[karan561]

If i were by any chance to be stranded in a desert in a vehicle, the FORTUNER would definitely be my weapon of choice to conquer the Infinite sands.



^ How did i get there ?

Well lets just REWIND a bit;



My RANN to INFINITY;





Dancing in the Desert;



^ I had to be cautious here as at the end of the day its an SUV, so definitely had to be not carried away with the open spaces, but to be honest the Fortuner has very less Body roll & felt in good control doing such stunts, but definitely scary enough for people who aren't used to donuts or powerslides that too in a SUV.



^ As i had tried such similar stunts in the SLUSH PITS during our Off road excursions, but this was completely different as in the Slush Pits there was absolutely no traction, where as here it was more traction so a lot was dependent on skill as well.

In short the Fortuner had some SAFE & Controlled FUN in this open environment.

Doing a few Perfect Launches in the Fortuner was extremely fun;




& this was the 1st time i got a 2nd gear wheelspin in a the Fortuner



After doing good amount of controlled drifts & also high triple digit speeds, i had nothing but RESPECT for the FORTUNER, which made me come out of the car & BOW down to its supreme performance, a good amount of credit does go to the Continental Cross Contact A/T Tires as well;



Tires;




^ The Continental Cross Contact A/T's need a mention here.

In one word BRILLIANT, they offered supreme grip & comfort in the RANN environment.
Also to mention on tarmac & broken roads & that odd pothole they did hold the vehicles composure & form impeccably.

Random Shots;



The Rann was deserted for sure, this was the only odd vehicle spotted;



Indo/Pak border;

The Indo-Pak border was a few kms away from a village called 'Khavda'.

This entire stretch of road had one of the best roads in the country, with no sort of road damage & absolute silky smooth tarmac.
Few straights were as long as 5-6 kms in length & i was literally bored of flooring the accelerator.



The only vehicle which was spotted in this 30 odd kms patch was this ARMY TRUCK.



Rest both the sides it was absolute Barren & only sound was of the silence of the winds, Total BLISS;



^ Also note the CROSSWINDS here were super STRONG.

As soon as we reached the BSF check post there some barricading & a bunker & an Indian flag hoisted in all its glory.

We were told no pics allowed in this area for security reasons as the border was just a few kms away (upon asking how much they did not want to confirm the exact distance to the border)

So we parked the car there for a moment & i approached the army personnel requesting him to allow me to take one pic with the flag & the car which thankfully he ALLOWED.



^ this indeed was a proud & patriotic moment for me & the car both.

Kutch Festival / Rann Utsav ;

The RANN UTSAV was happening at the same place where the RANN of Kutch was there, here's a pic of the entry to the Rann Utsav.



^ Did not spend much time at the UTSAV but surely looked well organised right from activity areas to camel rides to food stalls.

Mumbai - Kutch Highway Journey;





Overtaking TRAINS had become effortless;




& more flawless TARMAC;



These daredevil BIKERS were an absolute headache on the open stretches, which refused to give way nor look at their side view mirrors (most of them did not have any, may be for Aerodynamic reasons ... LoL), & Helmet ? whats that ?



En Route Kutch there were a lot of WINDMILL farms spotted before entering Gandidham;




Trip Log;

Mumbai to Kutch RUN;

Total Distance = 830 kms
Total time taken = 690 Minutes (11.5 Hrz)

Kutch to Mumbai RUN;

Total Distance = 830 Kms
Total Time Taken = 720 Minutes (12 Hrz)

This Time is including Halts

Total Distance covered (Including Local travel & sight seeing) = 2260 Km

Fuel Economy = 9.3 km/l

Shall leave you guys with a parting shot @ the Rann of my BRUTE-Fort & yours truly;



Cant wait for the NEXT RANNNNNNN

Thanks for reading guys !

[majumon]

Karan, amazing shots special mention to the first one and the one with dirt flying around. Did you shoot the pictures with a tripod or you had company.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by majumon

Karan, amazing shots special mention to the first one and the one with dirt flying around. Did you shoot the pictures with a tripod or you had company.

Thanks majumon

This is not a tripod shot as i did have company & all pics are shot from my humble iphone camera

[Dodge_Viper]

The opening picture is just WOW! And the sequential shots of your tank flying off is brilliant!

P.S: I hope you don't mind if I called your Fortuner as Tank (That was for its toughness) .

[karan561]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

The opening picture is just WOW! And the sequential shots of your tank flying off is brilliant!

Hey thanks man

P.S: I hope you don't mind if I called your Fortuner as Tank (That was for its toughness) .

Nope, in fact no Fortuner would mind their Truck being reffered as a TANK

[a4anurag]

Lovely pictures and detailing given in the thread.

I am speechless looking at the pictures way the TANK looks in the pictures throughout.

Best of the lot I liked were:

1) With the Indian flag (Respect!)

2) The with mud flying up (3rd picture)!

Hats off buddy and I love the TANK and want to own one if I can.

Anurag.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Lovely pictures and detailing given in the thread.

I am speechless looking at the pictures way the TANK looks in the pictures throughout.

Best of the lot I liked were:

1) With the Indian flag (Respect!)

2) The with mud flying up (3rd picture)!

Hats off buddy and I love the TANK and want to own one if I can.

Anurag.

Hey Anurag,

I am glad you enjoyed the thread, thanks for the kind words

[alphadog]

Those were some amazing pictures!, especially the ones with the dirt kicking off from the tyres. The Rann looks so desolate yet so beautiful, and your Fort looks the part, perfectly at home in the surroundings. Thanx for sharing.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by alphadog

Those were some amazing pictures!, especially the ones with the dirt kicking off from the tyres. The Rann looks so desolate yet so beautiful, and your Fort looks the part, perfectly at home in the surroundings. Thanx for sharing.

Hey Thanks alphadog, appreciate your comments

[tsk1979]

C'mon. This is not how you get stuck.
The correct way to get stuck is this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Picg70djyN4

[karan561]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

C'mon. This is not how you get stuck.
The correct way to get stuck is this

Well, getting stuck in the middle of the RANN can be really scary.

I remember getting stuck similarly once before on a dry abandoned river bed like this ;



Heres the link to the entire story;

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post2969694

[tejas08]

Hi Karan,

Amazing Thread..... and an Awesome Experience I assume....Specially when you have a Fortuner to go around.

I am planning to go to the Rann of Kutch sometime early next Year (Jan / Feb-14). I will be driving a Honda City (4th Gen). Could you help me out with some details?

1. First and Foremost, is it advisable to go to the Rann with a Honda City?
2. I am Novice when compared to the majortiy of the people on Team-BHP with regards to Driving. But I am a quick Learner. Although driving from Mumbai to Kutch wouldn't seem like much of an issue, my only doubts are when in the Rann of Kutch, what sort of conditions to expect for driving?
3. Where did you stay when you went from Mumbai to Kutch. In Kutch or in Bhuj? From the Thread I understand you did not stay in the Rann Utsav. I am planning to stay at the Rann Utsav.
4. My car being a Petrol model, would I be required to carry extra fuel in cans or something like that or are Petrol Pumps at a frequent distance.

Would really appreciate if you can provide me some advice on the above questions.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by tejas08

Hi Karan,

Amazing Thread..... and an Awesome Experience I assume....Specially when you have a Fortuner to go around.

I am planning to go to the Rann of Kutch sometime early next Year (Jan / Feb-14). I will be driving a Honda City (4th Gen). Could you help me out with some details?

1. First and Foremost, is it advisable to go to the Rann with a Honda City?
2. I am Novice when compared to the majortiy of the people on Team-BHP with regards to Driving. But I am a quick Learner. Although driving from Mumbai to Kutch wouldn't seem like much of an issue, my only doubts are when in the Rann of Kutch, what sort of conditions to expect for driving?
3. Where did you stay when you went from Mumbai to Kutch. In Kutch or in Bhuj? From the Thread I understand you did not stay in the Rann Utsav. I am planning to stay at the Rann Utsav.
4. My car being a Petrol model, would I be required to carry extra fuel in cans or something like that or are Petrol Pumps at a frequent distance.

Would really appreciate if you can provide me some advice on the above questions.

Hi Tejas,

Yes, you may easily consider going for a Kutch tour in a Honda City

Travelling through the Rann should also not be a problem as the land is mostly flat and you will not encounter any ground clearance issues too. But, at the same time you have to be careful that not to go that high on speeds in the Rann where it may get bumpy in certain areas. Rest the conditions are fairly favorable for touring in your selected months.

I stayed in a place called Anjar & there was a Radisson Blu there which is a new property. Bhuj i never stayed but only visited.

Also as you rightly said, i did not stay in the Rann Utsav, but while visiting i was impressed with the accommodations, the other activities & food stalls present there.

Regarding fuel (i.e. Petrol in your case) i dont think you need to be worried on that front as places like Bhuj, Anjar & also some state highways around are having fuel pumps & never did we had to plan our fueling or hunt for some fuel stations.

Let me know if any other help required, All the best