The second edition of the Hyundai Jungle Diaries sees us drive from Pune to Kabini and the Nagarhole national park. Here’s a quick look at all that we witnessed there.
Story: Harket Suchde
Photography: Saurabh Botre
Another early morning saw us leave Pune for Karnataka and the Nagarhole National Park, also known as the Kabini Wildlife Reserve. The Creta was soon powering us along the highway and beyond. Just 50-odd kilometers we reached Kabini, a small off-road path led us to the riverside, and we even spotted a wild elephant in the distance! With our first sighting under our belt, it was time to continue and check in to our hotel for the night. The following morning it was time to take the safari and keep our fingers crossed in the hope that we see some amazing wildlife.
We didn’t have to wait for too long for out first spotting – a majestic serpent eagle perched on a branch stared down its beak at us. In fact, there was a lot of birdlife on show, including the blue roller, the difficult to spot hoopoe, lapwings and more. We also saw more elephants, peacocks, peahens, deer and gaur on the safari.
The Creta was a breeze to drive around in, be it on the massive highway, or the back lanes leading to Kabini. The powerful 1.6-litre VTVT petrol engine and smooth six-speed automatic gearbox meant I could relax and thoroughly enjoy the drive.
This marks an end to part two of our Hyundai Jungle Diaries web series. We’ll be putting up more episodes here, so watch this space. For a detailed account of our trip to Kabini, make sure to pick up the August Issue of Car India Magazine.
