WILD INDIA! 2024 BLOG
January 19th, 2024
Iain writes…
Arrived in New Delhi yesterday, and it is unusually cold! Is the weather normal anywhere these days? So great to be back in India for another Tropical Ice Wild India safari, and the Imperial hotel is as elegant as ever. Such a fabulous place to begin a safari. Today, I roamed around Old Delhi, and the bazaars of Chandni Chowk, where you can buy anything, and super cheap too. As usual I was captivated by the electrical wiring, how does anyone know where to start when there is a problem?
We have 11 people on this trip, and since 8 of them have chosen to do our Taj Mahal extension, I thought I would join them. So, tomorrow we are off to Agra!
Stay tuned!
January 22nd, 2024
Iain writes…
Seven members of our group of eleven chose our Taj Mahal extension, and we were rewarded by seeing it in glorious sunlight. This was my fourth visit to the Taj and, as always, it never ceases to take my breath away.
Tomorrow our main trip begins as we head to Bhopal.
January 23rd, 2024
Iain writes…
We arrived in Bhopal on the day when India's Hindu population was celebrating the grand opening of the controversial temple at Ayodhya. It was a national holiday. Bhopal's downtown was heaving with the celebratory spirit, and it was super-colourful.
We began with a visit to one of the largest mosques in India, Tasul Masajid, and then waded through the downtown bazaars. Indians, more than most, know how to party. Our guide, Rekha, knows every nook and cranny in Bhopal, and ended the wonderful day by telling us the details - which she experienced - of the Union Carbide gas leak, which killed so many people in December 1984.
January 28th, 2024
Iain writes…
We started our three day hike across the hills of Satpura National Park, staying in our beautiful camps, with amazing food. Our camp staff - there were 40 men to look after our group of 11 - were as friendly and willing as ever. I was amazed to see the number of tiger tracks during our walk, which seem to increase with each passing year.
We boarded our jeeps from the last camp, and within ten minutes we saw two tigers in the forest about 100 feet away. It wasn’t the best sighting, and only two of our jeeps saw them, but it was a good omen. Later in the afternoon, we went for a game drive and had a magnificent viewing of a tigress, as well as Sloth bears and Gaur.
Such a wonderful feeling to have the tiger stress behind us at this early stage of the trip, and we still have six days of game viewing in Kanha and Bandhavgarh ahead of us.
I'm writing this on the train to Jabalpur, where we will have lunch at the Indian Coffee House - the home of dosa. This afternoon we will drive to Kanha.
30th January 2024,
Iain writes…
On our first day in Kanha National Park, we were fortunate to have what is perhaps the finest tiger experience I’ve ever had. Shortly after entering the park, we came across a tigress with two sub adult cubs, which put on an amazing show before us. If our Wild India safari is about seeing tigers, we can all go home now!!!
So many visitors come to India and never see a tiger, we have now seen seven in two days, and we’ve still got Bandhavgarh ahead of us.
1st February, 2024
Iain writes…
We arrived at Bandhavgarh National Park, and within an hour of entering, we saw this beautiful tigress. We watched her stalk a spotted deer. For the next hour we stayed with her as she moved through the jungle.
There is nothing better than - after several hours of searching for tigers - stopping for delicious samosas.
2nd February, 2024
Iain writes,
During our afternoon drive at Bandhavgarh, we watched this young tiger traipse through the water.
Magnificent sight.
4th February, 2024
Iain writes…
Bandhavgarh wound up our tiger viewing days. We saw 11 of them, and the quality of the sightings was exceptional.
We then flew back to Delhi from Jabalpur, and next day we took the train up to the base of the Himalayas. From here we boarded the 'Toy Train' as we wound our way up through the hills towards Shimla.
We arrived at the gorgeous Wildflower Hall, which used to be the home of Lord Kitchener in 1905. It has now been beautifully restored by Oberoi. We are here for the final three days of Wild India.
