Naturalist & Wildlife Camp – Nagarhole (2024)

CAMP OVERVIEW

The famous Nagarhole Tiger Reserve opens its gates to young, aspiring wildlife photographers and naturalists on this fun and unique camping experience.

This reserve is abundantly rich in flora and fauna and is especially known for its leopard / black panther and tiger sightings. Your child will also have many opportunities to see and photograph other mammals such as Asiatic elephants, Indian gaurs, sloth bears, Asiatic wild dogs and various species of deer apart from 300 species of birds that can be found in the reserve.

What’s better, The Outback Experience team members Phillip Ross and Samantha Ross, will guide your child into the forests, take them through the fundamentals of wildlife photography and equip them with a basic understanding of animal behaviour that will help them take stunning photographs. Both instructors know these forests like the back of their hand and will lead your child to places where wildlife sightings are known to happen.

Come join us and enrol your child for this one-of-a-kind advanced young naturalist summer camp!

CAMP ITINERARY

Dates:
Batch 1: 17th to 19th April, 2024 (CAMP FULL – Add to waitlist)
Batch 2: 17th to 19th June, 2024

DAY 1:

At the crack of dawn, we depart from the city of Bangalore and proceed to the much-awaited campsite. After check-in, Phillip & Sam will introduce the property while your child enjoys a refreshing welcome drink, and later we will get to know each other through a fun ice-breaking name game. After the game, Phillip will talk to your child about ornithology and lead the group around the beautiful property to explore its avian wonders. We should come across at least 30 species over the hour we spend birding. On this birding walk, your child will also learn about camera trapping and how to set up a camera trap, hoping that some of Nagarhole’s nocturnal wanderers choose to walk by sometime during the night or in the wee hours of the morning.

We head back for a much-awaited lunch, where we will talk to your children about what we could expect to see on the evening’s safari, as well as the ideal camera settings required for the safari.

Soon after, we’ll find ourselves aboard safari vehicles, driving into parts of Nagarhole, not knowing what will be lurking around every corner. We’ll keep our eyes peeled and hope that the safari turns out to be a very successful one.

Later that evening, we’ll gather around a campfire for a presentation on composition and discuss our safari experience and animal behaviour.

We end the night with a session of entertainment followed by a delicious dinner.

DAY 2:

We awake to the sweet calls of the birds found within the campsite and after a hot cup of coffee or tea, prepare to depart for the morning birding session. This part of Nagarhole is rich in avian life and we are sure to see a few Western Ghat endemic birds! Your child will certainly have a better grasp of photography after the instruction session the previous evening and will be more confidant to take that stunning shot.

We return to the resort for breakfast and rest for a bit. Just before lunch, your child may take a dip into beautiful swimming pool at The Machaan Resort.

After lunch, we’ll have a discussion about flora and some of the flora found in the area. We will then head out on a plantation walk to learn more about plants and trees.
We return in time for an early dinner, before we head out again on a night walk. This walk will be particularly interesting for kids who are keen to learn about herpetology. Again, being a part of the Western Ghats, this area is rich in macro subjects. We are sure to come across at least 5 species of frogs and also learn about snakes, spiders and insects. On our return, we end the night with some entertainment.

DAY 3:

On the final morning, the forests of Nagarhole beckon us to end the camp on a high note with a final birding session. We are sure that our bird list would’ve crossed at least 70 species by now. We will also go and retrieve our camera trap and would have hopefully got something exciting corss it in the 2 days that it was out.

After the safari and breakfast, we gather for a rendezvous before checking out at 11:00 a.m. and driving back to Bangalore, where we are sure your child won’t be able to wait to tell you some fascinating tales.

Outbacker: Participated in at least three previous The Outback Experience camps or workshops

Inclusions

• Road transfers from Bangalore, to and from the destination
• Triple-sharing accommodation in luxury rooms.
• All meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and hot beverages (coffee and tea)
• One safari into Nagarhole Tiger Reserve (Photography friendly canter safari’s run by Jungle Lodges & Resorts).

Exclusions

• 5% GST
• Camera Fee’s – As per the Karnataka Forest Department, the fee per safari is as follows:
  Upto 70mm: ₹250 + 18% GST = INR 295/- per safari.
  70mm – 200mm: ₹750 + 18% GST = INR 885/- per safari.
  200mm – 500mm: ₹1000 + 18% GST = INR 1180/- per safari.
  Above 500mm: ₹1500 + 18% GST = INR 1770/- per safari.
  The total camera fee’s for all safaris, will need to be settled directly at the office of The Machaan Resort upon check-out.
• Any extra meals and beverages ordered
• Airfare, if applicable
• Anything that is not expressly mentioned in the inclusions list

Payment Terms

100% payment in advance for confirmation of booking.

Payment can be made via UPI, bank transfer to our account, or by card. Please fill in the “Book Now” form below, and we will get in touch with you with the payment details. Please inform us of the reference number once the payment is made.

Cancellation Fees

• 10% outside 30 days before the camp
• 25% between 29 and 22 days before the camp
• 50% between 21 and 15 days before the camp
• 75% between 14 and 8 days before the camp
• 100% within 7 days before the camp