Great Arc Of India - January 2009
Final newsletter as we only have two weeks before we start the Great Arc of India Journey together.
Jim's hill drive is impressive and just has to be included. So the first day to Thekkady adds in this quite outstanding afternoon drive along the near top of the Cardamon Hills.
The drive is so pleasant Jim has found a second road crossing the Cardamon Hills to take us back north again the following day before turning east on to our Camp in the Coconut Grove at the Palani Hills.
I was keen to start at KanyaKumari, but since it is not possible to start at the holy waters of the India Ocean, Bay of Bengal & Arabian Sea, Jim has brought the Holy Water of KanyaKumari to Cochin for the blessing of our cars and our journey.
Rod is working on the road book as this goes to print on Friday. We have replaced the old Garmin e-trex with the latest Garmin GPS 60. This enables all the track and waypoints to be downloaded (with the e-trex only waypoints were shown as during the Tiger Rally). This way the track is ‘correct’ with the road book supporting the GPS, as the tulips are a cut and paste of many drives formed to make one day’s drive.
At each camp there will be a formal dinner so do bring a dinner jacket, or, as I will, purchase an India jacket in Cochin. For the ladies Livy is organising a suitable shop in Cochin to buy saris or similar before we leave.
Tracy will be sending out a final hotel list.
I hope the route and the drive live up to expectation. Jim & Rod have smoothed out the roads of India. They route may not be a silk road, it is a more a roar journey across a patchwork quilt. We will experience great mountain drives, rural Indian drives, drives up into the hill stations of the Raj, drive to camps on river banks, camps in savannah lands, camps in coconut groves, and much much more until we finish at Hathipaon in the foothills with great Himalaya's as our backdrop.
See you all in Cochin and let the journey begin.
Conrad
