Coyote ran past the 15k mark last weekend. It is business as usual apart from, as Sidney Seldon would call it, 'a hole in the head'.
Last weekend, we made a trip to Gokarna. Left on early morning on Saturday and returned late night on Monday.
Day 1:
Started at 7:30AM from Bellandur and took the route Davangere - Bankapur - Mundgod - Yellapur - Ankola. I was aware of the road work going on beyond Chitradurga but we wanted to try that route and also visit Magod falls near Yellapur. With the expectation set, we weren't disappointed with the road conditions. Especially due to the 6 lane roads available for most part of the journey, the route is fast (i.e. once you cross the mad traffic till Tumkur!)
Reach Apoorva resorts on the outskirts of Davangere by 11:30AM with a plan to have some early lunch. Alas, the restaurant confirmed they don't serve lunch items before 12:45PM. Had some tasty dosa and coffee before moving on. As such, a very well maintained property with good food and ample space for parking a few dozen cars.
Another impromptu stop was Sannavali dam as the waterbody shone like a gem on a rather hot sunny day.
Moved on and reached Magod falls by 3:35PM. Approach road to the waterfall is good for most part of the route and any car can make it to the view point if you are slightly careful while driving. The flow in the waterfall has come down as the rains have ceased. A good view nonetheless.
Tea break at Gullapur
Left by 4:05PM and reached Red Earth resort Gokarna by 6:00PM, right in time for the sunset.
Day 2
Early morning visit to the beach is a must do task for me
I had applied the Turtle trim restorer on the black plastic trims 2 weeks before this trip. And yet, the trims remain a dust magnet!
The shades of blue, green and a grey Coyote amongst them!
After breakfast, we went to Murudeshwara temple which is a 1.5 hr drive from the resort. Again the coastal road is in great shape and a joy to drive. Equally dangerous are the the numerous and unscientific diversions due to ongoing road expansion work. Since the temple remains closed between 1PM-3PM, we managed to complete the visit before the closure.
For lunch, we looked up reviews and chose White Elephant restaurant near Kudle beach. We were expecting a proper resort but found more of a shack in its place. Looks can be deceptive and indeed, we got to enjoy some awesome Goan dishes and that too, at very reasonable prices!
It was a very hot sunny day with temperatures around 36 deg and the humidity was not helping. With our tummies full, we decided to head back to the resort to enjoy the sunset. Special mention of the Honey beach right below the resort which is impeccably maintained and a great place to relax.
The road to the resort passes through a couple of small villages and agriculture fields. You will spot many peacocks, peahen and langurs loitering around in these fields without care.
Day 3
Last day, we started leisurely at 10:30AM after breakfast and went to Om beach (it was a mistake as we could have covered it on the previous day itself by taking a small detour after our lunch).
Here, I managed to put a nice hole (in the head!) in the front bumper after misjudging while parking Coyote. Hit a stone slab with jutting iron rods at barely crawling speeds and even that managed to pierce the bumper.
Return was via Honnavar - Sagar - Jog falls (stopped at both the view points) - Shivamogga - Tarikere - Hosadurga - Hiriyur - Sira - Bangalore. You will find a lot of ghat roads in this stretch till you cross Jog falls. Roads beyond Shimoga till Tarikere is also not in the best shape.
Impromptu stop at Hanging bridge at Samshi
Jog falls
We had packed our lunch from the resort and had it near Jog falls. Packed tea was consumed near Tarikere. And finally a dinner break at Coastal Dine near Tumkur (very good food if you like sea food!).
No trip is complete without the blessing of Rain Gods. While we were sweating through the first two days, we were blessed with rains once we crossed Shimoga on the last day.
All in all, it was a 1400 km trip and Coyote took around 95 litres of diesel. FE of 14.8 kmpl. Good speeds, ghat roads, village roads, full time AC and lot of idling wherever we stopped.
Odo stands at 15395 kms. Coyote needs a full wash before the next 1500 km trip coming up shortly. I haven't decided yet on whether to replace the front bumper, will take a call during the next service at 17k kms.