Wild ass, lions, jackals, leopards, spotted deer, crocodiles, rare birds like flamingoes,
spoonbills and many others are not the only ones to be found in the wildlife reserves of Gujarat, the graceful black
buck has its attraction too. To see hordes of black bucks, I had to take a three hours drive from Sasan to Velavadar
which has a sanctuary for the protected species. Chatting with the driver of the cab taking me to Velavadar sanctuary,
I found out that the resort I was heading for, was quite near the sanctuary. According to him there was barely any need
to take a safari into the reserved park as a good number of these animals would be visible within the resort. I did not
believe it – black bucks roaming freely in a resort.
On reaching The Black Buck Lodge I discovered that the resort spread out on a big piece of land had no closed boundary
except for the entry which displayed a plaque bearing the name of the resort. Individual huts were spread out on dry,
grassy land surrounding a big manmade pond. It seemed like a barren piece of land, there was no landscaping, except for
a lonely acacia tree that swayed lightly, barely able to provide shelter to anyone. The tall grass, which must have been
green, had shrunk into a yellow mass. My first impression was --- this cannot be a resort, but that was to be short lived.
A couple of people emerged from one of the huts, greeted me and took out my luggage. I was heading to a hut on one edge of
the barren land. The exterior wall of the hut was coated with yellow mud resembling the sands of desert. For once I felt,
I had made a wrong decision to come here. As I entered the hut which had looked so unimpressive from outside, I was pleasantly
surprised to discover that the accommodation was spacious, it must not have been less than 350 square feet inside. A large bed
with side lamps placed on tables made out of tree trunks, walls going up to the ceiling of dark stone, windows on all three
sides and a balcony opening towards the wild --- out there I could see nothing except small thorny bushes in the barren
field. Being in the hut was some relief as the sun had made the air extremely warm outside. On the horizon all one could
was mirage all around. It took a good half hour for the air conditioner to cool the high ceiling hut. The attached bath
was no smaller, but beyond the bathroom was an open air bathing area; for taking a shower under the open sky, be it the
morning sun peeping in or the star-studded sky with the big round moon lighting up the open air bath theatre.
I spent the later part of the day waiting for the sun to go down the western horizon. It was almost dusk when I got up,
prepared myself a cup of tea and moved out into the attached balcony. Surprise ! There was a big herd of black bucks grazing
just behind my hut, the nearest being some 40 yards away. The herd suddenly became alert, some of them staring at me.
I jumped into the hut once again to fetch my camera, a few seconds later I emerged with the camera mounted on the tripod.
This, however, seemed to scare the animals away; they all started moving away. The sun had turned into a crimson ball and
was rolling fast down in the west, the sky had changed its color too. The opportunity to make some pictures was lost. As
darkness descended, tiny lights came up in some of the huts around. I decided to walk up to the restaurant, also housed
in a large hut. Inside I was once again surprised to find that the restaurant had been laid out tastefully. Even before
I could ask for a menu and decide on something to eat, my host appeared. The dinner was ready. Chatting with my host I
enjoyed the freshly cooked food looking out of the window where it had become pitch dark except for the twinkling stars
spread out on the sky. The resort has no extra lights leading to each of the huts, one must carry a torch to find his
way. The discussion on black bucks and other animals in the area went on till midnight. My host assured me that I would
see a lot in the morning, but I must be ready around dawn with my camera to make good pictures.
What woke me the next morning were some birds chirping loudly just near my window. I got on to my feet and rushed out into
the balcony with the camera. Out there in the field was a large herd of black bucks. This time I was careful not to scare
them. Some of them moved closer to my balcony making way to the water pond. This was my chance to make as many pictures
as I wanted to. The herd leader seemed to oblige me with his close ups as he moved right towards the camera. Another
surprise for me was a blue bull which had become friendly with the staff at the resort. It had no fear and would walk
up to anybody asking for something to eat. It did so with me too, walking right into my camera, almost pushing me into
the pond.
True, The Black Buck Lodge was in itself a sanctuary for the animals as they moved fearlessly around quenching their thirst
at the pond or roaming near the restaurant. There had been instances when they had wandered into the huts also.
The Black Buck Lodge is a professionally managed resort. Proper care is taken to ensure good fresh food for the guests.
Imagine a fine Darjeeling tea in the midst of this dry grassland; the resort has it. The resort has not been landscaped
intentionally to make it look like part of the wild appropriate for the black bucks. Perhaps The Black Buck Lodge is the
only good resort for a safari at the Velavadar Black Buck Sanctuary.
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