LITTLE RANN OF KUTCH GUJARAT ..INDIA

I step into a new Boeing 737max8, just 10 days earlier one of these new planes ploughed into the sea off Indonesia and two others in the same fleet were found with a fault. I arrive at Ahmedabad airport safe and sound in the state of Gujarat in north west India. A two hour journey and arrival at Rann Riders, near Dasada, a resort which sits at the gateway to the little Rann of Kutch. It has 20 round ethnic looking chalets, with thatched roofs and bright walls decorated by local village women.

I join the open jeep at 5-15 am. It's not cold but I'm prepared with a windcheater. We shoot off at speed in the dark heading to the Little Rann, a 5000 square Km mudflat which fills with water during the monsoon. It's surrounded by a green belt. Sadly, the monsoon was disappointing this year and 90% of the land is dry or just muddy. The eagle eyed driver / guide spots a Macqueen's bustard and we circle round to get photos of this migratory bird all the way from Central Asia, which migrates to india via Pakistan / Mongolia

. I'm not a birder but the thrill gets to me when we see a short eared owl sitting below a bush looking at us, all of this followed by a perigreen falcon, the fastest hunter in the world, feasting on a common moorhen. The little water there is packed with Flamingoes and a small group of stubborn pelicans, taking over the deeper water. A further pre sunset safari gets us viewing an imperial eagle, an Eurasian hobby and a harrier, ( all raptors, which means they are from the eagle family).

This is a bird watcher's paradise, but soon we are spotting in the distance the unique only to this area the Asiatic Wild ass. They are normally found in family groups of about five to twenty five but total around a few hundred in the wild.

While the sun is setting in the distance, SNK, my photographer buddy is trying to capture the ass in front of the setting sun. Now that's some challenge, as not just the sun setting at a pace but the asses are asses. They run in all possible directions but the setting sun.

Back to the resort for an excellent dinner with a chance to meet the owner Mujahid. We hear he has stables and has riding safaris as well as an array of farmyard animals to keep all the youngsters happy.

The next day we say goodbye to the gate way to Little Rann of Kutch and head for the city of Ahmedabad. We get the chance to visit the kite museum, the second in the world and the city museum. Lots to see, but looking very neglected. The GOOD news we didn't have to pay. We found a statue of Queen Victoria. Her face badly damaged, unceremoniously, she is sitting next to the unimpressive 1960s non maintained museum block. Leaving Gujarat, the whinging pomes summary is, “no alcohol but loads of birds“. This state is a dry state.

A two hour journey and arrival at Rann Riders, near Dasada, a resort which sits at the gateway to the little Rann of Kutch. It has 20 round ethnic looking chalets, with thatched roofs and bright walls decorated by local village women