious and found myself thinking of all that must be happening inside the forest so close at hand. Trees were falling around and in the morning we realized that the stream was in full throttle. Where a day earlier we were walking the streams bed, today we had to be conscious of our balance while crossing the energetic flow. Gushing muddy waters and drongos were our companions the next morning and we couldn’t have asked for more.

Storm casualty 

Unfortunately for the actual purpose of the visit the storm was not showing signs of being over done with. No signs would be found in these rains so we decided to pack up and leave. We started off on the road by which we had arrived and realized that the trees had fallen all around the place. Such gigantic ones too at that. Infact just above our hut there was a victim and I was just glad it didn’t come crashing down on the unsuspecting half dozen of us below.

Soon the rains began and it coincided with the first  of the may short cuts(read torturously steep climb) we had to take and lasted all the way till we reached home. The comfort of the road was lost and I often found myself on fours trying to scramble up the descent, or sitting and semi sliding down a slope. An uncle accompanying us eventually took over the tri pod that I had dangling from my arm. I felt guilty but it was for the better as the tripod anyway seemed to disagree with all my strategies of maintaining a balance.

 Slippery -rock n mud paths and my constant focus on the ground I was stepping on didn’t let me take a good look around. But I enjoyed the rain as I always have -+- was a little perturbed by the thunder -+- thanked god for the cheerfulness I felt despite what would have been in a usual day pretty patience testing-+- and was ready to do a dramatic falling on my knees SRK style when we finally spotted the school ground and our companions under its shed.

Our companions on the trip will possibly never get around to reading this post, but the sensitivity extended by them to us has had us in awe. On the walk back to the village, heavier bags they selected for themselves, leaving the relatively lighter ones for us who were new to the terrain. I realized later, that the uncle who grabbed the tripod off me was actually carrying in his bag bed sheets and blankets, in the rains it must have become quite a heavy bundle. He insisted on being the last in the group, so that he could be of assistance if anyone of us met with some trouble. I felt embarrassed that he had to give a helping hand to me on top of all the adjustments he was already making on this walk and hope that someday I will able to possess at least a small measure of such ready generosity towards strangers.