Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess - DAY 2

Day 2 - Chakrata - Lakhamandal - Barkot - Dharasu Bend - Uttarkashi


The other night,that local guy who helped me on finding the accommodation..suggested me to go Lokhandi as there are very good views enroute and there is plenty of ice in Lokhandi.This much information was enough to drag me towards Lokhandi.I woke up bit late by 08:00 AM and had already missed the sunrise for which i had taken the Window side 4 bed Condo .

Second building on the left is the place where i settled for the night 


I packed my stuff and said thank you to Mr Negi(Owner of the Home Stay) for such clean,cheap and nice accommodation.While i started from Chakrata,i noticed that i have half tank fuel left.I inquired with the local public around on the availability of Petrol pump in Chakrata or on the Lakhamandal route which i had to take to reach Uttarkashi.But there wasn't any fuel pump available in Chakrata and on the route i was heading.Petrol was available in black in Chakrata market,at that time no shop was open..so i had to wait for a while to get the fuel.Bought 4 litres at the rate of 85 Rs/ltr,pretty decent rate for a remote place 

Narrow streets of Chakrata,Waiting for the Petrol Guy to come 



Lovely views from Chakrata

Magical Uttarakhand - 6 Days of Fun and 2 Days of Mess - DAY 1

Day 1 - Noida - Meerut - Dehradun - Mussorie - Kempty Falls - Chakrata

It was supposed to be a 8 days road trip,which got shortened initially because of Indian Railways and then got stretched because of unforeseen circumstances/unexpected bike trouble.This trip has lot of memories to share and lot of incidents to tell.
How my trip started two days late ? 
How lost i was..because of the mesmerizing beauty of Uttarakhand ?
How i survived without a phone connection as Tata Docommo folks disconnected my connection ?
How i managed to tow my bike 484 kms from Munsyari to Noida and that 100 Rs note which was all left..when i reached Noida 


Friday 29 March was a holiday and i had 3 Compensatory off's left in my Kitty.So i took compensatory off..on 25,26 and 27.Took sick leave on 28 and i had 9 days in my hand to be in Uttarakhand.

I reached Delhi on 23 March morning and my bike was supposed to arrive by the evening,as i had parceled it on 22 March morning.Expense break up of booking was "1600 - Indian Railway Charges + 300 - Packing + 200 Loading".But i would say,the money i paid for loading got wasted because they didn't loaded the bike on Friday as the parcel compartments of trains were mostly occupied.





My bike got loaded in Swarna Jayanti on Saturday evening,which arrived on Sunday evening.I was worried for a while on Saturday,when it didn't arrived.Luckily there were no damages,except the right hand side rear view mirror.I was thinking to start on the same day.but my friend persuaded me to start next morning as we have been beer hopping in Gurgaon.

Delay in bike transport has already costed me one day.I woke up with ease on Monday morning and when i arrived at the parking to get on with the ride,i saw few drops of oil on the floor..under the engine belly.And it was continuously pouring down,drop by drop...I checked around based on the little knowledge i posses and found out,its the pipe which contains the extra oil.I emptied the pipe and started towards Meerut.After two hicupps back to back,finally my ride started. 

Roads were pretty good till Muzaffarnagar,4 lane all the way from Noida to Muzzafarnagar.Post muzzafarnagar roads got pretty bad with deep pot holes in every part of the road..bus,truck,car drivers dodging the pot holes and making difficult to judge their movements  :P.Conditions got improved 50-60 kms before Dehradun.I stopped in Dehradun for quick lunch.

Last time when i came to Dehradun from Haridwar,I skipped Mussorie for some other time.And yeah,this was the time for which it was left .While Dehradun is spread on the plains,Mussorie is situated 30 Kms away on the hills.

Roads were good and the view from the hills was spectacular as well.

One Last Ride in the Down Under - Day 7

Coming Soon

One Last Ride in the Down Under - Day 6

Coming Soon

One Last Ride in the Down Under - Day 5

Coming Soon

One Last Ride in the Down Under - Day 4

Coming Soon

One Last Ride in the Down Under - Day 3

Day 3 - Port Augusta - Quorn - Hawker

Today was a short day with 100 kms of TAR road and 100 kms of Pure offroading.I started from Port Augusta and reached quorn,stopped for a quick coffee break.Spotted an information center nearby,went there to inquire about the places around which can be explored.Information centers in Australia are the best places to know about the must visit places, trust me they do give you an honest advice.The lady at the counter was very friendly,she advised me to visit an offroading trail ahead of quorn and Kanyaka ruins..which was another offroading trail.I picked up the guides and the maps available and headed out on the first off-road trail.



This trail seemed bit spooky to me,so i decided to return back and head out to Kanyaka ruins.Also the chain incident which happened with me in the Sydney ride,scared me.



I came back on the highway and started looking for the Kanyaka ruins trail.
Butter smooth highways..with no traffic at all \M/

One Last Ride in the Down Under - Day 2

Day 2 - Mildura - Renmark - Port Pirie - Port Augusta

Map for today



Mildura region sits at the intersection of two states of Australia.It is the place where most of the country's dried fruit, grapes, citrus, almonds, pistachios, olives, carrots and asparagus are grown.Fruit picking is a very popular job here..people from all regions in Australia comes here for fruit picking job.And this is the reason why,most of the cheap accommodations are full here..atleast in the fruit picking season.

This was my accommodation for the night at Sunraysia Holiday Park.Just to explain where this 'Sunraysia' comes from "Mildura region is also called as Sunraysia". 



Before starting towards Port Pirie,I paid my visit to some road side vineyards.

One Last Ride in the Down Under - Day 1

Day 1 - Melbourne - Bendigo - Ouyen - Mildura

7 months of fun,7 months of memories and every second of those 7 months to cherish for lifetime.These were my life's one of the best days,where i lived my dream to ride in foreign Nation.My term was ending in AUS and my return was happening on 9th Feb 2013.I had applied for 8 days leave in the Jan last week and i wasn't too sure what i am going to do with these holidays,because i had already sold my helmet couple of weeks back..which means if want to make any ride happen,i had to buy a new one.Also the bike was in well maintained condition and ready for sale,ride for 8 days means another hole in the pocket due to the servicing and making it ready for sale.Meanwhile i was also thinking to go to New Zealand and hire a motorbike and explore the beautiful country.But it was becoming a costly affair.On the other hand i was too lazy to do the visa formalities.While i was thinking on what to do with these 8 days..i realized that my Holidays is going to start from the next day.On the fine evening of that very Friday,I went to Peter Stevens motorcycle and bought a new helmet for 350 AUD.Bought a good one because i planned to carry it back to India.

This was only shopping i did,while returning back to India  

Drive to Lakes Entrance and Snowy River Road - Australia - DAY 2

Day 2 - Jindabyne - Thredbo - Mt Kosciuszko Summit - Woodonga - Melbourne

Last night's spicy food from the Indian restaurant took the toll and everybody was awake by 7 AM to release the heat .Where alarm clock fails,these kind of accidental/innovative ways works very well to make an early start in the road trips.Our next destination was Thredbo,which was part of the Snowy river shire.The time of the year we were going to the place was off season and we were not expecting any or much snow.

Todays RouteMap


We reached Thredbo Village and the place looked deserted with one or two people around,that re-confirms that we have reached in wrong season.Anyway,we went to the cable car station to reach at the top of Mt Kosciuszko.Fees was 32$ per person as far as i remember.



And this what it looked like from the top.