Odometer reading of 8888.8 Kms Start of this ride..Amazing numerology effect
Sunrise at Panvel.
Here comes the Sun
Amazing terracotta creations laid out by the craftsman
Sunrays streaking through the clouds
Sepia effect of the rising sun
The legendary THUMBS UP Mountain at Karnala bird sanctuary on the Mumbai-Goa Road
Sun rising behind the mountain
The Gladiator parked at the railway crossing after Kolad towards Tamhini
Here comes the Train
Konkan Railway Single track wonder
Mighty HSD engine.
Train chugging along
Wheels of the nation
India's most efficient Mass transport system
First stop after Mumbai for the Giadiator n Rider, was this railway crossing junction. Non stop 120+ kms.
Train Gone - Time to open the gates
Rural bikers. Its amazing to see how many bikes here exist without a registration number for as long as 6 months at a stretch.
The twisty n winding road from Kolad towards Vile. This is what leads to the Tamhani ghats. Courtesy - Google Earth.
Me and the Gladiator at VILE village
Gladiator sunbathing
Gulmohar in full summer bloom
Village belle showing her cowherding skills
Cactus - At many places i saw these dangerous thorns laid nicely on the road by some village pranksters.
These wierd looking "DUKKAR" three wheelers make up for a large chunk of rural transport system
Two Bull Power.
Summer skies.
Clouds signaling the arrival of an early monsoon. Perhaps end of May or begining of June.
Commander - Seats 11 officially. Saw one ferrying 19 passengers. The driver actually opened the bonnet to crank the engine to start.
Cattle are one of the biggest hazards on rural roads. Luckily they are still more sensible than most villagers crossing the roads
A shortcut towards Pali village took us to the starting point of the Rapids. We hit the rapids from the "V" junction seen above in the kundalika river. The small red roof house was the base camp where we parked the bikes. Courtesy - Google Earth.
The Entire stretch of the Rapids from Vile. Courtesy - Google Earth
The entire stretch of the River. Water is fed into the rapids from the Dam which is holding off the "Ranu" Lake seen on the extreme left hand side. Courtesy - Google Earth.
Whitewater Rafting - Starting off from VILE. Picture used for representation purpose only. We had a red raft and red/yellow life jackets
Various activities like riding the rapids, flipping the raft and dunking the co-passengers into the water were some of the FUN activities we did. Man this was amazing. Picture used for representation purpose only
Going Downriver through Rapids named like Morning Headache etc. Picture used for representation purpose only.
We had a quick lunch post the rafting session.
Me Kitted out in rappleing gear. Despite me being the first one to attempt the exercise i actually backed out last minute.
I stepped on the edge and suddenly something told me to back out. I immediatelt followed my instinct and disbanded my attempt. I didnt want to risk life or limb when some instinct told me otherwise.
Waterfall rappling. Looks interesting. Feels damn scary.
Here's Martina a courageous lady who was the first one to go down the cliff.
Marting enjoying the waterfall thoroughly
Trying to get a foothold.
The end of the first stretch. Here the rappler took a 5 second break before descending the second cliff
Descending the second cliff
The second cliff had relatively less water and was easier to rappell down.
An idea of how high the first descent was.
Amyt, the only guy to attempt this feat twice
Amyt slipping and spinning around the rope.
Amyt's final descent.
Afternoon skies turning Amber
Clouds n Memories
More clouds. Seems like i have a fetish for Clouds.
Still life. Various trees in B&W.
Evening approaches as the sky turns redder
The path of the small river as it lead to the waterfall. This should be a teat to watch in monsoons.
Glowing clouds
As the evening grea darker, we wound up the activity and decided to ride back.
Aerial view of the riverside Campsite. Courtesy Google Earth.
Sunrise at the Campsite. Thanks to Poonam for this picture.
Another view of the magnificient Sunrise.
Early Morning at the riverside Camp
My Tent. Aint it Cosy? It was the one perched on the top of the slope. farthest from the River.
Tents of the Group Leaders.
Jitu the organizer, with Nimit.
The Buffet table.
Dining Tables. Eating out on this riverside camp was a fun activity.
Tents placed all over the slope
Walk next to the riverside
Sunrise over the river kundalika
Another view of the River
Currents in the River. It is alleged that some parts here are as deep as 100 feet.
Orange flowers near the river bank
Closer to the Orange blossoms
A nice study of the inflorescence.
More orangy..
The Bathroom. Reminded me of some exotic mediterranean Spa.
the bathrooms at the campsite
cattle grazing near the camp
White wild flowers
Morning sky against summer burnt trees
wild white flowers
Close up of the beautiful white flowers
The Camp site Parking lot. Had 1 Bull 500 Citybike, 1 Bull 500 std, i Bull TB, i pulsar n 1 Gladiator.
Ma Gladiator
The Bull n the Matador.
Bike's point of view. The bikes had a tough time reaching this place.
Campsite on the opposite side
Bikes lined up under morning dew
calf grazing
another view of the parking lot
white flowers in bloom
road to the riverside campsite
morning sun breaking through the clouds
View of my bike from near my tent.
beasts on the mountain
way down to the campsite
Washing area near river
Another view of the tents from the top
my tent
road to my tent
view from the river bank
waking up Roy in the morning
Red Fire Ants - The only menace in the campsite
compare the size of the ants to the hand. These were the largest red ants i have ever seen.
Creepy crawly scary
Preeti n Tushar enjoying the morning cuppa.
Me caught in a deep pensive thought
Preeti outside her tent
Tushar relaxing inside his tent
Group at Breakfast
more orange flowers
close up of the orange flowers. Besides the sky the thing i shoot most are flowers.
Wide wild river
still waters run deep they say
reflections
Vincy trying his camera skills. Me taking him n his reflection together
another view of the campsite
ripples n reflections
sunshine on the water
sparkle sparkle
The camp opposite was playing great music. This is the famous Doctor's Farm near Kolad.
flowers
sun smiling through clouds n trees
sun effect
tents next to the river bank
reflections in sepia
The Biker group along with me. Vicky, the chopper builder leading the bunch.
Punita n Arundhati sharing memories
Village belles or...??
Waterside
deep thoughts..Vicky the Chopper builder
camaoflaged chameleon
can u see me now.
Amazing looking ant hill. Snakesa re rumoured to stay within such structures. One was dangerously close to my tent. Luckily i didnt get any one coming over..LOL
Vikas on his BULL 500 leading the pack
Lt Pushpak Roy n Arundhati on their pulsar
The Pulsar riders. Yes they shared riding the bike.
The three lady pillions. Arundhati, Punita n Veenu
Gladiator meets Gladiator
laal silver bhai bhai
nice profile shots
The fellow Gladiator Rider. It is rare to see someone riding the same bike as i do.
Me riding towards the Rappling site.
Me n Veenu on my bike. Punita riding the Bull 500 behind us.
Just an idea of how deep we had to descend
The Waterfall
Jitu starts the descent
hanging by the ledge
slowly n steadily..going down
slippery surfaces ..no grip...
coming down
getting down by over half the distance
rappling
hitting the waterfall. The falling water did hit hard.
being hammered by water
say cheese..
reaching the end nearly or stage one.
profile of the waterfall
the second stage
Punita, the lady Bull rider trying the waterfall for size.
Punita at the edge
hanging by a rope
slipping n spinning
NImit getting battered by the Water
wrong place to stand n rest i guess..!!!
Me next to the Waterfall
Punita posing
Punita hanging out...
Roy trying the daredevil stunt with no safety equipment ..just holding the damn rope..
final descent of arundhati
The group reassembles at the campsite at the end of the programme for a group foto.
The group just before departing from the campsite.
Just after the camsite. Stopping on my way back to kolad. Very strong sunlight. Road all gravelly. I had to be doubly careful here to avoid fishtailing.
Bike on the gravel road.
The gravel road. Covered about 1/3rd of the distance.
Me n the Gladiator profiled. Thanks to timers in cameras. This was one of my fav pictures.
Smooth Tarred road..covering the other 1/3rds of the distance.
Me n the Bike at one turn on the jungle road.
Muddy Dirt patch. Covered the remaining part of the road.
This patch could be tricky in rains. As it is bike went airborne in this patch
the way ahead.
Rider's point of view.
gladiator in the evening light on the forest road
The sun shone like heavenly light on the Beast of Love.
The makeshift bridge i had to cross on my way.
Roads covered by a green canopy
road lined with trees. Nice shady place to ride
Gladiator next to the canal.
Gladiator next to Kundalika River
Gladiator shining in the setting sun
Sun shining on the River
Glorious Evening efffect
Palm Bach road at night. Some Photography effect..!!!
Cars n bikes speeding down palm beach road
Taillights n streetlights illuminate the road ahead
