14 KATHERINE TIMES, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 www.katherinetimes.com.au

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Nominate your favourite local sporting starDo you know someone who is a passionate soccer player? An up and coming footy star? Your favourite pitcher? A great bull rider or barel racer?

An outstanding lawn bowler? Simply a good sports person - young or old? Nominate your favourite sports person for the new Katherine Times Sporting Star

column - simply send an email to editor.kathtimes@ruralpress.com with your sporting star's name and the club he or she plays for.

From all nominations a Katherine Region Sporting Star will be selected for the inaugural Katherine Times Sporting Hero award, which will be presented at the

Katherine Town Council Australia Day Ceremony 2014.

Questions? Ring Annie at the Katherine Times on 8972 1111 or 0477 334 202.

HOT DEALSREIGN IN SPAINDestination International has puttogether a 13-day Spain andPortugal holiday. The packageincludes two nights in Barcelona atthe Novotel before a NorwegianCruises cruise to Malaga andFunchal in Portugal and Tenerifeand Arrecife in the Canary Islands.Return airfares are also included.Departures from Australia areOctober 23 and November 1, 10, 19and 28. The cost a person is from$2999.❑ www.ditravel.com.au

PIECE PLANEscape Travel has a family packagefor a four-night stay at theLegoland Hotel in California. Thepackage includes a stay in aPremium Deluxe Room, two- for-one hopper admission tickets toLegoland and Sea Life Aquariumand return airport transfers. Roomsinclude an in- room Lego treasurehunt. The package is priced from$889 an adult and $115 a child andis valid for sale until October 31unless sold out. Valid for travelfrom October 31 to December 18.❑ www.escapetravel.com.au

BEEN THERE, DANE THATBook a 2014 departure of VikingCruises' 15-day Grand EuropeanTour, along the Rhine, Main andDanube rivers from Amsterdam toBudapest, and receive a saving of$1000 a couple as well as a freebeverage package. The cruiseincludes 14 nights on-board thenew Viking Lif or Viking Skadi in ariver-view stateroom, 13 guidedtours, all on-board meals, portcharges and gratuities. The cost isfrom $5795 a person, twin share.❑ www.vikingcruises.com.au

SUIT YOURSELFGeckos' “Pack Ya Suitcase” salesees 20 per cent off most of itstrips in Latin America, Africa, SouthEast Asia, Japan, China, the MiddleEast and Nepal. The saving isapplicable to all new bookings madebefore September 30 for tripsdeparting prior to December 20.❑ www.geckoadventures.com/pack-ya-suitcase

ALL THE RAJIn a last-minute offer, CruiseExpress has a Rajasthan rail tourand luxury Asian cruise aboard SeaDream II. The 23-night packagebegins with a flight from Australiato India on October 18, then twonights in Delhi, before a week onthe Royal Rajasthan on Wheels withcoach tours in some cities. Next is a14-day Sea Dream II cruise fromMumbai to Singapore via Goa,Kochi, Colombo, the AndamanIslands, Phuket and Langkawi. Thepackage includes return flights, adomestic flight in India, all on-board meals and drinks on thecruise. It costs from $12,990 aperson, twin share.❑ www.cruiseexpress.com.au

India’s raft of solutionsJulie Miller has a close encounterwith the subcontinental concept of‘jugaad’.

There’s a saying in India that’s come torepresent the subcontinent’s mind-boggling economic reinvention -

“jugaad”. It means “creative ingenuity”, or an“innovative fix”, and it’s what Indians do best.

Thirty-five people in an auto-rickshaw?Jugaad. A truck built from a bullock cart andwater pump engine? Jugaad.

In India there is always a solution,whatever the challenge.

So, when faced with the prospect of beingstranded deep in the wilds of India, I’m told:“Do not worry, madam. We will think ofsomething”. I then watch, fascinated, asjugaad comes into play ...

Two days earlier, our small tour group -experiencing a custom-designed Mantra WildAdventures Himalaya Elements itinerary -commenced an easy two-kilometre trek toVanghat, a privately-owned retreat on theborder of the Jim Corbett National Park in thenorthern state of Uttarakhand, to enjoyseveral days’ relaxation in a remote, pristineenvironment.

This is what Mantra Wild’s experiences areall about - immersion in the cultural andnatural heritage of India, interacting withlocal communities and going off the beatentrack. But this path is not only remote - it’salso closed.

Halfway to our destination, we are stoppedby authorities and informed we cannotproceed due to a temporary Supreme Courtban on tourism in core tiger habitats.

We are forced to retrace our steps - luggageand all - to the lodge via the only other route, afive-kilometre goat track in dense jungle, upperilous cliffs and along a terrifying precipice.

We make it - just.The staff at the lodge set about creating an

alternative means of transport: a raft madefrom bamboo and inner tubes.

This makeshift vessel will carry fourwomen and their luggage across the swollenRamganga River, where our transport will bewaiting just a short walk away.

We can now relax and enjoy what Vanghathas to offer - absolute peace and quiet. Thissimple wilderness retreat consisting of fiveindividual huts and an open dining sala isours exclusively for two days.

The days are as lazy or active as we desireand we eat delicious curries made fromfreshly picked ingredients.

In the evenings we gather around abonfire, gazing at the night sky ablaze withshooting stars and listening to a sambar deersounding a warning. In the Indian jungle, thatmeans one thing: tiger.

The following morning, during a sunrisehike along the rocky beach, we find theevidence - huge paw prints of an adult tigeron the way to the river.

The tracks are less than 50 metres from ourlodge and, though we never saw it, I’m excitedbeyond belief to know that there was, indeed,one so close.

Jim Corbett National Park is India’spremier tiger habitat, with a population ofmore than 200 endangered Bengals.

But unlike other national parks, such as

Ranthambore in Rajasthan, dense foliagemakes tiger sightings here extremely rare.

Still, the quest is on to find a solution to thehuman/tiger impasse.

The impact of tourism on tigerpopulations is an ongoing and controversialdebate, with some experts arguing the onlyway tiger numbers can recover is to keep coreareas free of human activity.

Other researchers, however - includingVanghat’s owner, ecologist Sumantha Ghosh -believe the key to managing wildernessregions is to involve local communities intourism ventures; this would provideemployment, thereby creating a culturewhere poaching - by far the biggest threat totiger populations - is no option.

Implementing such innovations, however,is a slow process.

Meanwhile, alongside the RamgangaRiver, the highly anticipated raft has beencompleted and tested; we climb aboardtentatively, fast-flowing waters lappingthrough gaps in the bamboo.

The vessel is then pulled cross-river by apulley system, ropes firmly tethered toprevent us being swept through the rapids.

We arrive high and dry, with back-slappingand congratulations all round.

Talk is that the raft will stay in service forfuture guests seeking an adventurousalternative to Vanghat’s usual entrance by footor jeep - a fine example of “jugaad” indeed!

NANDADEVI ESTATESeveral hours and another hairy journey laterwe arrive at Nandadevi Estate, a wildernessretreat in the heart of Binsar WildlifeSanctuary.

This beautiful patch of jungle 25kilometres north of Almora perches at anaverage altitude of 2412 metres, its lushsubalpine vegetation hiding a plethora offauna including leopards, black bears,langurs, barking deer and porcupines.

Within the sanctuary are several grandestates, established by the real-estate-savvy

British between 1805 and 1947. Nandadeviwas the jewel in the colonial crown, locatedon a glorious ridge at 2286 metres withcommanding 180-degree views of the IndianHimalayas.

The residence of a succession of districtmagistrates, the mansion passed into thehands of an Indian wine merchant when theBritish departed, payment for an overduealcohol bill. In 1956, it was sold to Indianphilosopher Vivek Datta and his Belgianmusicologist wife, who lived here - along withthe original furniture shipped from England -for more than 50 years.

The estate now belongs to their daughter,Mukti, who single-handedly fought to havesurrounding jungle declared a sanctuary in1989, set up Panchachuli Women Weavers(the largest employer of rural women inUttarakhand), and has opened her home to arestricted number of guests.

We are staying in what once was the estatebarn, converted into the cosy Writer’s Cottage.

There is no running hot water andgenerator power is limited, but it is incrediblycomfortable, with three bedrooms decoratedwith antiques, a spacious lounge, enticingwriting nook and kitchen manned with twostaff who whip up meals from home-grownorganic produce and deliver buckets ofsteaming water to our en suites.

More than 500 kilometres of mountains areon display, with the highest, Nanda Devi -named for the Hindu goddess of bliss -perfectly framed between ancient deodarcedars.

The following morning we breakfast at themain house, where the views are even morespectacular, and listen, fascinated, as Muktidescribes her upbringing on this remoteestate. She attended Oxford University buther real education, she says, was here atNandadevi.

Gazing out at the tiara of glistening peaksframed through the mansion windows, I canfully appreciate why the preservation of thisincredible legacy means so much to her.

Indian ingenuity ... the makeshift raft that gives access across the river.