Wildlife

We again visited the park twice without any tiger showing itself, lots of pug marks and scratches on trees though! We did come across these Jackals though and also shown here are Chital (Spotted Deer) and a Black faced Langur.

Junglemantra Grounds

The grounds surrounding our base are vast and beautiful. Here are some pics of the area and also a couple of pics of us both with our group of students! This aspect of the trip is proving rewarding although challenging at times. Neither of us have had teacher training and there is the obvious language barrier! However the students enthusiasm is infectious and the are a great natured bunch and very keen to learn

First Safari

We enjoyed our first visit to theNational Park but were unlucky as we did not see any Tigers ( We missed one by ten mins) We shall visit again Monday morning so fingers crossed. However it was a great visit and the highlight was witnessing a jackal attack on a group of Spotted Deer (Chital), it successfully killed a fawn, which was sad to see but amazing too!
We also saw Sambhur Deer, Wild Boar, Jungle Cat and some nice birds.

Birds of India

. Shown here are Red Wattle Lapwing, Indian Roller, Black Hooded Oriole and Black Ibis

Common Iora

These delightful little birds are seen everyday.

Indian Raptors

Shown here are Black Shouldered Kite and A Crested Serpent Eagle which was one of the most confiding raptors I have ever had the pleasure to observe!

Spotted Owlets

I was delighted to be shown were a family of four of these adorable owlets live. It is five mins walk from our room and we see them every day - I never tire of seeing them! I hope soon to aso catch up with Jungle Owlet and Brown Fish Owl

Our First "Job"

Today we had the daunting task of holding an English class for 8 local men (average age 25). However we are very proud that we took the challenge and after initial nerves we think we did very well. They are keen students! We shall have a few more classes with them and then move on to the village school to assist in the classroom.
It is very hot here, sometimes too hot! Although it is quite cold first thing and again late at night. We are still woken each night by the jackals outside our rooms - we are sort of used ti it now.
Tomorrow (fri) we are going on a jeep safari into the heart of the forest where we hope to see our very first tiger ):
Will hopefully have pics when I next manage to get on line.

A Couple More Indian Wildlife Pics

I observed this grass lizard hunting and we came across this Wooly Necked Stork on the lake at Junglemantra

A Few More indian Birds

I love getting up early and seeing whats around. Shown here are Black-Shouldered Kite(there are a pair that I see every day ) A Brown Headed Barbet (a lifer for me), A Green Bee-Eater, A Scaly-Breasted Munia and a Black Kite.

Junglemantra

After a very long 16 hr on the overnight train (seemed like days) we arrived at Umaria station and taken by jeep to junglemantra. Arriving at first light was amazing, the sounds of the jungle surreal and there was a mist over the grassland and the forest, seemed like a dream.
We were awakened ay 3.30am by a pack of very noisy Jackals!
Tomorrow we start our "work", the first assignment is helping the staff - boys/men from the local tribal village- improve their English skills. Hopefully in the next few days we will get out to see Tigers. I will update the blog when I can, we have to come 3km to use the internet!

Indian Birds

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  A few birds already seen whilst in India :) Black Kite(at one time I had 20 above my head!), Black Redstart, Jungle Babbler, Rose-Ringed Parakeet and Coppersmith Barbet

Monkeys for Lunch!

After a very long journey, finally we arrived in Delhi. We were delighted when arriving at the home stay. Our hosts had set up a table in the walled garden and we enjoyed our lunch in the company of a resident troop of Rhesus Macaques.

Last Minute Prep

Well we are just about packed and ready for the off! The butterflies in our tummies have kicked in and now it is beginning to seem real!! We shall retire to bed early tonight as we have a long and varied journey starting tomorrow. The malaria tablets have, up to now, caused no major problems, fingers crossed that will remain so!!

The weather and temperature in India are looking favourable, and we can almost feel the sun on our faces and that, coupled with the promise of arriving in one of the most magical places on Earth, home to some of the most warm-hearted people you will ever meet, stunning scenery, delicious cuisine and of course the amazing and diverse birds and creatures, is what will keep us going through our initial arduous journey! Bring it on!!!! :) :)

Our Base In India

We have added a link opposite - Junglemantra will be our base for the month. It looks and sounds amazing and we really cant wait to get there. It will take 3 days of travelling before we get there! After our 9 hour flight to Delhi ,we spend a night with a local family (homestay) and then the following day have a 16 hour overnight sleeper train journey! Should prove very interesting!! Im sure we will be exhausted by the time we reach Bandhavgarh!

Malaria Tablets

The dreaded malaria tablets have arrived today- necessary but hate taking them. I will have to take mine for a few months as 3 weeks after my return from India, Mick and I are going to Sri Lanka for 2 weeks. So I will have to take them until mid May :( At least we do not need any more injections as they are all up to date - hate needles too!!

Preparations

Well we havent got long to wait now for our Indian adventure! We have flights booked, visas in place, travel arrangements finalised, now its the big countdown!