On  6th April, 42 boys and the Geography Dept. flew to Delhi for what we all expected to be a memorable trip – and it was!

After an overnight flight, our two days in the capital assaulted all the senses. With the temperature rising above 40°C every day, we first visited New Delhi and sites such as India Gate. On day two, the ‘real’ Delhi beckoned and the party left the coach behind to use rickshaws, allowing us to access the narrowest of streets. Particular highlights were a visit to the city’s teeming spice market and India’s largest mosque, Jama Masjid.

After a surprisingly comfortable overnight sleeper journey, we arrived at Ramnagar to spend two nights at the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve. The highlight of this stay was an early morning jeep safari into the reserve; all boys saw monkey and some observed tiger paw marks and droppings – but sadly no sighting of the wonderful animal itself. The following morning, we took an elephant safari into another part of the reserve with one group observing wild elephant.

Day five was another early start; for the third leg of our trip we headed in jeeps into the mountains winding our way – at some speed – up narrow roads arriving at our trekking base camp  at Sitlakhet by mid afternoon. For four days, we trekked through exhilarating countryside making visits to villages, temples and schools.

For many boys the survival night was the most exciting part of this leg; each group had to select resources using a tight budget, build a shelter and cook two meals. Alex Goldin and Kit Neville were particularly impressive in their respective groups.

The local village challenged us to a cricket match. Once local rules were clarified, the village side proceeded to build an impressive score, our best bowler being Hal Stevenson. The MCS reply looked fragile until Josh Wade strode the wicket. A loss maybe, but considering the average age of their opponents was about twenty, the boys acquitted themselves very well!

On return to Delhi (this time in air-conditioned sleeping cars), we quickly learnt that a scheduled return home looked unlikely due to the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. Several people were wonderfully helpful, in particular Chris Morris, currently the BBC’s correspondent in Delhi. He entertained us at his house and arranged for the American Embassy School to open up their facilities for us.

Throughout our extended stay, the boys remained upbeat and after two abortive attempts to catch flights, we eventually flew out of Delhi six days late.

A big thank you to all the teachers; and in particular to Mr Hewlett, who took on the challenge of ‘crisis manager’. In his contacts with the airline, British High Commission, tour company and many others, he cajoled, hassled, charmed and occasionally lambasted to terrific effect. Our swift return was very much down to his determination.