Way: Bangalore-Srirangapatna-Hunsur-Gonikuppal-Irpu-Kutta-Nagarhole-Kutta-Wayanad-Kabini-Mysore-Bangalore.
Date: December 2003
Abs and Venkat on Boxer, Nagesh on Pulsar, and Suresh on Splendor
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| Trip to Nagarhole | ||||
| Distance: ~600 kms(to and fro). Way: Bangalore-Srirangapatna-Hunsur-Gonikuppal-Irpu-Kutta-Nagarhole-Kutta-Wayanad-Kabini-Mysore-Bangalore. Date: December 2003 Abs and Venkat on Boxer, Nagesh on Pulsar, and Suresh on Splendor |
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| Till friday we haven't decided where to go, as some of us were interested in one day trip. As Suresh and Nagesh were only interested in a 2 day trip it was decided for Nagarhole. Saturday morning, sagar came to tell that he wont be able to make it. so that left 4 of us. nag, venkat, suresh and me. we decided to meet in usual place at 1pm. by 2pm everyone was there and we were ready to roll. slowly we moved out after doing the ususal things like going to ATM and lab to collect money and jackets etc. venkat and me (abs) were on the boxer and we decided to share the petrol money. | ||||
| Then we went via the rajajinagar chord road to meet mysore road. near mysore road junction, i hit a girl as she suddenly jumped in front of me to board the adjacent bus near a traffic signal. well nothing happened, the front tyre just hit her legs around 10kmph. we took petrol from the indian oil bunker. then we moved on. traffic till bidadi was high so we were doing barely 50kmph. suresh, who is an expert in highway riding had gone ahead. irrespective of traffic he maintains 80-90kmph. we are yet to master that kind of riding. so nag and me went along together maintaing 70-80kmph till we reached channapatna where suresh was waiting, having arrived 15mins before. from then onwards we were going together, maintaining 70-80kmph on average. venkat was driving my bike now. we made it to srirangapatna by 5 pm and stopped for tea. we had really good gobi manchurian. so good that we had 3 plates between ourselves. the gobi was soft which made the difference. | ||||
| Then we started at5:45pm. people told that after 8 one cannot enter nagerhole. we thought we will try our luck. we took a deviation to hunsur some 35 kms from srirangapatna. first 10kms was bad road. when good stretch started, suddenly i saw that there is no light coming from my headlight (it has become dark by then) we realised that the headlight has stopped working for some reason, but all other lights were working. good that others were near by only. so nag in front and suresh in back and me in the middle went as a convoy. i could see the road beacuse of the combined headlight of the other two bikes. but we could not go beyond 50kmph. this road is the state highway from mysore to madikeri. so traffic is moderate. so whenever a vehicle would come from other side i would switch on my indicators, at least they can see a flashin yellow light in between two bikes. like this we travelled 20 odd kms to reach hunsur. there we found a mechnic who found that there was a contact problem, even though the bulb was ok. it was sorted out with a new bulb. since it was past 8, we found a lodge there for 220Rs for 4 of us in a room and took rest there for the night. we had some fried rice and eggs for dinner in a local restaurant. venkat told that he forgot to take 200Rs change from the petrol pump near b'lore, we thought that when we go back we will try to get that back. | ||||
| Next morning we were up by 5 am mainly due to the twin alarm clock from 2 mobile phones. by 6 we had started the bikes. we had decided to leave the bags in the lodge while attempting to make it to nagarhole. it was chilling cold. the hands were freezing while driving to nagarhole. but the road was good and we were driving at 80kmph. at the check post some 19kms from hunsur, we were stopped. two wheelers are not allowed inside because of pachyderm problems. we went to neaby jungle inn where the caretaker was ready to provide a jeep for 2250rs. there we finalized the plan for the day. we will go back to hunsur. there we will leave the hotel and go west to gonikoppal (madikeri). from there we head south to kutta. that basically means we will be circumscribing nagarhole. from kutta, nagahole is 10kms, so jeep prices are much low. In the meantime we paid 50 bucks for4 biscuits and coffee at jungle inn. when we came out to start out bikes, some one told that there is a tusker just outside the fence. we cautiously went to see it. it was eating grass. suresh and venkat tried to get up on some stones to take a better photo. then the elephant moved and what looked suspeciously like a bell around its shoulders, made a tinkling noise. we laughed and started on our return trip to lodge. somewhere in the middle i ran over a chicken. | ||||
| We left the lodge by 9 and took the road to gonikoppal. very soon we entered madikeri. jeeps are very common in madikeri, and why not. the road makes regular peaks and troughs. the country side is very beautiful. lush hills and brown cultivation on both sides of the road. the houses are just like the kerala ones, white washed with a brown tiles for roof. the road to gonikoppal goes thru nagarhole forest for abt 8 kms. dense forest through hilly stretches, u know. and lovely green, purple, yellow trees on both sides. it was unforgetable.we reached gonikoppal by 10 am. gonikoppal turned out to like ooty. hilly roads, all houses are one storied. all men look like our sports officer poonacha and women wear saris like we have seen them on coorgi pictures. everyone rides a jeep.we had breakfast there. i had 2 masala dosa. the coffee was very forgetable. in the coffee country our first coffee left lots to be desired. | ||||
| Then we took the road to kutta. on the way is irpu falls, so we wanted to stop there first. the road is quite good and we could do 50kmph. it twist and turns thru gentle valleys covered with golden crops. very soon the way one can see the bhramhagiri range which acts as natural border between kerala and karnataka. tall, green majestic mountains arising suddenly. the top peaks are so high that one has to crane the neck to see the top. we took photos now and then as we moved closer and closer to the mountains. we reached ipru falls by 11:30. this is very near the first hills of the mountain range, the river falls about 100 ft. we had to walk and climb some 200ft til we came the main spot. there we took bath under the gushing water on the pool created by the falls in freezing cold water. initially our entire body went numb due to the sudden cold. but soon it was feeling great. a huge busload of school kids come for their sunday picnic and soon it was very crowded. these kids stamped on our cloths! so we came out, got dressed and went down to our bikes. it was past 1 pm by then. | ||||
| We took the road to kutta. it went thru coffee plantations. we took lots of photos of mountians amid golden and green valleys. i decided that this is the last trip alone. i am tired of running around solitary.we reached kutta around 2. after bargaining with a taxi driver (in mallu). it was settled that he will take us to nagarhole and back for 220Rs. we had to hurry as the safari will start at 3. so we bought some fruits and forgot lunch for the time being. so inside we went to nagarhole at last. it is a very dry green forest. deers everywhere. the main stop has some govt. type buildings and guest house. while we waited for the bus to arrive, had the fruits. it attracted many monkeys including a husband and wife. finally the bus arrived and we went inside the jungle. it was 75Rs per head. the bus rolled slowly on the jungle trackes. i will tell u one eg. thet will give u a complete picture of nagahole. it is exactly like jubilee park in the campus or the small forest behind mbu. just imagine that it extends everywhere. we saw 2 elepants, some sort of monkey with a black face, families of deers, tortoise, siberian cranes and a raccoon. after 1hr of bumpy ride were back. venkat was disappointed on not seeing a tiger. nag and me were very bored of this jungle safari. Later we thought we could have gone to kabini instead of this. | ||||
| When we looked at the map we said, instead of going back via the same route, we can go on further to kerala and take a road to kabini river lodge. this route will complete our circling nagarhole national forest. also from kabini there is route to mysore. except for one small thing, there is no road from kerala side to kabini marked on the map! we were carrying three different maps, none showed the presence of any road. I was sure there must be a way. so we asked several people includng the jeep driver. they all said that there is way from wayanad border to kabini but it goes right thru the national forest and is a favorite corridor for elephants. | ||||
| We had two kerala parathas and mutthi curry for lunch at 5pm in kutta and took to the road. the road to wayanad and thru wayanad is fantastic, it has been recently tarred so there are no potholes. so there we were gunning at 70-80kmph thru forests on curvy hilly roads in the evening light. once i stopped to pee. the silence and forest smell was amazing. but good things are not meant to last. we came to the junction where one enters karnataka again and found the road that goes to kabini and further to mysore. nagesh was driving in front and we are in the middle. we are going at 60+. suddenly siting as a pillion i saw in front that the tar road gives way completely to mud road. nagesh went inside a ditch immediately and violently. instead of stopping venkat took my bike on the right side, i suppose to avoid the ditch. but the road was full of ditches. the end result was the bike hit the first ditch at 60+ speed. it jumped abruptly and i was left hanging in air for sometime. by the time i was landing on the seat, the bike had already hit the second ditch, the front mudguard hit the engine rod making a crunching sound and the bike was jumping again, so my hands hit venkat sholder. some how this went on for sometime till venkat managed to bring it to stop. for several seconds i though we are going to fall badly. but we didnt. suresh was watching all this from the back side and came up and asked what happened. anyway i rode the bike after that. luckily there was no damage. | ||||
| Then onwards there was no road, only remainents of a once laid road. it was covered with exposed stones that was once the foundaion of a road. and the worst thing was we were already inside the nagarhole forest in the elepahant country and the sun has set. All of a sudden nagesh who was infornt stopped and was staring the bosky of trees in the jungle, my worst fears coming true, i thought we are confronting elephants. but when we came up to meet him, we found that he was admiring a peacock. In the approahing darkness we were labourously making way on the brutal road. i thought if one of us has flat tyre, we have had it. there is no settlement 20kms front or back of us and no traffic on this road. soon deers started appearing on the road. thankfully, after 10 kms the road became slightly better and we could increase speed from 20kmph to 40kmph. all of us had out heart in our mouth as we were expecting elephants around every corner, behind every tree, as we came across some elephant droppings. at last after 1 hr thru the jungle road we came to a village where we flopped down for sometime. we had tea and discussed the road with excitement. there after nothing much happened. we were out of jungle, we had decided to go to mysore and not go to kabini. venkat was now the pillion of suresh and it was like that for the rest of the trip.the road was not so good so we could do barely 50kmph. there was very little approaching traffic and in the gathering mist, out combined headlights pierced the darkness. around 8:30pm we came to outer limits of mysore. Then i took them to the same hotel where i stayed last year in the trip to mysore. well it was bit expensive. but we found a room for 400 for the night nearby. As we entered mysore, nagesh bike(pulsar) touched 5000km and my bike 10000km.we celebrated it at the dinner time in a place very nearby. what a exciting day it was. | ||||
| Monday morning we were up by 6 and watching the india australia second test match( which we won the next day), we were ready and by 7am we were in srirangapatna having breakfast of hot steaming idlies and sambhar. by 9 we were in channapatna and by 10:30am we were near blore. i was maintianing 70-80, now that the driving avg. speed has improved with suresh's influence! we went to recover 200 bucks from the pertol pump. after some arguements they gave back the money. we are back in the campus by 11am. | ||||
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