Panna National Park 21.02.10 Nikki

Arriving at Panna was almost an 'Out of Africa' experience. The lodge was situated next to a river and our cottages were enormous, as well as a huge bedroom area there was a massive dressing room and stairs which led up to a private roof terrace. As we arrived in the morning there was plenty of time to relax with a beer and a book before venturing out on our safari. We set off in comfy, camouflaged, upholstered luxury for a very pleasant drive around the park.
There are three tigers in residence, all of whom have had to be shipped in from other reserves in 2009 as the original population was decimated due to poachers. A dead tiger fetches millions of rupees and the villages surrounding the park are very poor. Of course, none of the three celebrity inhabitants chose to put in an appearance for our benefit but we saw jackals, various types of deer, antelope, a couple of dozy crocs and plenty of monkeys.
At dinner we were treated to our first taste of Indian wine, courtesy of 'Mama G' the lodge's nature expert. We never did find out his real name.