The team on the way to Mulligoor forest |
Photography Trek to Coonoor – Ooty
Click here for photos of Ooty
It has been over a year since I
went on a trip with CTC. Not that I am regular, but passed some of the
interesting trips / treks due to work. But I decided I will not miss this one.
The long weekend on May 1st
ensured that there is no rush and I had a feeling that I am definitely going to
spend some good time in the queen of hills. Not to mention the fact that this
is an opportunity to escape (at least for 3 days) from the sweltering.
We were supposed to assemble at
Chrompet Saravana Stores at 9:00pm on April 30th. The organizer,
Dinesh, had clearly mentioned the participants to have dinner and be at the
point so there are no delays. Wondering what gave him the idea about our
obedience! Some of us who arrived a bit before / on-time decided to have a
quick grab of sandwich in a nearby shop while waiting for others. Well that
quick grab extended till Dinesh called out for everyone to board the van that
has been booked.
Start the day with a Sunrise |
Our first stop was early in
the morning of 1st May before Salem. We refreshed ourselves and
had coffee at a coffee shop while the sun was slowing waking up! The next stop
was at Mettupalayam for breakfast. After finding some space for brushing we had
a good breakfast. Some of us even ensured that we waited and get some fresh
idlis and chutney ;)
This was the last stop on the
plains and we proceeded on Coonoor. Our next stop was at the scenic Chamraj Tea
Factory. The tea was worth the stop and took a few photographs as well. Going
further we stopped at a small waterfall before Manjoor. As it is an unwritten
custom in CTC, the moment we see any waterfall we just plunge into it. With the
exception of a very few, including me, everyone else did take the plunge. This
is the only time some of us actually bother to bath! It was midday and the cool
water was definitely a welcome break from the long travel.
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The stream near Manjoor |
After spending about an hour of
playing in the water and once everyone started feeling hungry we got into the
van and headed to the Manjoor town. To our relief we managed to find an eat-out
that was still serving lunch, even though it was well past 1:00pm. Who bothers
how the food was when the stomach was growling with hunger. We just wolfed down
whatever was available and proceeded to Bikketti village which was our final
stop.
Our accommodation for the night
was a shack in a garden being managed by Siva, a local resident and an
acquaintance of Dinesh. We took only the necessary bags from the van. We
explored the place for an hour or so and returned back to base. The real
thriller was in the night. Don’t expect any supernatural events. But it was a
bit close to that. Some of them started preparing for BBQ. Dinesh had brought a
grille just for this! The girls and guys who were in the kitchen at Siva’s home
missed the fun. Though the BBQ was a failure, the fun part never was! After
trying our best, we had to give the chicken (or what was left of it) to be
properly cooked. Thankfully our expert chefs had also prepared some dosa for
dinner which served the purpose for most of us. While most of the team slept in
the shack in the sleeping bags, me and a
few others decided to spend the night in the van itself. Turned out to be bad
idea considering it was quite cold and I did not have anything thick to protect
against the chill weather!
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Colourful wild mushroom |
On the morning of 2nd
May we had planned to explore the Mulligoor forest after having breakfast.
Siva had information that there is a herd of elephants somewhere in the forest
and it would be a good opportunity to spot some. After driving some distance in
the van we got on foot and explored into the forest. Not before spending some
time taking group photos and landscapes. After venturing into the forest for
some distance, Siva got information that there is only a single elephant near
the river that we were about to visit and it is not advisable to go anywhere
near. So instead of taking photos of the wild creature, we took photos of
ourselves in the wild and returned back in the afternoon. We also spotted some
wild colorful, but dangerous mushrooms. Beauties I had seen only in the movies
till then.
We returned back to Bikketti and
after relaxing for a while, we headed to a small water fall in a picturesque
location near the village. The trek involved walking in paved road, unpaved
road, gravel and a steep climb downhill. But it was definitely worth the trek.
The falls was hidden well in the jungle and immediately everyone were into the
water, with one a few keeping guard of our belongings.
There was a minor incident where
Karthik slipped down and injured his forehead, but thankfully it turned out to
be not-so-serious. He was given some first aid and a cloth wound around. Later
in the evening after returning we moved over to Ooty. It had just rained in
Ooty to the weather was very pleasant and not so cold.
Dinesh had managed to get three
rooms in a lodge, after quite some fight, since the guy who booked the lodge
had some goof up. We dumped our bags in the rooms and went on our own to
explore the town for about an hour. Around 9:00PM we returned back to a
restaurant to have our dinner and went back to the hotel. One of the rooms had
by then become a war room with Dr. Sindhu (really???) was giving some more
treatment to Karthik’s wound. None of us know how the night went as everyone
were really tired and slept as soon as we hit the bed (or sleeping bags).
On the 3rd May
morning some the guys and girls woke up quite early to get a good idea of
Ooty weather and had started walking around. I woke up around 6:45AM and along
with a few others went to Botanical garden for another round of photography
session. While most of the team stuck together having fun, I decided to slip
out on my own in search of some of the endemic birds that I had spotted in my
previous visit. Though I was successful in spotting those, I was not able to
photograph mostly because of lack of light and the mediocre lens I am having.
Nevertheless, it was a good outing.
By 9:00AM we returned back and
had our breakfast and packed our bags and check-out from the rooms. We moved
out into the town and had more than an hour to spend. Some of the team went for
shopping, some of them for boating in the lake and I decided to visit the Tree
Park on the other side of the lake. This was another place I had visited in my
last visit and had fallen in love immediately. But this time was a slight
disappointment. The place had become more popular and there were lots of people
in the park shouting and yelling, spoiling the serene surrounding of park. So
not bird spotting here this time! Last time I had the entire park for myself
for about an hour! Not so this time. But the place was as cleanly maintained as
I had seen it. So not a big disappointment, after all!
We all returned back to the van
around 1:00pm and started our journey back. We stopped in Kothagiri to take
away some food from a restaurant. Stopped on the way and finished off the lunch
and proceeded. Just one more stop near Mettupalayam and we proceeded on the
journey. We reached Salem around 8:00PM and had a good dinner and then visited
Praveen’s house which was about 10 minutes away from the restaurant. Since it
was his birthday the following day, Dinesh had planned to have a cake cutting
at his house. After a quick celebration and attempt at pulling Praveen’s leg in
front his parents we headed back to the hottest city – Chennai, with loads of
fun, happy memories and new friends!
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A beautiful sunset can be a perfect end for the day! |