The Kabini River, a tributary of the Cauvery, flows quietly through the Nagarhole National Park, encircling a patch of green called Kabini. This exuberant jungle is home to leopard, gaur, antelope, crocodile, tiger, cobra, python and herds of elephant among other animals. Kabini is a delightful resort to get away to for a few days - or much longer, if you fancy! Kabini River Lodge was originally the private hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Mysore. It later became the Vice -regal Lodge where British Viceroys and the royalties from abroad were entertained. Today, Kabini houses one of Karnataka's Best wildlife resorts, stretched over huge acres of forest and river. These resorts organize safaris and wildlife watching Treks into the forest and even has an elephant-back safari to boot. The best thing about Kabini is the sense of tranquility and solitude that envelops the forest reserve. Big city life and traffic seem so far away as you surrender yourself to jungle sounds and smells. The elephant rules here and if you are lucky, you may come across herds of tuskers splashing in the river or crashing through the wilderness. Crocodiles glare balefully at the antics of these jumbos and grin wicked thoughts. The tiger and leopard are much more elusive, while sloth bear, gaur (Indian bison), antelope, sambar, wild boar and any number of monkeys live here. Kabini shelters the osprey, brown-headed fishing eagle, racket tailed drongo, golden backed woodpecker, stork and peafowl among almost 250 species of bird life. Spend some time near the river and spy on the wildlife as they venture out to the river. Experts from the resorts will guide you along the nature walks and safe paths to tread. Besides jeep safaris and elephant rides, another interesting way to explore the jungles is by coracle. These are circular bamboo boats lined with buffalo hide, on which you float down the river. If this seems too daring, try cruising on a motorboat, sailboat or paddleboat. You may meet some interesting river creatures on the way! When the monsoons arrive, the rain-washed forest turns a brighter green. This is the time when the excited twitter of the avian population gives way to the exuberant lyrics of songbirds. Once the monsoons recede, the wildlife is at its most visible from November till May. So choose any time of the year to come here for a wildly refreshing break. Best time: You can come to Kabini at any time of the year, but the best season for wildlife sighting is from November to May. The forest turns a lush green between July and October, another good period for a visit. The climate is moderate throughout the year: winter temperatures do not fall below 16ºC and summer temperatures do not exceed 32ºC.

LEGEND OF KABINI

COL. JOHN WAKEFIELD – POPULARLY KNOWN AS “PAPA JOHN OR PAPA” Col. John Wakefield, an Indian-born Englishman, knows the Indian jungles and wildlife like the back of his hand. The ninety two year old driver of the jeep - a cute figure with his beautiful, round, bald head, a plump body and a Hercule Poirot moustache - just smiled at the lone tusker trumpeting menacingly, hardly fifty yards from the parked jeep. As the tusker began to advance menacingly, the driver waved to him and said "Oh! Stop." The huge hulk stopped, giving a disappointed look that he could not complete the task begun. For the driver, Col John Felix Wakefield, the scene was part of his everyday life. As the Resident Director of the Jungle Lodges and Resorts organization at the Kabini River Lodge, he has a unique rapport with the animals, in the forests on the banks of the Kabini River. He is Papa John, for the environmentalists, tourists and his co-employees. Perhaps the wild animals in the area also must be calling him, in their own language, affectionately by the same name. He knows them personally. He calls one leopard as “Christopher”, and a female elephant as “Belly Buttons”. He pulls up the local Forest Ranger if he finds less salt in the salt lick pits in the forest. He boasts, “I am a lucky man, as I am paid for doing what I like." The family chart of Papa makes an interesting reading. It shows his descent through Robert Barclay, apologist of the Quakers and his inter-connection with Elizabeth Fry, the prison reformer, Sir Francis Galton, the founder of eugenics, T F Buxton, the emancipator of the slaves and John Nicholson, the "hero" of Delhi. But the high connections least bother him. A down-to-earth, practical man, he is more worried about the delicate health of the baby elephant, which he found in the herd banks of the Kabini River the previous day. Papa was born in 1916 in Gaya, Bihar. His long and intimate kingship with the jungles and wildlife of India began in his early years, under the guidance of his father, who worked with the Maharajah of Tikari. Young John used to regularly accompany his father in his hunts. At the age of nine, John shot a leopard in the company of his father. The very next year, his father made him shoot a tigress. Hunting was a royals’ game those days unlike now which is banned. Finding little John not evincing enough interest in studies he was packed off to England in 1926. But his heart was always in India and its jungles and so after six years he returned to his “land – MOTHER INDIA.” In 1941, he began his career in the Army, serving in various capacities until 1955. As Emergency Commission Officer, he saw service in the Jungle Training Division and in the Burmese operations ending in Rangoon and held the rank of Colonel in the Civil Affairs Services in Burma. After spending a short while in Singapore, he returned to India and in 1947 worked in the Military Evacuation Organization’s operations in Pakistan and served in Jammu and Kashmir and Hyderabad police action. The call of the Jungle was irresistible for Papa. In 1967 he took up a career in wildlife tourism when he joined the Kumaon Hunters Safari Company in Bijnor with whom he worked until 1972. Between 1975 and 1976, he worked with the Lindblad Wildlife Travels Company, as a naturalist escorting wildlife tours to all the newly founded National Parks in India. In 1976 and 1977, he was the Indian representative to Anglia Television's (UK) Survival series, coordinating the ground arrangements for their filming of wildlife in India's protected forests. His long and significant relationship with Tiger Tops (India & Nepal) began in 1978: he worked as wildlife consultant and later held the posts of General Manager in Kashmir and Ladakh and Alternate Director with Dr. McDougall on the Jungle Lodges and Resorts Board. His tremendous experience in the field came into its own when Tiger Tops arrived in Karnataka. From the conception of the idea of the Resort in the Kabini jungles, to the selection of sites for the tourist accommodation and the facilities there, way back in the late '70s, his expertise as a planner and advisor was evident at every stage. Thanks to his tireless energy and foresight, the Jungle Lodges and Resorts organization has grown over the years. He has been the Resident Director at Kabini since 1986, and is currently involved in the planning of the Muttodi Elephant Safari and the resorts at Dandeli. Papa now occupies a small portion of the former vice-regal Hunting Lodge at Kabini popularly known as the Kabini River Lodge, just 80 kms. from Mysore