Sunday, July 24, 2005

Tansa Road Trip


There were a couple of plans for this weekend. Dhumketu had organized waterfall rappeling at Kondivade caves. An event I was not really keen on attending. The only thing that could have made me interested in that event would have been me setting up the ropes.
Since that was not going to be the case, I decided on skipping the event where I
would be a mere participant morally forced to do volunteer duties. :) The second
option was a trip to Raigad, which too I wasn't keen upon. Plans were being
made, mails were being shot and SMSes were being forwarded. My mind still was
not really made up. Friday, I attended a training program at SEEPZ and was off
by 5:30 pm. Varun gave me a call and he wanted me to return his SLR camera. When
I met Varun, he asked me about the plans and as usual I had none made till then.
We decided to do something on Sunday. So Saturday, when I called him up, he said
lets do Mama -Bhacha. I thought it would be good for a short trek. So I called
up my cousin Sanket, who at that point was keen on joining us. Sunday morning,
Sanket called up and cancelled and Varun had a surprise in store for me. His
friend was driving over to Tansa and we were both going to join up.




Shivaji Chowk

So post-breakfast, I took
a train to Kalyan station. We had decided to meet at Shivaji Chowk. I reached
the place and started clicked a couple of photographs, only to be interrupted 
by the policeman in the chowki. He just made a couple of general friendly
inquiries. He was worried about the blasts taking place all over the world. It
is ironic that a blast in Egypt or UK would affect a havaldar over here. I guess
that is due to the global village, world getting smaller phenomenon.


Varun called me up on the
phone and then on it was a smooth ride towards Tansa. We stopped for air at a
local petrol station. The route - Nasik Highway is a scenic one in the month of
July. Black clouds were hovering over the route and we also faced the occasional
showers. There were clouds all around us. I could see Mahuli Fort and Vazir
pinnacle towards my left. Vazir made a pretty sight. It was shrouded in clouds.
Mahuli too was surrounded all over.





Canopy of Trees

The route from Atgaon to
Tansa is filled with numerous pot-holes. It also happens to a narrow road.
However the canopy of teak trees on both sides of the route makes it a real
pleasure to drive through it. Atgaon to Tansa is 12 kms on a tar road in case
any of you would want to trek it.




Ploughman



Cattle Egret

There were some farmers
tending to their farms along the way. Some sights of cattle egrets and domestic
cattle greeted us. A light drizzle of rains greeted us. Tansa is a huge expanse
of waterbody and instead of going up to the filtration plant area, we got off at
a point where we could take some snaps. Cameras are not allowed inside the dam.
If you want to go inside the dam, there are certain forms to filled at the BMC
water department. Luckily Varun had his central government ID card and the
watch-man let us in. He too was worried about the blasts and all the stuff that
is happening in some parts of the world.


We left our cameras in the
car and went out to the dam. The water-level was 417 feet. It would have to be
422 feet to reach the over-flow mark. The watchman assured us that by mid-August
it definitely would. There have been some sightings of  Royal Bengal
tigers, a truly magnificent animal. Apart from that leopards and some wild-boar.
We did not see any of these animals. The watchman told us that the jungle that
is here today is only 25% of the jungle. Then he added 95% of the jungle has
been cut away. Obviously the poor guy was mathematically challenged.


If you plan to drive till
Tansa from Thane, please ensure that you carry BMC permission so that you can
get on top of the dam wall. Also do not go on  a Sunday, since the canteen
is not open. You will not get anything. An over night stay is also a wonderful
option. The driving distance is around 70 kms.


Saturday, July 16, 2005

Prabalgad Trek

Trek to Prabalgad.

Prabalgad is the kind of trek which could be done within half a day or even a whole week is insufficient if you decide to explore the thick forests on the top of the plateau.

Four of the people decided to start at night. Vini, Vishwa, Pankaj and Prem spent the night at Panvel Bus Stand. Till the point Rohit called me, I was not really decided upon going to Prabalgad. Afterall it was my fourth time in this year. However it was the first official monsoon trek since I had been busy with Arun's camp at Karnala and my cousins wedding earlier. So I
finally asked Rohit to meet me at the Ashok Talkies ST Stand.


The tyre repair shop.


The weather was pleasant and the companions were nice. The start happened with a tyre puncture at Kopar-Khairane, right in front of a tyre repair shop. My enthusiasm for the trek fizzled out just like the air from that burst tyre tube. Fortunately the group at Panvel waited and the repair guy fixed the problem quickly, without replacing the tyre tube. I clicked a photo of a kitten in the tyre shop.


Cute Kitty


After the fixing we reached the bus-stand at Panvel. I purchased a water bottle and got into the bus to Thakurwadi. The good thing about the ST services is that the bus to Thakurwadi has been resumed.


The injured hand. Vishwa getting bandaged.


We took a number of breaks along the way to Prabalmachi. On the top Vishwa managed to prick a thorn into his palm. So did not come up. Prem joined him in his stay. The rest of us went up. On the way I slightly deviated from the route and realized that immediately. Fortunately we could get back on the route without too much effort. I have now realized that getting lost on a route is what provides the fodder for excitement.


The standard pic (Pankaj, me and Vini)



The treacherous route to the top. On our way down.



Along the route.


This was my fourth visit to Prabalgad. It seems to have evolved into an exercise and nothing more. The going up the path from Thakurwadi no longer provides any excitement. Neither does the traversing over the crevasse or sliding across the wall. Some of my companions were a bit terrified, understanding that it was their first time. Also it had become slippery owing to the monsoon.


Coffee break at the end of the trek



OFF - The ultimate insect repellent.

One good discovery during this trek. OFF does work. Apply it on your face and you will no longer be bothered by any of these pests that seem to be thriving during the monsoon.