As Huai Kha Khaeng is a forest reserve with a lot of ‘special’ mammals, a type of WHS that I usually enjoy, I had considered awarding extra time and money towards a visit. But, unfortunately, you still are not allowed to stay overnight inside the park. And I wasn’t going to pay 500-800 EUR for a 3-day tour that essentially meant going in and out every day just to sit in one of the watchtowers. So I am saving that money for Borneo later this trip in the hope of seeing an orangutan in the wild.

For my day visit to Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Reserve, I set out from the friendly and ultra-clean Numhom Resort near Thap Thang at 7.15 and arrived at the park gate just before the opening hour of 8.30. They sold me my tickets which had risen in price (for foreigners) to 400 baht per person and an additional 60 baht for the car. They also called ahead to the park headquarters (HQ) that 1 tourist was coming in!

It's another 9km drive to the main area, on a smooth unpaved road. I drove slowly with both windows open and the camera ready on the passenger seat, as it’s more of a safari drive and you never know what you will encounter. Nothing spectacular showed, but there were some colourful birds including a (mostly yellow and green) black-headed woodpecker.

The HQ almost feels like a military camp, with a stern guard (apparently I parked wrongly and had to move my car 1.5m to the right) and staff moving about dressed in army fatigues. When I got out of the car, ranger/guide Djean appeared out of nowhere and he did not leave my side until the end of the day. It turned out that a full-day program was awaiting me, although its contents were not explained, and neither did I have any say in the matter. Djean spoke basic English, he knew the names of birds and other animals but it was not good enough for small talk.

9.00 – 9.30: Birding at the HQ’s lawn

We started the tour at the central lawn. As this is a cleared area, it’s easier to see birds here than deeper into the forest. There were many (the reserve has a species list of 270), but to me, the hornbills stood out - especially when you see them flying. We also encountered a female Eld’s deer with her calf. And a male with large antlers was looking at us from a distance: this may have been a sambar deer, as the guide said it was not the same species as the other two.

9.30 – 11.30: Khao Hin Daeng Nature trail

At the back of HQ, a 4km long forest trail starts. It’s a flat walk on a path covered with dry leaves, so any animals present could hear us coming from miles away. No surprise then that the hike was uneventful – we only saw traces that animals had left behind. Actually, we did see so many signs of the presence of large mammals that they seemed to have been planted there! There were footprints of elephants, leopard poop, bones of a banteng, and scratch marks made by a bear (black or sun?) on a tree.

12.00 – 13.00: Lunch break at the riverside

We then moved on by car/motorbike to a riverside area not far from HQ. Two photographers were already there, focused on two deer that were on the other side of the small stream: another Eld’s deer and a Northern red muntjac. It turned out that this was the lunch spot as well – indeed a fine place to rest for a while;  staff receives their meals here, but as a tourist, you have to bring your own food. Fortunately, I knew that, but I’d happily traded my stale croissants for some of their fried noodles.

13.00 – 16.00: Wildlife watching from the Peacock Watchtower

The afternoon was to be spent at one of the watchtowers, with a strong likelihood of seeing banteng. This wild cattle species was number 1 of the mammals I most wanted to see here, so I couldn’t be more pleased with the itinerary. We drove for 6 km in the direction of the main gate until a sign ‘No entry’ and a gate appeared to the right to which the guide had the keys. A narrow road, on which we encountered a convoy of 4 cars from the WWF, lead to the parking spot. From there it was a short walk to the ‘Peacock Watchtower’, which we approached from the back so as not to disturb the animals. The whole structure is set up as a hide with camouflage nets. For comfort, there are plastic chairs to sit on while you wait for the animals to appear.

The guide had already seen a banteng when we entered the watchtower but I couldn’t find it. Fortunately, 15 minutes later banteng started to appear one after the other out of the forest into the open area with grass and riverbed that we overlooked. Especially the female bantengs have a pretty rusty brown coat that illuminates in the sunlight. It was an amazing sight and I did not get tired of watching them. Even a heavy tropical downpour did not disturb them.

So I was all happy with the sighting until the guide said that he once had seen two tigers here, and he had photos on his phone to prove this. That’s how it goes: you have seen your main target, and you move on to the next one! Of course, the tigers did not show up today, and neither did the elephants although we heard them cracking trees all around us. Still, it was a lovely site to spend a few hours and watch the quiet grazing of the bantengs. Green peafowls were there as well, plus a family of four wild boars.