Sim’s Park Number One Reserved Forest

After breakfast at 8, which included pancakes, omelette, banana, papaya, watermelon juice and coffee we set off a day of sightseeing.

First to was a tea plantation. This area is in the Nilgiri hills and was identified during the colonial times as a good place for tea growing. Having seen the plants, viewed the processing factory and tasted a few varieties of tea, we got back in the bus to go to Conoor where we would be catching the train to Ooty.

Tickets purchased we waited for the train to arrive. This line is narrow gauge and the steepest in India and runs for 45km. We boarded the train when it arrived and set off at 12.35pm. the track climbs pretty much continuously, pushed by a powerful diesel engine. The views were incredible and we also passed through forestry areas.

We arrived at Ooty (nicknamed Snooty) just before 2pm and met up with our driver again to take us first for some lunch at a restaurant where I managed to spill half of my fruit lassi over me and then on to a biological garden in Ooty. We spent an hour or so wandering around and the rain stopped and the sun tried to come out. There were loads of locals in the gardens and it all felt very Indian, with some of the plants a bit rough around the edges and needing dead-heading.

At 4.30pm we met up again with our driver for the hour long drive back to our accommodation.

After time for a quick (and dribbly) shower we all met up again downstairs for dinner. Tonight this consisted of peppered chicken curry, dhal, chickpea curry, Gobi 65 (deep fried cauliflower in spices) and some Indian bread), washed down with some more local beer!

We spent a great evening then with the group playing games, listening to music and chatting over beers before turning in at about midnight.Read more