by Duncan Stewart and Tom Mills (Winchester College students)
Since its founding in 1870, there has been just one previous overseas Winchester College Natural History Society trip, to Israel in 1994. In association with Naturetrek, our excellent local wildlife travel firm, we had started planning for the India trip way back in May 2007, so at the beginning of leave-out this term, all fourteen participants were more than a little excited!
After a final kit check on the Friday morning, we headed for Heathrow. A few miles up the M3, Mr Woolley realised he had forgotten to put Ms Casson’s bag in the van – a great example to everyone! Miss Davenport averted disaster and came to the rescue at the services….
We arrived in Delhi at 0530 local time, in the dark. Sniffing the city’s sulphurous smog, we quickly met Bunty Mandhyan, our local guide for the trip, and transferred to a plush hotel, where we spent the morning recovering. Breakfast was the first of many curry-based meals during our stay in India, after which we contented ourselves variously with sleeping, swimming or birding in the hotel garden - the keenest naturalists (the insomniac Tom Mills and Duncan Stewart) were soon “ticking” new species – parakeets, mynahs and drongoes.
We went for an afternoon drive around New Delhi, en route to the railway station. Edward Lutyens’ India Gate, government buildings and Rashtrapati Bhavan (the presidential palace) were all duly admired. Delhi is a smart city by Indian standards, but it is still very different to anything back in Britain. Its crowded, chaotic roads are dominated by small green-and-yellow motor rickshaws which travel at amazing speeds, honking their horns continuously. The sky is filled with clouds of Black Kites, soaring on thermals above the city scanning for scraps. Beggars, hawkers and assorted animal-drawn carts throng the tarmac.
Indian rail transport formed one of the most memorable experiences of the trip. At the station, a horde of red-clad porters descended on us and snatched up our bags, each carrying one on their head and two on their arms (65kg+ each!). Stocking up with snacks and water on the platform, we became acquainted with Hide and Seek biscuits (“the world’s best moulded choc-chip cookies” – apparently), soon to become a staple snackfood – Crispin White ate 783 packets and still has 34 in his toys. On the sleeper train, we had a whole carriage to ourselves, bar two slightly bemused locals. Having explored both the Indian- and Western-style loos (both of which consisted ultimately of a hole leading straight down to the track), we ate dinner, were issued with bedding, and attempted to get some sleep. Some fared better than others – the train swayed alarmingly, so it depended on the orientation of your bunk! The breezy song of the tea-wallah (“chai-chai, tomato-soup”) from 0630 woke us up nicely.
We soon arrived at Katni, in central Madhya Pradesh, and were greeted by a fresh crowd of porters. Not too far outside of the town, we stopped our 4x4s at a reservoir to do some birding. There was plenty to see – ducks, Spoonbill, larks, egrets and many more. Even Mr Woolley, veteran of five previous trips to the subcontinent, had a “life-tick”, in the form of Indian Courser. We continued through Umaria to the village of Tala, the gateway to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Driving through rural India was yet another new experience for us: green fields bursting with wheat, lentils and spinach; cows and goats all over the streets when we passed through villages; a constant stream of workshops, tyre repair outfits and what claimed to be hotels….we hoped ours was a bit smarter.
It was! Tiger Trails consisted of a central dining area and lounge, surrounded by comfortable bungalows, with a shady garden and pond. Post breakfast, we had the rest of the morning to relax at the lodge or to explore the gardens and look for more birds.
After lunch, we climbed into open-top jeeps and set off on the first of our nine drives in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. The park is mostly covered by sal forest (sal is a deciduous tree) with a bamboo understorey, but there are also open areas of grassland. The landscape is quite hilly, and is dominated by the hill on which Bandhavgarh (or “Brothers’ Fort”) itself stands. Mammal spotting started right away – we saw Sambar Deer, herds of Spotted Deer, Wild Boar, Hanuman Langur monkeys and a multitude of bird species – Mottled Wood Owl, Long-tailed Minivet and Tickell’s Thrush all got ticked off. But our main target, of course, was the big stripy pussycat. We saw several large footprints (or pugmarks) in the sand, and scratch marks that extended more than 12 feet up a tree! But would we see one?
Spotted Deer
As sunset approached, all hell broke loose – one of our jeeps had caught a glimpse of ‘B2’, the dominant male tiger in the reserve, disappearing into the undergrowth some distance away. Trying to predict where the tiger would next show, we roared up the track for a mile in a cloud of dust, and stopped to wait. Minutes seemed like hours as more jeeps arrived at the scene, and we waited in suspense. Suddenly, the face of the tiger appeared to our right, and B2 sauntered out of the bamboo towards us, following a well-worn trail. The biggest tiger in the reserve, some 4m long, he was an awesome beast. He sauntered past within 10m of us, as if he hadn’t even noticed us, stopped to mark his territory, looked around once more, and was gone. What a rush! Only 1400 tigers remain in the whole of India – we were so privileged.
We were buzzing when we arrived back at the lodge after dark. Not only had everyone seen a tiger on our very first excursion in the park, but we had had one of the best sightings imaginable. It was obvious that we were going to have four great days in Bandhavgarh.
Tigress in Bandhavgarh National Park
Each morning, we got up at 0500 for a quick cup of tea, and then it was off in the jeeps. Amazingly, all 14 Wykehamists made it out of bed, every day – but only just in the case of Jamie Dick and Alex Wilkins! But we were rewarded – all our further tiger sightings were during morning drives. One morning we got the chance to clamber aboard elephants, joining their mahouts (handlers) for the amazing experience of point-blank views of a huge, slumbering male tiger.
In between morning and afternoon drives, there was time to relax in the hammocks at the lodge (for Rob ‘Rip van’ Selwyn especially), and to eat vast quantities of curry – Freddy Hawkings was the undisputed champion, but James Thomas may have pipped him on the hot chilli front. Other activities included visits to an ashram running an afforestation programme; to Bijharia, the local village, and its school; a family home (made of compressed cow dung bricks); shrines for the Hindu gods, on which offerings are left daily; and the camp of the mahouts. They are each bonded for life to an elephant which they train, look after and ride. This proved to be a memorable experience, especially when the playful “baby” elephant, standing some 1.5m at the shoulder, decided to career through our group and latch on to Alex Wilkins’ trousers with its trunk. Then, as we were leaving, it charged full pelt after our jeeps – run away!
Between us, we saw eight tigers during our stay at Bandhavgarh, including a mother and her three cubs. As well as the common mammals in the park mentioned earlier, we also saw Golden Jackals, Ruddy Mongoose, Rhesus Macaques and several species of bat, some of which we found in reserve’s ancient man-made caves. We saw over 180 species of bird at Bandhavgarh, many of which were very colourful and impressive, and even those who were ‘only interested in the big stuff’, such as Jason Wünscher and Alex Wilkins, started to develop a real interest. Favourites included Indian Roller, Plum-headed Parakeet, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Orange-headed Ground-thrush, Woolly-necked Stork and Red-headed Vulture. Add in geckos, lizards, butterflies and plants, and this was a fabulous all-round NHS trip.
Red-headed Vulture
Brown Fish Owl and Brown Shrike
On our final day, we visited the shrine of Vishnu, whose pool of water is a popular bathing site for Tigers (but not today…), and managed to see some elusive Malabar Pied Hornbills at the foot of the cliffs. But our time in this magical place was finally up, and it was off to Umaria station, to catch a train to Agra.
After another night in one of India’s famous sleeper trains, we were pleased to find that our hotel in Agra was rather swanky – the Hilton, no less. Agra is very different to Delhi – it is a large city, but there is still livestock on the streets and very poor housing. Because of all of its historical attractions, it is quite tourism-based, and there were huge numbers of hawkers and beggars wherever we went.
On the way to Agra Fort, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that Mr Woolley quickly remembered for its fruit curry, some 14 years ago! He enquired and sure enough it was still on the menu. We all tried it, and however strange the idea may have seemed, it was actually quite tasty…. At the restaurant we met our guide, Sunny, who would take us around various sites in Agra along with Bunty. Agra Fort is a huge building made of the local red sandstone. We learnt plenty from Sunny about the fort’s history, and had our first views of the Taj Mahal from the top, looking out across the Yamuna River. Ed Orlik lowered the tone somewhat with his ‘amusing’ optical illusion photos, but luckily George Bishop and his squirrel-charming act saved the day.
Over dinner, we were treated to a slightly cheesy but very entertaining magic show, after which Sam Stafford perfected (and purchased) an Indian Rope Trick. On the way back to the hotel we witnessed a wedding procession, an explosion of light, colour, music and fireworks. Alex Carn was so engrossed that he narrowly missed being squashed by a taxi.
The Taj Mahal is best in the morning light, so we left the hotel early the next day, weaving through the hordes of street vendors to the monument’s security gate, where everyone was frisked before entry. Having seen this magnificent monument from a distance the day before, it was only now that we could fully appreciate its size and just why it had taken 1000 elephants and 20,000 workers 22 years to build. We placed covers over our shoes to explore the inside of the mausoleum, with its fine marble inlay patterned walls, and then looked out over the river behind, where we actually saw several new birds. Despite (or perhaps for the benefit of) the crowds of people, we held a hot in front of the Taj just before leaving, which was worthwhile just for the bemused looks! Josh Nightingale also recreated Princess Diana’s famous photo-opportunity for us – it was uncanny.
After a huge buffet breakfast, we visited the ‘Baby Taj’, a smaller and older version of its better-known counterpart, and then drove to Fatehpur Sikri, the 17th century capital of the Mughal Empire, abandoned because of its insufficient water supply. There were many impressive palaces, and a stunning view from the top of the walls. As we left via the main gate late in the afternoon, an imam started his haunting call to prayer from the minaret of the ancient mosque.
Back in Agra, we spent our last rupees on some trinkets in a small emporium (haggling furiously) and caught the fast train to Delhi, which turned out to be not dissimilar to our own British trains. Agra station, however, was not like a British one, and we amused ourselves by watching dozens of fat rats, attracted by the faeces and rubbish ejected from the trains.
We said our goodbyes to Bunty, who had been great fun and worked incredibly hard to ensure our trip was a success, and finally left Delhi in the small hours, leaving behind the smells, sights and people of India. Everyone was completely exhausted, but we have brought back memories that will last a lifetime.
The trip was an amazing success, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We are all very grateful to Mr Woolley and Ms Casson, and everyone at Naturetrek and in India who helped us. We hope there will be many successful Natural History Society trips abroad in the future – if Mr Woolley and Ms Casson can face the risk assessments!
If you are part of a group, club or society Naturetrek can help arrange exclusive wildlife holidays for you. More information can be found on the Private Group Travel page or by emailing David