Kingfisher Blue 4×4 Freedom Drive
All the thrill started from Wednesday 11th August when I was announced winner of “Kingfisher Blue 4×4 Freedom Drive” Contest on Facebook, an off road event organized by the Munzerabad Club in Sakleshpur and sponsored by Kingfisher.
A three day experience with all expense paid, was packed with adrenaline and adventure. An adventure never tasted and conquered. All I need was to tackle some terrain and get to know some serious mud-slush. Friday the 13th was completed with a small photo shoot with KF blue Gypsy followed by the ride to Sakleshpur. Some odd 250Kms was covered in 7 hours form Bangalore to the land full of coffee estates along with smoky mountain slopes and streams. The weather was pleasant and everyone in the rally was praying for a rain to add more slush to the track. The Night was busy with meeting most of the entire contestant across India and Karnataka. We were also hooked with the gears and 4wheels.
Our stay was planned at the Munzerabad Club resort which was established in 1839 by British planters. This club organized “Munzerabad Arvind Off Beat Drive 2010”, in memory of one of the founder of this Off beat rally. There were about 110 4x4 vehicles that took part in this event. There were a couple of Pajeros, Boleros, one Land Cruiser, Nissan Patrol, One Land Rover, Volkswagen Touareg, Toyota’s fortuner, Ford’s Endeavour and lots of Willys, M&M jeeps and Maruti Gypsies.
Next Morning the event started with flag off @ 8 Am for the 35 Km circuit. Soon we hit the track and the dirt. With more than 150 ORV’s, the jungle track looked encroached and was thumped up with the gas. The drizzle made the ride cool and lovely, however the biggest challenge was the slush and mud as it was extremely sticky since it had been raining past weeks. The lighter vehicles like Gypsy’s and Jeeps had the advantage for not getting stuck easily with the slippery mud. Apart from some serious mud, we had to cross some slippery and wet rocky terrains, which was real adrenaline pumping fun. With almost no grip and an incline, all the 4 wheels were engaged to cross the obstacle. The thrilling brooks were also conquered with all the excitements one could have.
Soon we reached our breakfast point, an oasis amidst tea estates: Tusk and dawn Resort. DJ was playing a loud thumping music to push our tempo in the jungle. The rest was very brief with exotic body-paint dancers and some anchoring. Soon we were back on four wheels. The Route now had more wetness and mosses resulting in more leeches. We were given rubber boots to protect ourselves from mud and leeches of course. Mud plugging made all the roadies into westerners. Some vehicles were winched to make cross the slippery gateways and boulders. We crossed some wooden bridges without any railing, along with lemon grass fields. These fields were so fragrant that one was completely mesmerized. Soon we found ourselves coming down the tea estates valley to Kadumane Resort.
This was the end of our 7 hour long off-roading experience. This was the place for afterparty and late lunch. All the off-roaders felt awarded and they patted their own back and each other’s. The ride turned into a great party, indeed a Good time. The music was loud and echoing across the tea plantations. The wildness was energized by the Kingfisher Blues’.
Late night we reached back to Munzerabad rooms. Next morning I had a chance to witness the Independence Day parade by the children of a school nearby. I took some good pictures of Migratory birds like Egret, snakebirds and Darters, who took the shelters of Munzerabad old trees. After breakfast we packed and hit the road to Bangalore with an experience to remember.
A complete gobsmacked Experience..
Details of the contest:
Ø Q: Answer these 2 simple questions in the comment box below:
From the Video, If you were the driver in the car, what would you do next?
Why do you believe you are driven enough to take the Kingfisher Blue Freedom drive?
Ø Answers:
o 1. If you were the driver in the car, what would you do next?
o A: Nothing just stomp on accelerator with all the 4 wheels on.... Let the river be crossed.
o 2. Why do you believe you are driven enough to take the Kingfisher Blue Freedom drive?
o Because I ve already acquired the taste of freedom. All the challenges are there to take and beat. Been to highest Khardungla and to Bangalore traffic ..... Need i explain more
Ø Verdict:
Kingfisher: The lucky winner of the Kingfisher Blue 4x4 Freedom Drive contest, walking away with an all expenses paid trip with for himself and a navigator, is Saurabh Raj Sharan! Congratulations, enjoy the treacherous challenge & get liberated with Kingfisher Blue Freedom!
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1 comment:
Nice write up bhai. Ofcourse the experience would have been much more wonderful.
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