My First Safari Experience — Pench National Park, India
Travelling from Nagpur into Pench National Park for my first wildlife safari and an introduction to the wildlife of central India.
In April 2023 I travelled to India for work, with a fairly relentless schedule that left little opportunity to experience much beyond the places I needed to be. Fortunately, I was able to add a couple of days to the end of the trip and head out from Nagpur to Pench National Park for my first wildlife safari experience.
As this was primarily a work trip, travelling light was essential. Rather than taking my usual collection of camera equipment, I had packed just my Nikon Z9 and 100–400mm lens. It was a relatively compact setup, but one that turned out to be ideal for a couple of days photographing from a safari vehicle.
We stayed in beautiful accommodation right on the edge of the national park, overlooking the surrounding forest. My room was particularly memorable, with a raised outdoor sleeping terrace enclosed only by mosquito netting. Sleeping effectively outside, listening to the sounds of the forest beyond, was quite an introduction to Pench.
I didn't even have to wait until the first safari for my first wildlife encounter.
The people organising the trip knew about my particular interest in owls and, almost as soon as I arrived, the hotel manager asked if I was the person who liked them. When I said yes, he took me to the edge of the veranda at the front of the hotel and pointed up towards the roof.
Tucked into the eaves was a tiny Indian Scops Owl.
It seemed completely unfazed by the activity below it, with guests and staff regularly coming and going. My camera equipment was still packed away, but I managed to take a photograph with my iPhone — an unexpected first encounter with a new owl species before I'd even properly arrived.
With only a couple of days available, we had around four safari drives in Pench, heading out early in the morning and again later in the day. Tigers were naturally the main target, with Leopards also high on the list, but finding either amongst such a large area of forest was never going to be guaranteed.
The early morning drives also brought one of those unexpected details that became part of the experience. After several hours exploring the forest, we'd stop for breakfast and an incredibly well-prepared picnic would appear, laid out across the bonnet of our Jeep. Sitting in the middle of Pench, surrounded by the sounds of the forest and eating breakfast from the front of the vehicle was a rather wonderful way to start the day.
We were fortunate enough to encounter both Tigers and Leopards during our short time in the park.
Seeing a Tiger in the wild for the first time was undeniably special, as was finding a Leopard, but the experience also introduced me to a side of safari photography I hadn't really appreciated beforehand.
When word spreads that a Tiger has been located, the atmosphere can change remarkably quickly. Safari vehicles converge on the area, each trying to position their guests for a view, and what had moments earlier felt like a quiet wildlife encounter can suddenly become extremely busy.
For me, some of the sense of wildness disappeared with it.
I found myself thinking as much about the animal trying to move, hunt and live amongst all those vehicles as I did about getting a photograph. I'm glad I experienced it, and seeing these animals in the wild remains memorable, but I also realised that this style of wildlife photography wasn't really for me. I much prefer quieter, more intimate encounters where there is space to observe an animal without feeling that my presence — or that of dozens of other people — is dominating its environment.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, some of my favourite photographs from Pench therefore came from encounters that weren't the principal targets at all.
Grey Langurs were relatively common within the forest and several of the groups had very young babies. Beneath the canopy, beautiful patches of light would occasionally break through the leaves, creating wonderfully soft and intimate opportunities to photograph the adults and youngsters together.
There was no rush and no crowd of vehicles fighting for a position. I could simply watch their interactions and wait for the light, expressions and moments to come together. Photographically, those quieter encounters became some of the highlights of the trip.
And Pench still had another owl surprise waiting for me.
During our short time in the park we also encountered a Mottled Wood Owl, giving me a second owl species I'd never photographed before. Having travelled to Pench principally hoping to see Tigers and Leopards, coming away with encounters with two completely new owl species felt like a particularly appropriate bonus.
With such a short amount of time, I only experienced a fraction of what Pench National Park has to offer. Yet those couple of days gave me my first sight of Tigers and Leopards in the wild, two new owl species and some wonderful opportunities to photograph the Grey Langurs and their young.
Perhaps more importantly, my first safari experience taught me something about the wildlife encounters I enjoy most.
The headline species will always be exciting, but the photographs and experiences I value most tend to come from having time and space with a subject — watching its behaviour, working with the conditions and allowing an encounter to unfold naturally. In Pench, somewhat unexpectedly, it was the owls and those quiet moments beneath the forest canopy with the Langurs that stayed with me most.