Year 3 -8 March 2026-Munnar -India

We woke at a good time to a nice morning although there was still mist in the valley far below us which cleared fairly quickly. We met our driver at 9.30am having had breakfast and headed back to Munnar.

This took us through the rural hills again and then through the tea plantations. We stopped a few times for photos as we had to capture the amazing scenery although you can only have so many photos to look at.

We met Matthew our guide again on the outskirts of town and he took us up through a tea plantation with great views over the town and surrounding scenery. We saw a number of birds – a Hoopoe which had black and white coloured wings. Hoopoes are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers which can be raised or lowered at will. It is recognized by its pinkish-brown body, zebra-striped black-and-white wings, long downcurved bill, and a prominent crest of feathers that it raises when excited. Known for its undulating, butterfly-like flight, it feeds on the ground, mainly on insects. We also saw a large white bird called a Shikra. The shikra is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the little banded goshawk. The shikra is very similar in appearance, as well as behaviour, at least to some degree, to other species including the Chinese sparrowhawk. The shikra is a about 10–12 in long) and, like most other hawks, has short, rounded wings and a narrow and somewhat long tail. Adults are whitish on the underside with fine rufous bars while the upperparts are grey. The lower belly is less barred and the thighs are whitish. Males have a red iris while the females have a less red (yellowish orange) iris and brownish upperparts apart from heavier barring on the underparts. The females are slightly larger. The

breeding season in India is in summer from March to June. The nest is a platform similar to that of crows lined with grass. Both sexes help build the nest; twigs being carried in their feet. The usual clutch is 3 to 4 eggs (when eggs are removed they lay replacements and one observer noted that they could lay as many as 7 in a season) which are pale bluish grey stippled on the broad end in black. The incubation period is 18 to 21 days.

We also saw some colourful Kingfishers and Moon birds.

We had a good walk through the plantations and enjoyed the views and scenery. We returned to the town and were driven into the centre where we went to a great vegetarian restaurant for lunch with our guide. We all had a special thali which gave us a great selection of curries and vegetables and was a great meal and for the 3 of us it was about £2.30.

We then went to a spice shop and bought some spices, tea, honey and chocolate. Matthew had managed to have my sandals stitched (cost 50p).

We then said goodbye to Matthew and we drove back to the hotel and spent some time by the pool, reading, swimming and having some tea -perhaps produced from bushes we walked by. 

We showered early and went to the restaurant and had a drink and played dominoes. As we were playing there was a plague of flying ants which were outside the restaurant and attracted by the lights. There were thousands swarming around and we shut the restaurant doors yet despite this a number came in which we killed if we could. We moved tables and they then got some smoke and put this around and they eventually declined and disappeared.

Despite this we had a great supper and were the only ones in the restaurant.

We retired to bed and have an early start tomorrow as we head off to a houseboat to go on the Kerala backwaters.   

The picture of the day is the two of us by a lake/reservoir in tea country.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. 

I am looking for one crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town (mid June to end of July). If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com