[kskthere]

What is this BOCH: (My Maruti Baleno 1.2L Alpha - A Journey of Ups & Downs)

What Happened:
After the 6th BOCH meet, we took an oath (not OASN though) that we would be taking a long break and no more meetups anytime soon. That was in mid November 2018. But, as they say, men will be men, and rules are meant to be broken. And so we did exactly that in little over two month's time and completed the 7th meet on January 26, 2019. And also, 8th meet is not too very far away, planning it in March. So this just goes to show 'the more that you resist the tide, the more it pulls you in'. It is such an amazing Baleno group with enthusiastic guys who are always ready to meet and explore.

How It Happened:
Unlike our previous short meets, the 6th meet was a special one where we had spent the whole day in a resort. So the plan for the 7th meet was to stretch it for two days with overnight stay and return the next day. While looking at options, a member shared the travelogue of India-Drive night camping at Koilsagar (done in 2017). Many members showed interest in this and we immediately put the plan into action. With date decided, I did a quick recce of the place. We calculated per-head cost if we take camp tents for rent and carry food. Everyone volunteered to share responsibilities. But the main concern and challenge was to organize night camping (especially with ladies and families involved) at an unknown lake with a large group. We had our apprehensions about permission, locals and security. So we contacted India-Drive admins and took all the details of the organizer (Hyderabad Adventure & Trekker's club). After discussing with HAT's club, they agreed to do our event and it proved out to be a wise decision in the end. Though the pricing was a tad high and food could have been a little better, without them we could have lost and wouldn't have enjoyed the way we did. The package included T3 tents for 2 members, dinner, astronomy session and early morning trekking. As a complimentary, they agreed to shoot our trip without any additional charge.

How We Planned:

• Reach M Food Court (1st meeting point) located around 75 km from Hyderabad and 13 km after Raikal toll plaza by 2:00 pm.
• Reach Deverakadra and stop for drone shooting.
• Reach Koilsagar and search for camp site and sunset shoot.
• Introduction of members and organizers.
• Pitch tents and campfire.
• Followed by Dinner, BBQ, astronomy session and star gazing.
• At 6:30 am, early morning trekking to nearby hill
• By 9:30 am, return journey back to Hyderabad.

How Things Went:
The day before the meet, Hyderabad city had plunged into gloominess with not so good weather forecast the next day. We were worried about rain at the venue and it may play spoilsport to the event. To our dismay, it started to downpour on the meetup day as soon as we reached outer ring road. So we thought the trip is going to be a dampner. Luckily, it stopped raining as we were out of the city though it remained gloomy till 1st meeting point. All the members reached M Food Court before 2 pm (thanks to all for being punctual), but organizers were nearly 45 min late to arrive. We could only continue our journey from M Food court towards Koilsagar at 3:15 pm as opposed to our itinerary time 2:15 pm.

Around 4:30 pm, we reached Deverakadra mandal and for about 30-40 min we had drone shooting, line up of Balenos and photo session. We reached camp site at 5:30 and scouted for a nice place to pitch tents and park our big convoy (14 Balenos, 1 Ignis and 1 Safari). There were some good places already occupied by others, but we managed to find a decent place. Everything went as planned after that like campfire, BBQ, astronomy session and star gazing and dinner followed by surprise activity with our Balenos, other shoots and of course lots of fun. Many members were awake till 3 to 5 am (I slept at 3 am) with everlasting discussions. Luckily, there wasn't a single drop of rain until the next day and we were so relieved for that.

Next morning, by the time we completed our trekking to a nearby hill, it was nearly 9:30 am and it started to drizzle. A few members had fun drifting their cars for 10 minutes in those wet conditions, and finally we bid adieu to Koilsagar - what was a memorable trip!

What We (and I) Missed:

• We could not shoot with drone at camp site because of low light
• Forgot to take group pics though we had some pics taken during introduction session.
• I could not take my Baleno to the trip as our colony road dug up for laying new drainage pipes .

Before posting pics and videos, how about knowing Koilsagar:
The Koilsagar Dam is located in Koilsagar Village of the Deverakadra Mandal in the Mahabubnagar District of Telangana. Swelling with water, the Koilsagar Dam is one of the most preferred tourist attractions of Mahabubnagar. The Koilsagar Dam, which is about 8 kilometers from the Koil konda village, stretches its power across the Peddavagu River, which is a minor tributary of the River Krishna. We can find some elegantly curved hills on the western stretch, making it a perfect tourist spot. It is located nearly 12 km from the of Mandal head quarters Deverakadra on Mahaboobnagar to Raichur road. It is accessible by road from Hyderabad, located nearly 145 km away - Source: Telangana Tourism

Route taken:

[kskthere]

Here are a few pictures of the Koilsagar trip:

Dark clouds looming overhead with rain:


Clear of clouds and Balenos all the way:


1st meeting point:


Line up of Balenos at M Food Court attracted quite a few people:


Family members having tea-snacks while waiting for organizers:


Stopped at this straight scenic Deverakadra road for drone shoot:


The drone (Mavic pro) itself and its operator:


An excuberant member on his safari:


Classic line up shot using selfie stick:


Beautiful off-road to sagar:


Scouting for an open place:


And found this beautiful spot:


Parked our Balenos in an arc:






Meanwhile, kids were having their own fun time:


Something you don't often find in cities:


Priceless expression:


Kid is amused by a kid:


And the joy of holding one:


While parents were busy capturing different pictures in different angles:


Aesthetic Sunset:


A Baleno soaking in the sun:


And Sublime Safari:


And Ignis too:


Behold the beauty of the sunset:


A Baleno in the lap of beautiful nature:


Introductory and Interactive session:

[kskthere]

...Continued:


Training session on how to pitch a camp tent:


Beautiful sight with camps in light:


Astronomy and star gazing:


Half moon and its beauty, captured using 600 mm lens:


With chilling weather outside, campfire warmth was comforting:


Barbecue on its way:


BOCH members:


Intriguing photo and video shoot of Balenos' headlights:








Showstopper Baleno with underskirt neon lights:


Woke up to this gorgeous view:


Panoramic shot of camp site:


Hill that is going to be trekked:


Crossing through captivating fields:


And the trek up the hill:


So we conquered:




Picture-perfect picture of the camp site:


Majestic view of Koilsagar from top of the hill:


Getting down was tricky than climbing on those slippery smooth rocks:


Again, fantastic feeling walking through the fields:




An enthusiast's drifting:


The little one with its elder sibling:


Return journey was quite exhilarating driving through muddy slush:


Being drenched by the rain:


On NH44:


Final group pic before parting ways:

Koilsagar travelogue video edited by yours truly:

https://youtu.be/knZEnSjQCDM

Being a part of this wonderful BOCH group and leading it was quite a learning experience for me. Needless to mention, it enabled me to meet other Baleno owners and avid car lovers from different walks of life. I hope our bond becomes even more stronger as we grow bigger as a group, and embark on many more journeys.

Hope you liked this short travelogue. Keep traveling and happy motoring!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[ARAY]

Stunning landscape, we were there just a week back but the lush green makes all the difference. Looks like one big happy family. This is a great initiative by you KSK. Keep traveling and sharing such wonderful blogs.

[kskthere]

Originally Posted by ARAY

Stunning landscape, we were there just a week back but the lush green makes all the difference. Looks like one big happy family. This is a great initiative by you KSK. Keep traveling and sharing such wonderful blogs.

Thank you @ARAY for your kind words. Yes, the group now is a closely-knit family. We have another meetup coming up in March also. I am looking forward to meet our Team (BHPians of Hyd) as well .