We had a four hour van journey from Kalpetta - Mudumalai. However on our way to Mudumali we stopped off at the tea transplantations! Up the winding hills was the beautiful scenery of the tea plants, the hills were covered with tea and it looked so pretty! We stopped off at a factory in the middle of the hills. They provide tea for the whole area and market it off daily for high prices.
We were taken through the whole process of making tea, from the growing to the end product. I learnt that the bigger the tea granule the more expensive it is! We tried many different types of tea at the end. I must say the health and safety in the factory was very dangerous, there was very very old machines and flames that weren’t covered! Also no one was wearing ear plugs and it was so so loud!
We then made our way to the sanctuary where we were staying! On route we saw a family of wild elephants making there way to the watering hole. Was so lovely to see them in there natural environment.
We arrived at the Blue Valley Resort. It was a lovely place to stay right in the middle of the sanctuary. We all had our own little huts, me and Emmanuel shared. As we walked towards our hut there was many money’s sitting outside, one was huge! This is why they tell you to lock the doors and turn of the lights at night! Whilst we were getting ready we heard a huge thump on our roof, we assumed it was a monkey jumping out of the tree!
Once checked into our rooms, we went on a Jeep Safari in the local area.
The sanctuary is, a haven for Bengal tigers and Indian leopards, among other threatened species. We kept our eyes peeled: as you can often see herds of endangered Indian elephants, vulnerable gaur (Indian bison), and chital (spotted deer). However, we only managed to see many spotted deers, peacocks and monkeys! So much for the tigers haha!
When we arrived back after our bumpy journey dinner was ready. It was a lovely curry with ice cream for dessert, what a treat haha! After diner we were escorted back to our rooms by a guard with a gun, this is encase any elephants or monkeys get too friendly!