...and that's how we celebrated our 1st year anniversary!
Well, finally I am getting to write about this amazing trip worth all the efforts of me buying a 'bullet'. And this was the plan anyway. I had many places in mind before deciding on Coorg and Wayanad but the trip was planned completely based on the place of accommodation. I was lucky to hear from Raji and Naveen of Coffee Camp in Coorg that a cottage is available for the weekend (just 2 days before we left). And rest was an amazing journey.
We started from Bangalore on 3-May-2013 at 6 am in the morning and headed towards Coorg. With two good breaks, soon we found ourselves riding in the coffee country. As we entered the woods of Western Ghats, we slowed down and enjoyed our ride. Although it was peak summer, surprisingly we got good cloud cover (and some showers here and there) throughout our onward journey. It was green everywhere and many birds and squirrels were singing their summer songs.
Soon after we reached Coffee Camp, we realized that its one of the best home stays we have visited so far. It is run by two partners Raji and Naveen. Naveen looks after the coffee estate and the camp is a part of his big coffee estate. His house is closer to the camp site and he lives with his mother in a beautifully built villa. Other than the bullet ride, the best part of our trip is our stay and delicious food cooked by Naveen's mom. We got to taste some authentic delicious malnad/coorg cuisine at Naveen's place. Naveen's mom took care of us very well like they way she takes care of her family members. She was always concerned about where we go and what we eat. And for breakfast and dinner, she would make sure we get to taste authentic coorgi dish everyday. We relished every bit of her food.
Coffee Camp is a nice set up and looks like a small oasis of cottages amidst the coffee estate. Perhaps, because Naveen was in Australia for long time, his ideas are a bit different compared to others in terms of designing cottages. We liked the designs and the quality of fittings and fixtures used in the cottages. Camp site has a nice Gazebo, Badminton court and barbecue stall. And yeah, we also enjoyed quad bike rides. It was fun time out there. Naveen also has an amazing collection of homemade wines. We got to taste some amazing beetle-leaf, chickoo and gooseberry wines.
And we visited many places during our three day trip. The convenience of having bullet with us, it was easy to ride in our own speed, spot various orchids, wild life and amazing woods. I was thrilled to spot many orchids in the wild and was lucky to see them in bloom. Soujanya was super excited to see baby elephants crossing the road while we were returning from Wayanad. It was her first long bike ride and her first visit to Coorg and Wayanad.
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| Malabar giant squirrel |
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| entering Wayanad |
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| Cymbidium bicolor - an epiphytic orchid |
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| Greater flame backed woodpecker |
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| Tusker |
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| Red wattled lapwing |
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| at the tea garden in coorg |
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| With Naveen and his Mom |
Checkout the website of Coorg Coffee Camp
here. Do visit them for an authentic Coorgi experience.
Cheers,
Srik
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