The lecture took the audience along with Pollyanna on her expedition across almost the entire width of the kingdom of Bhutan, from the Ha province in the east, right across to the borders of the Sakteng Wildlife reserve in the west, in her quest to find and paint the unique wildlife of this Himalayan region. The talk was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition by Pollyanna’s daughter and business partner Anna-Louise, and included pages from Pollyanna’s AFC journal, showing her sketches and notes.  After the talk, Pollyanna and Anna-Louise took part in a very lively question and answer session.

Pollyanna will give her next presentation about the expedition to the Natural History unit of pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca in October.

• Poster outside venue
• Ticket to the talk!

• Pollyanna at the BBc studios
• Pollyanna with presenter Aleena Naylor

• Newspaper article

● Buy English paper in airport – eye caught by headline in international news section – ‘Plague of snakes invade Kathmandu’!

● Overnight hotel London

● A journalist is waiting at our hotel to interview us about the Flag expedition into Bhutan.  He writes for Kantipur, the country’s most popular Nepalese newspaper, and also the Kathmandu Post, and English Language newspaper.

● Leave hotel for night flight to Qatar.  There is a great deal of political unrest in Nepal, and the drivers of public transport have been involved in a dispute with the police, gone on strike, and barricaded all the main roads in the capital with vehicles and burning tyres.  Three are also several Maoist demonstrations taking place, and for a while it looks very unlikely that we will be able to get back to the airport for our flight!

• With Kantipur journalist

● Invited to attend lunch at a conservation ‘summit’ taking place in a hotel resort on the outskirts of Kathmandu.  We meet with two representatives from the Ministry of Forestry of Nepal, also Siddhartha Bajracharya of the National Trust for Nature Conservation of Nepal, and representatives of other wildlife and conservation organisations who have been taking part ion workshops and exchanging information and ideas.

● We discuss conservation issues facing Himalayan wildlife including poaching, smuggling and the immense challenge of controlling exports through the Nepal/ china border areas.  Learn of proposals for wildlife orphanage, and pledge support through Pollyanna Pickering Foundation. 

● Overnight hotel Kathmandu

• With conservation summit representatives

● evening meeting and dinner with Raj Bajgain of Ghurkha encounters who has organised our local transportation etc. – and two of his associates including Rajendra Suwal, a regional wildlife expert, who worked as organiser and facilitator for the BBC production team filming for the acclaimed ‘Planet Earth’ series, helping them to locate and film red pandas in Nepal, and snow leopards in Pakistan.  They offer to assist us in planning a future expedition to Nepal……

● Overnight hotel Kathmandu

• Giant Golden Buddha
• Temple

● In Kathmandu visit Swoyambunath the ‘Monkey Temple’ – famous for its resident rhesus macaques. See one rhesus macaque.  But a lot of pigeons. Move onto to Pashupathinath, one of the most important Shiva temples on the subcontinent – and here find large groups of macaques – many with young!

● In market stalls surrounding temple also find counterfeit Pollyanna Pickering mug!! – buy it to bring home and show publishers!

● Overnight hotel Kathmandu

• Macaque at the Monkey Temple
• macaque
• Holy Man

● Return drive to Paro – back through roadworks!

● Auspicious day in Buddhist calendar so visit temple for blessing

● On arrival in Paro spend remainder of day trying to force sleeping bags, padded jackets, sketch folders etc. back into trek bags for tomorrows flight!

● Overnight hotel Paro

• Stray Dog in Paro
• Stray dog in Paro
• Puppy
• Temple

● full days drive into a second part of Jigme Dorje national park. Spectacularly beautiful cloud forest.  Further sightings of Assamese macaques – also distant sighting of wild Takins.

● Visit only school to lie within the boundaries of the park. Very pleased to find education about the environment and conservation is high on the curriculum – visit the school’s conservation garden, which includes rare plants, and inspirational mottoes painted onto rocks.

● Overnight hotel Punakha

• Pollyanna surrounded by schoochildren
• Anna-Louise with the school children
• Takin

● arrive in time to visit Dzhong and witness ceremonial Buddhist ritual in the temple.

● the Dzhong is built at the confluence of two rivers, and is a prime location to view the white-bellied herons, one of the world’s rarest herons.  Spend whole afternoon in hide watching.  Do not se any.  (They are nesting this time of year so can be harder to spot!)

 ● Overnight hotel Punakha

• Moth

● some sighting en route of golden langurs, Assamese macaques and giant Malayan squirrel close to road.  Also see grey wagtails, and more water red starts.

● Overnight hotel Trongsa

• The Road!

● closest sightings yet of Golden langurs – manage to get to with 6’ of very placid troupe. Excellent opportunities to sketch

● further sightings of Pallas squirrel, Assamese macaques, rufous-necked hornbills, and also white-breasted kingfisher.

● overnight tented camp – our last night under canvas – our ‘sherpas’ bake us a cake to celebrate!

● Excellent sightings of golden langurs and good opportunities to sketch.

● Good sighting of muntjac deer and also Assamese macaques, Giant Malayan Squirrel and Pallas Squirrel.  Also see Rufous-necked hornbill.

● It is very hot in the south, the vegetation is sub-tropical. We are both being attacked by insects, and have been bitten mercilessly, despite liberal use of repellents etc. Itching like crazy.

● overnight tented camp

● Best sighting of day very clear views of Malayan Giant Squirrel

● Visit tiny handmade paper factory in local village

● late evening a clouded leopard crosses the track behind our tent. The light is poor and we only get a very brief sighting.  It is carrying prey – we think a pheasant.

● overnight tented camp.

● fantastic views of the second of our key target species – Golden Langurs.  See at least five separate troupes – many with young.

● overnight tented camp.

● fabulous sightings of golden eagle

● As we leave Thrimsingla park, call at park HQ to meet ranger and discuss community conservation initiatives.

● Overnight hotel Jakar

• Pollyanna with ranger at Park headquarters

● excellent sightings of red pandas – one of our key target species.  Further distant views of caped langurs.

● also see black throated sunbirds

● afternoon brings another thunder storm followed by very heavy rains – which unfortunately both leak through the tent roof,  and bring out large numbers of leeches around our camp site

● overnight tented camp.

• Red Panda
• Red Panda
• Water pours through the tent roof

● Early morning hike into forest – see tracks and scat of clouded leopard.

● Break camp and return to Thrimsingla national Park

● excellent sightings of capped langurs en route – further opportunities to sketch and photograph.

● new bird species include white-throated laughing thrush, striated laughing thrush and barn swallows

● Huge and dramatic storm in evening – thunder echoing around mountains and flashes of lightening all around tent!

● overnight tented camp.

• Pollyanna in Thrimsingla National Park

● Excellent sights of:

Caped langurs

Himalayan Striped squirrel

Rufous-bellied woodpecker

Greater yellownape

Black eagle – hunting over forest canopy

● visit tiny remote temple in heart of forests. Struck by large amount of animal imagery in religious wall paintings

● meet elderly villagers – one of them tells us of his encounter with a yeti in the mountains – and also talk about regional legends.

● overnight tented camp

• Holy script on stone
• Temple Art : Tiger
• Temple Art : Mongoose
• Temple Art : Cranes

● late afternoon break camp and drive east towards boundary of Sakteng national park (the ‘Yeti reserve’) which is currently closed to foreigners.

●pass through village east of Mongar – A.L. receives blessing from the Head of Religion of Bhutan – the second most important public figure in the country after the King!

● Pitch camp at edge of forest.

● evening walk – see water buffalo

● overnight tented camp.

• Young child in Mongar
• Pollyanna befriends the locals!

● Enter Thrimsingla National park – home to some of Bhutan’s most endangered species including musk deer and red panda.

● excellent sightings of capped lemurs – sketch and photograph.

● Views of hornbills – other new bird species include magpie robin, verditer flycatcher and pale blue flycatcher

● problems finding camp site within park and two locations are occupied by migrant workers.  Eventually pitch tent at side of road, near village at edge of park

● A.L. makes dash to toilet tent in middle of night and startles passing leopard!!!!

● overnight tented camp.

• A relaxed resident of Mongar!
• Anna-Louise with our team!
• Prayer Flags
• Holy script on stone

● Excellent views of water red start by mountain stream – spend some tome observing and sketching.

● hang prayer flags at highest road pass on route.

● arrive Bumthang – cultural and spiritual heartland of Bhutan.

● visit sheep breeding centre – one small field of recently shorn sheep looking sorry for themselves in a hailstorm – and bizarrely otherwise just fields and barns of cows!

● sighting of samba deer near road

● overnight hotel Jakar

• Pollyanna helps to hang a prayer flag
• At the sheep farm!

● see rescued crane in local village – able to observe and sketch.

● Continue journey eastwards along dramatic mountain roads – location of the recent film ‘travellers and magicians’.

● First good views of high Himalayas, capped with snow.

● Overnight hotel Trongsa

• High Himalayas

● Drive east from Thimpu to Phobjika

● Drive through very different woodland – less coniferous forest and more mixed and broadleaf woodland.  See beautiful blooms of rhododendrons, camellia and other blossoms.

● arrive Phobjika, Bhutan’s biggest wetland and winter home of the black-necked crane.

● Overnight hotel Phobjika

• Traditional Farming methods
• Magnolia

● More sightings of Goral, muntjac and samba deer, and a wide variety of birds including:

Spectacular views of crested serpent eagle

Kestrel

Yellow-billed blue magpie

Grey-backed shrike

Red-billed chough

Maroon oriole

Scarlet minivet

White-throated fantail

Blue whistling thrush

White-collared blackbird

● Evening meting with Lexang Pem Dechey Thinley, the daughter of the Minister of Home Affairs and her business partner Rinzing, who are in the process of founding ‘Green Dragon’ an environmental charity aimed at educating schoolchildren about the issue of litter and recycling.  Extremely interesting discussion – we are very keen to continue our support (and possible funding) of their work.

● overnight Druk Hotel Thimpu

• Pollyanna with the founders of Green Dragon
• Pollyanna st the entrance to Jigme Dorji National Park

● Visit national Art School of Bhutan.  PP shows sketches and gives demonstration of western painting techniques to final year students.

● Find Internet café & finally succeed in emailing first blog to AFC!

● in the afternoon have an excellent meeting at WWF offices with Kinzang Namgay, the country representative, and also Jack Gilmore, the Vice President of Internal Audit who is on an official visit from WWF USA. We are given an excellent presentation showing an overview of their work, and discuss conservation issues, their current and future projects, and the aims of the AFC.

● Escorted to the WWF Takin Park, where we view the national animal of Bhutan in excellent large enclosures.  Sketch and photograph.  Also view muntjac and samba deer.

● Visit local paper factory to see manufacture of Bhutanese handmade paper.  Select large quantities to bring home to studio!

● Overnight Druk Hotel, Thimpu

• At WWF offices Kinzang Namgay & Jack Gilmore
• Handmade paper factory
• Pollyanna with a student at the national art school
• Pollyanna with final year students
• Pollyanna at handmade paper factory
• Art materials
• Pollyanna with flag outside Takin Preserve
• Anna-Louise posts blog from internet cafe

● PP much recovered

● early morning visit to weekly market – sample Yak’s cheese – possibly the hardest substance known to man!

● Hike up to Cheri monastery – excellent area to view Goral (wild goats) spend several hours sketching and photographing.

● Invited to join Buddhist monk for cup of tea in his ‘cell’ – he then takes us around four of the temples at the monastery and shows us a ‘yeti scalp’!

● Overnight Druk hotel, Thimpu

• Pollyanna with young buddhist monks
• Goral
• visit to weekly market
• Chillies for sale in the market
• Wall Painting

● PP is very sick today – bad Bhutanese Stomach Bug!

● Break camp 8.30am and Drive back into Paro

● Visit Paro Dzhong

● Drive from Paro heading east towards capital Thimpu – through 60km of roadworks – hot, bumpy and very dusty, so a nightmare journey when you are not feeling well!

● Overnight Druk hotel, Thimpu

• Bhutnese Woman and baby

• Young yak

• Looking through the sketch folder

• Meeting at the National Seed Corporation
• National seed corporation

• Pollyanna and the flag arrive in Bhutan!
• Tiger's Nest
• Butter Candles
• Pollyanna with prayer flags en route to the tigers nest.

• Fly to Paro Airport - spectacular views of eight of the world's highest mountian peaks from plane including mount Everest.
• Meet our interpeter Yeshi and our driver Prem
• Visit final day of Paro festival - wonderful opportunity to photograph performers as well as people in the crowd.
• Overnight Paro Hotel
  
  

• Masked dancer at paro Festival
• Masked dancer at festival
• Dancer at the Paro festival

• Bird walk in Chitwan highlights include : minah birds, red vented bulbul, grey woodpecker, excellent views of paradise flycatcher, also tracks of jungle cat and civet.
• Fly back to Kathmandhu
• Overnight Yak & Yeti

 

• We have 2 days before we can get a flight to Bhutan, so make a brief visit to the Chitwan national park
• Fly to airstrip near Chitwan with Yeti Air!
• Jeep Safari - see much wildlife - highlights include : Tiger!, Spotted Deer, paradise Flycatchers, Racket-tailed drongo, beeeaters
• Elephant safari - highlights 3 x Indian one-horned rhino, mugger crocodile, langurs, fresh tiger tracks.
• Overnight Tiger Mountain tented camp

• Spotted Deer

• Fly from London Heathrow to Doha
• In airport lounge chat to Neil Finn from recently reformed band Crowded House. He writes lovely good luck message in Anna-Louise's journal :
• "To Pollyanna & Anna-Louise - Go into the wilds and bring the beauty back - Good Luck - Neil Finn"

• Pollyanna with Neil Finn