[dhanushs]

I've always loved Coorg! Reasons being many. Back in 2009, I loved Coorg with the love of my life on our first honeymoon. Now, in 2012, it was time to enjoy it once more, but with the second love of my life - My Jeep!

I've been hearing a lot about how interesting Kakkabe OTR was, and it was decided that come what may, I need to go to. So, inspite of all the pressure @work and family, I squeezed out two days..

Why??....

To get dirty like this!..

[dhanushs]

We were a team of 4 vehicles. Two from Bangalore, one from Calicut and one from Wayanad. The event was scheduled to happen about ~35kms from Madikeri, and our stay was in Kushal Nagar. Madikeri or Kushal Nagar is about ~140 kilometers from my place, so, we decide to drive down a day earlier.

The TEAM!




Getting all greased up, and ready to go!




Now, if there is a program in Coorg or Wayanad, make sure you get your gum boots. Or else, you will be literally covered with leeches. This time, believe it or not, I plucked about 50 leeches from various parts of my body, starting from face! .

Packed up the gum boots, spare oil, water for the radiator, tools, belts, hoses etc..etc..



Topped up the tank, drove around and made sure there is no immediate overheating or oil pressure issues!


And, off we go!



Via Bathery> Kattikulam> Tholpetty wild life sanctuary > Kutta > Gonikkuppa > Siddapura.

Enjoying the beautiful sunset and wildlife!



At about 10:30PM we reach Ekanth Homestay. A beautiful place. They charge ~3000 bucks for a house which IMO is really good. You have lot of space to roam around the homestay and have fun!



By the time we reached Kushal Nagar, its really late and the Bangalore team had already reached there. Though the Calicut Jeep hadn't.



One good thing about us reaching a bit late was that, they were ready with some delicious food!





After which, had some chit chat about Jeep, this, that, had some food, etc..etc.. and called it a day.

[dhanushs]

The next morning, we were woken up early by Rajesh as the Kakkabe was about ~70kms from Kushalnagar, and we had to reach there by ~10AM. The plan was to drive straight to Madikeri, to their club, have breakfast, buy some snacks, water, dettol and stuff and then proceed towards Kakkabe.

All set up and ready to go!







On the way to Madikeri...





Stopped for topping up.




After which we meet some other participants. The blue 550 lost its FWH on route. Losing FWH's has become a major issue, of not dealt with properly! I've been noticing numerous examples of the same. The FWH's bolts can be tightened only with a flat spanner, and not a ring or box. So, I guess before driving down to any OTR, it'd be a good idea to put thread lock seal on the bolts and tighten it really well.





And move on to the club...



We reach there and find some beautifully done up vehicles parked.









Have breakfast...



And then move on to Jungle Mount Resort, Kakkabe







We reach last! and wait for the registration.







And then, move on to the rest of the vehicles.. There were 50+ vehicles..



You know, its TREAT to watch all these Jeeps together.

[dhanushs]

The flag off!!..



And then, we move to the real thing.. The TRAIL! It was said that the trail is 23 kilometers long. And, boy, I was so excited! The 6kilometer trail in wayanad was adventurous enough, and I've heard enough about past Kakkabe OTR's, and the expectations was skyrocketing!







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Some comments on the trail:

This is my second real organized OTR. The first one being in Wayanad (And a tiny Bangalore one). Well, lets say Wayanad spoilt me (on the trail aspect) or I do not know whats the usual difficulty level of these organized ones are with lot of Jeeps, as the Kakkabe event was a utter disappointment for me! The trail was long enough, and stunningly beautiful, but there was absolutely nothing to write home about driving in 4x4!. Let alone Jeeps and Gypsy's, any soft roader 4x4 would have handled the entire trail with aplomb!. No low ratio required anywhere even for my humble 70+ bhp Jeep. :(

There mainly 3 obstacles.

1. A river crossing which was filled with boulders.
2. A real slushy and steep decline. Now, this was something and looked like it needed some expertise. But, the last bunch of Jeeps weren't allowed to do it... why??!!!..
3. A moderately deep river crossing - FUN!.

And at last there was this field filled with slush. To describe it in one word? - FUN!!... It was like kindergarten kids getting their favorite chocolate playground wish granted!



Now, let the pictures do the rest of the taking.

[dhanushs]

The usual wait along the trail.






The monsta Nissan!






One of the reasons for the long wait. A gypsy bust its plumbing to the radiator!








Another one of the reasons for the wait: A Punctured Thar





And then, we go on.. and on..




Through the wilderness




Crossing some small streams.
























Enjoying the beauty of nature... Well, in Coorg/Wayanad OTR's this is something you never miss!




Roy, asking for some snacks..



And then getting bored, and decides to decorate his Jeep!

[dhanushs]

The first real obstacle:

A river crossing, which was not too deep, but was filled with boulders and was uneven. It was cake walk for the Jeep, but I heard some Gypsys having trouble. Now, that's one of the interesting things about a Gypsy. You can hear the headers from a mile! Oh.. what sweet sound...











































The Winch Machine!





After the crossing, we proceed towards the next obstacle.

[dhanushs]

The 2nd real obstacle.

The 2nd one looked like a real tricky one. But, unfortunately, none of last batch of Jeeps were allowed to try it . Maybe because some of the earlier ones ended up getting damaged pretty heavily, or maybe it was getting late and the organizers were starting to get hungry!.. It was also raining pretty heavily, so, just one picture of the obstacle!

The decent which I have marked in the picture below was said to be steep enough to make Jeeps and Gypsys land on their bumpers, which made steering columns pop out!

This particular Gypsy is lying there because it broke its axles.

[dhanushs]

The 3rd Real Obstacle: A moderately deep river crossing.

Now, this was fun. Well, I did not have a snorkel or a raised exhaust, so was a bit concerned, but as the whole day went pretty uneventful, I decided to try it out, come what may!

Nothing technical about this crossing. Just keep the rpms high enough not to stall and keep the speed slow enough not to splash water to your intake, but fast enough to get the momentum to clear the final slushy part. So, my choice of gear was 2nd low. One good or rather safe thing about this crossing was that there were no boulders below, which would make throttle control a bit difficult.

Pics of the same!













There was this unfortunate Thar, which somehow got stalled midway and had to be winched out.







Winched out and drained out!

[Godfather]

Nice report Dhanushs.

here is a video of my Endeavour doing the river crossing where the thar got stuck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnaJLTdo8VE

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Godfather

here is a video of my Endeavour doing the river crossing where the thar got stuck.

Thanks for sharing godfather. Without a snorkel and a raised exhaust, I had my heart in my mouth.. lol!..

Some videos from my side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4ewycJiwyg&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdJ3njTjYLI&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIzR462xLAA&feature=plcp

[Godfather]

I have a couple more pictures in my camera, will download them tonight and then upload here. the event was good and like you said the only time i put the endeavour to 4L was in the river crossing, the rest was done on 4H and vehicle in D mode.

[drbones]

Godfather that is a scary stream crossing.
That too in an endeavour. 19-23 sec in the video i can see wheels locked and endy sliding , did you feel the slip while driving . This can be called a good driving skill .

[dhanushs]

The final part: The slush fest!

Of the whole event if you would ask anyone what was most fun, it was the final part. Well, it was nothing, just getting in and getting your Jeep plastered with mud! Very very less traction, that any kinda turns meant slides!

Perfect place to put on some doughnuts. Well, I assume there was some track format here, as I saw some damaged ribbons, but, by the time we reached the place the only thing left was a field full of slush..

I needed no invitation.. Drove straight into it and got towed once! .


Some pics:













I'll add some more pics further on..

[fazalaliadil]

Dhanushs,

Enjoyed going through the OTR pictorial.

Loved the camaraderie, Jeeps, event management and yes, the forest. What a jungle trial, we can only dream about it.

The photographer's have captured the action very well.
"The winch machine" one of the most compact and formidable recovery vehicles seen, fully loaded.

The Thar, fording without a snorkel is suicidal, surely must have sucked in water through the inlet manifold to the injectors, this is the first casualty before the ECM gets hit (in deeper waters).

Regards,

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

Enjoyed going through the OTR pictorial.

Thanks Fazal Sir.

The Thar, fording without a snorkel is suicidal, surely must have sucked in water through the inlet manifold to the injectors, this is the first casualty before the ECM gets hit (in deeper waters).

The driver started to start the Thar a couple of times inside the water. I was like , but thankfully, nothing happened, atleast while I saw.

They winched it out and it started with gallops of white smoke!