Safari 2025 - Technically Not!

There's a pretty strong argument that the word Safari, although meaning a journey to hunt for wild animals, should be solely associated with doing so in Africa. Over time, of course, this definition has loosened considerably and I'm pretty happy to call this upcoming trip a Safari.

I'm really stepping out of my comfort zone this time. Twice - at least - my friends have planned trips here and I've declined on both occasions. The first time, I simply couldn't afford to go, but the second time I felt that it just wasn't a country I wanted to actually visit. Fred, in particular, keeps going back but constantly tells me that he doesn't like the place and there have been many pronouncements of "Never Again" over the years.

And, where is this place? India.

Now, India is a very big country and, as always, our time will be limited. This calls for careful planning and considerable sacrifice. Here's the basic plan for our trip:

• Fly out from Heathrow on February 25th to Delhi
• Overnight in Delhi
• Drive to Agra for two nights to see Taj Mahal, etc
• Boat Trip on Chambal River - looking for crocodiles and gharial
• Haiderpur Wetlands - Lots of birds
• Three lodges in and around Jim Corbett National Park -  six days looking for Tigers!!!
• Manila and Sattal in the Himalaya Foothills around Nanda Devi - scenery and more birds
• Drive back to Delhi for one night
• Fly to Leh in Ladakh
• Six days to explore:
• Khardung La and Tanglung La - High road mountain passes above 17,000 feet!
• Tso Kar - High mountain lake for rare birds
• Hanle - Possible to see a Pallas's Cat
• Plenty of time to look for Snow Leopard, Tibetan Fox, Wolf, Lynx, Red Fox, etc.
• Back to Delhi for one more night
• Return to Heathrow and then home on March 23rd

So, Agra is as far south as we get, but primarily this is Northern India in the extreme. For me, the highlight will, of course, be Corbett. In some ways, tigers are the only thing that make me want to go to India enough to finally do so.

Having said that, there's plenty more to be seen. This is the Himalayas. Nanda Devi is the highest mountain entirely in India and then we head even deeper into the mountains by going to Ladakh.

Leh, at more than 11,000 feet is our starting point. This is technically the low point between the western end of the Himalayas and the Karakoram range to the north, the valley of the Indus River. As we land, we might glimpse the summit of K2 at more than 28,000 feet. We'll head out wherever the roads are open. I've no real expectation of seeing either the snow leopard or Pallas's cat, but there is hope always.

That Elephant Encounter - Video

One of the things that I never - well almost never - manage is to take any video while I'm on safari. Once in a while I'll remember that I have my phone in my pocket and even more rarely I'll remember that video is a thing.

I'm just not a videographer. Photos are what work for me and I don't even have to think about taking them, it is just automatic. And that applies whether it is reaching for the big camera, the compact camera or the phone - indeed it is sometimes a case of reaching for all three to capture as much information and variety of shots as possible.

The point is, for the most part, I have to rely on others to capture video for me and, luckily, Emmy is often there to pick up the slack. Here is his short clip from our first proper elephant encounter from Akagera in Rwanda.

Safari 2024 - Trip Report

So, the 2024 safari to Rwanda and Tanzania is now over and we are all safely back home. It is, as usual, time to complete my trip report and start work on the book of the trip. As always, this is a fairly long and involved process, made simpler by my writing more than ten thousand words while away. I'm working on the final layout of the large-format book and, as I am still in the process of working on the whole series as a set of paperbacks, I am working on that version at the same time.

Each report gets longer and more rambling than the last and I should apologise for that in advance. I've broken it into what I hope are logical sections and it is all at the link on the right or by following this link HERE.

On Safari 2024

This is just a quick reminder to everybody that I'm off on safari again. I leave on the morning of 14th of February and won't be back on the island until the 10th of March.

We are travelling to Rwanda, but starting our actual safari across the border in Tanzania. We'll be exploring the southern shores of Lake Victoria as far as the Serengeti before turning round and coming back to finish with five days in Rwanda.

You might get me on email, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger if you need something urgent, but clearly I won't be able to do much until I get back. I will be roaming in a very expensive country, so don't expect me to answer the phone.