An update on day seven and eight before getting on with day nine:
Day Seven :Dec 11,2012 (around Bhubaneshwar and onward to Chandbali)
Day Seven :Dec 11,2012 (around Bhubaneshwar and onward to Chandbali)
Visited the Mukhteswar, Parasurameshwar and Raja Rani temples and Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves. It's hard to believe that the temples belong to the 7th to 10th centuries. Still beautifully preserved, it's heartening to see the trouble taken by the A.S.I and the state government to preserve them, also it makes you wonder why Orissa is not considered as much a tourist destination as say for instance Kerala. Driving around Orissa is a revelation of sorts. Did not expect to see such large tracts of land under cultivation. Reached Chandbali before sunset (winter sun sets around 5.00 pm in these parts).
Day Eight:Dec 12, 2012 (Hublighati, Gahirmata and Dangmal)
Lovely weather for a long boat ride, which was close to seven hours to Hublighati. A 3 km walk through Hublighati to reach the beach stretch at Gahirmata that is home to oliver ridly turtles during february - march when they come to nest. All we got to see was a dead turtle and some crabs that were making merry under it. But a walk through the trail in between the mangroves was enjoyable and solved the mystery as to how deep the mangroves around the Baitrani river is. Ended the day with a night halt at the forest lodge at Dangmal. Have to say that I was constantly worried about encountering snakes, but did not step on any reptiles. Not even the monitor lizards that are to be found in plenty on the island. Yes yes before i forget, the entire river stretch is infested with crocadiles of all sizes but we did not come face to face with any. Just observed them from a safe distance during the boat ride.
Day Nine: Dec 13, 2012
Crossed the river from Dangmal to Bitarkanika forest range. A six kilometer walk inside the range led to the hunting tower used by the erstwhile king and a bird spotting tower. We were a little too late to catch the thousands of migratory birds that apparently visit this spot and breed. They leave once the young are ready to fly. We'll hopefully catch them at their next stop at Chilka. After noon we started the drive to Baripada some 170 kms away. It was 48 kms of pure hell up to Bhadrak but once we got on to NH 5 the ride got a lot better and we reached our destination at around 6.30. Some unseasonal rain accompanied by thunder and lightning did disrupt our smooth ride for a while but we did okay.
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