Tango 5: Nature's Calling

I’ve just returned from a week’s trekking with Tango 5, and what a privilege it was, beautiful scenery and fantastic company. Disappointingly my camera ran out of battery on day three so my images are limited until the rest of the group returns at changeover.

Last Saturday I set off with Tango 5 on our day and a half’s drive down to the southern western ghats of Kerala to where the trek begins. The journey down took us from the paddy fields of Karnataka, through the plains of Tamil Nadu into the lush forestry and mountains of Kerala. We were even lucky enough to spot an Elephant whilst passing through Chinnar wildlife sanctuary.

The first challenge we had was a day’s hike up and over Misappuli Mala, India’s second highest peak outside the Himalayas. It was an early start as we set off at 5am in the dark but we were rewarded with a beautiful and enchanting sunrise. 

The scenery was stunning and our guides, Eldhose and Abeet, informed us that we were in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The area has rich and diverse flora and fauna including Shola forests (high altitude evergreen forests, unique to Southern India) and Nilgiri Tahr (Mountain Goats) that are endemic to this area. We were lucky enough to spy a herd running down the mountainside.

Reaching the summit of Misappuli Mala we were enveloped in thick cloud but then suddenly the clouds parted to reveal the awe-inspiring drop to the valley below, to quote Lynne, ‘it was truly mystical’. From here it was a steep incline down off the Mountain but we were rewarded with a delicious cup of chai at Kolukkumalai Tea Estate, the world’s highest tea plantation. Tea enthusiast, Robbie, was in his element!

The next two days were ‘Survival’, as the group were stripped of the luxuries in their backpacks including food rations, mess tins, tents, sleeping bags and aqua tabs. The challenge was to live off the land for 36 hours, boiling any water we wanted to drink, building our shelter for the night and only a bag of vegetables and two live chickens to feed us.

It was a long and cold night in which no one got a lot of sleep but I’ll never forget waking up around the fire the next morning. We’d each individually migrated up there throughout the night when the cold had got too much. So we awoke covered in ash and exhausted but all bonded and humbled by the experience of braving out the night.

The second Survival day was taken up with building our rafts to use the following day, followed by a big feast to celebrate the completion of Survival – food has never tasted so good!

On Thursday it was an early start to raft across the lake and then we set off on a 15km trek. The scenery was really diverse this day as we hiked up through a tea plantation and down into forestry with a few welcome chai shop stops along the way. It was this day that the group discovered Tapioca Bondas (a deep fried Indian snack). Beth, with her love of all things bread like, was a particular fan.

The special moments of this day were walking in silence, single file through the forests on elephant watch. A roof of cardamom plant leaves overhead and the noises of the jungle sounding like a ‘relaxation tape’ in our ears. Our adrenaline was pumping from a mix of excitement and nerves at the possibility of spotting a herd of elephants, but sadly to no avail.

My last day with the group was Friday where after another early start we had a 15km trek. As one of the only members of the group with an alarm clock, Arthur has the job of ‘Morning Motivator’– a hard task at 4am with a bunch of exhausted trekkers. But Arthur’s positivity manages to awaken even the grumpiest members of the group with a smile!

Friday’s main challenge came in the form of the windiest mountain in India*! The group gave each other incredible support, holding hands to get everyone up and over. As we gripped onto each other for dear life fearing being blown over the Mountain edge, Eldhose, our lead guide was running up and down our human chain offering support and steadying where need, sturdy as a mountain goat – what a legend!

There to greet the group at the campsite on Friday afternoon was The Loop delivering Del and the very welcome tuck shop and also Denise, the eleventh member of Tango 5 who’d had an ankle injury that stopped her from deploying with the group initially.

Then all too soon, on Saturday morning I bid farewell to Tango 5. I’ve had an amazing experience with them with some funny, illuminating, educational and at times surreal conversations that went on amongst the group.

I’ve no doubt they’ll go on to have many more fantastic experiences over the next couple of weeks out there in amongst India’s beautiful nature, and to coin Tango 5’s tag line: Nature’s Calling!

* Please note this may not actually be fact!

All text and photos by Polly Carpenter (unless stated otherwise).

Trekking with the Tangos



The spectacular Irupu Falls marks the beginning

 Just six days ago I deployed with Tango Six on the brand new Demon Trek, so named not for its nastiness but rather for the local name given to one of the several peaks the group will summit over the 18 day phase.



And they are away

The Demon adventure circumnavigates the region of Wayanad in the north of Kerala. Known for spices and its incredible scenery, Wayanad is a well kept secret of this popular tourist state. In fact, Muddy Boots, Raleigh’s project partner, are one of the first adventure companies to begin working in the area and as such we are visiting places few have seen before.

Sam lends Jen a helping hand

After an incredibly intense packing session where Tango 6 were tasked with packing 3 weeks’ worth of pasta, noodles, porridge and peanut crunch, we headed out in the early hours of Sunday morning. First stop was the Kuruva Islands, a 900acre collection of some 64 islands in the Kabini where we practised our river crossing skills no less than 7 times. A delicious Keralan lunch served on banana leaves and we were on our way to camp before heading up over the Western Ghats.

The Western Ghats in all their glory


The first day was tough, our packs were at their heaviest, our bodies at their least experienced, it is to the credit of the team that we made it to the top of Brahmagiri hill, a peak of 2100m. Monday was also our first taste of leeches, an animal which despite having 32 brains failed to win the admiration or respect of Tango 6. The very fashionable leech socks did however provide protection and we continued on undettered, crossing over the grasslands and ridges before dropping down through the forest to Kerela.

Regu takes a time to enjoy the view

No view but still happy to have conquered Brahmagiri

An early morning wake up call for birthday boy Kane was followed by a Hindu blessing at the 1500 year old Thirunelly Temple, before we began winding our way through the stunning paddy fields and coffee and banana plantations. Lunch by the river followed by a steep uphill brought us to our campsite and our birthday celebrations began around the campfire.

Birthday boy Kane - an 18th celebration he is unlikely to forget

Post lunch siesta





Ian receives a blessing from our Muddy Boots guide (hero) Ram

Paddy fields are plentiful in India - second biggest exporter of rice.....fact!

Camping amongst the coffee

Preparing to carb up - Anna, Reg, Liv, Sarah and Dr Phil

And then came the cycling, and wow what an amazing experience. Begining in the paddy fields, we continued on through the most stunning forest, the tough uphill rewarded by some incredible down hills leaving everyone on a high. A taste of Indian townships an incredibly spicy lunch and we finished our final section deep in the heart of tea country. Amazing!

Practically the Tour de France

Anniek, Katie & Phil

Jen in the jungle

Mikheil shows his skills on the corners

Sarah, Liv and Phil

I may be gushing, but I am still bouncing after my mini adventure.  I have lived in India for over a year now, and yet the beauty of this country never fails to take my breath away. Equally, I have worked with countless Raleigh groups and the determination, team work and sense of achievement displayed by each and every person never fails to inspire me. 

Full credit to project managers Olly, Phil and Rachel who are doing an excellent job in supporting what is a remarkable group of venturers from four different countries. Tango Six supporters you should be very proud of your people, they are doing brilliantly!

Katie enjoys a well deserved local lunch



Olly - mountain leader and allround great guy

A massive thank you to Polly who was not only a brilliant member of the trek but also took over 2000 stunning photos.

Anna - Guest Blogger  
All photos by Polly Baldwin http://www.dynamicpictures.co.uk/ (unless stated otherwise).

The Venturers return from Trek Training

Tuesday morning was an early start as the Hotel groups each embarked on their 21km treks. The route took them from Fieldbase down through local villages, past luscious green Paddy fields and over the River Kabini.

The groups did fantastically well, especially considering their jet lag, and all completed the trek in full. The walk gave the groups a really good opportunity to get to know each other better, with some groups even engaging in motivational sing-a-longs to get them through. Thankfully the routes are mainly along uninhabited rural tracks!

By early afternoon the groups had reached their destination, Ude's Chicken Farm, where they set up camp for the next two nights. Their first challenge came in the shape of a short but sharp rain downfall that tested their tent assembling skills. Unfortunately some didn’t quite pass and their tents were soaked, so for some groups the first night was spent in disused chicken coops – stinky but dry!

Wednesday morning, after tucking into the standard Raleigh breakfast of porridge, the group headed to a local riverside Temple for First Aid training, swim test, Comms training and Indian culture discussions.

Then it was back to the campsite in the afternoon where the groups prepared from scratch their dinner of chicken curry ... and when I say from scratch, I mean from scratch!

For most of the Venturers, in everyday life, they are unattached to the reality of where meat comes from and how it gets to the dinner plate. In India, when a family wants to eat chicken, they will buy a live one from their local shop and prepare it themselves. So to provide the Venturers with greater appreciation and respect of eating meat they were shown the traditional Indian way.

Anna, Country Program Manager, gave a demonstration of how to humanely kill a chicken and then Manju, one of the Raleigh drivers, showed the group how to skin and butcher the chicken. The Hotel groups were not expected to kill a chicken themselves but were each given a whole chicken to skin and prepare for their dinner.

After another night at the Chicken Farm (thankfully in dried out tents) the Hotel groups returned to Fieldbase yesterday morning; smelly, dirty and tired but ultimately with a better insight into Project Phase life and full of excitement of the weeks ahead. The afternoon was spent in Mysore where they munched on Pizza, shopped for last minute essentials and caught up on their email correspondence.

Now it's time for allocations when the Venturers will find out where they're heading on Phase One. Check back later when all will be revealed ...


Raleigh India 10k
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Training, Treking and Team allocation

It's been a intense week of training at Fieldbase as the Volunteer Managers settle into their Raleigh roles. Over the past few days the team have sharpened their map reading skills, got up to speed with Communications protocol and sorted out all the important admin.

   



Trek training came as a welcome respite from the classroom, although the 5am alarm clock was not favoured by all! Split into two groups setting off half an hour apart from Fieldbase, the team orientated themselves over a 21k route.

The groups both held a decent steady pace of about 4k an hour and so were done just in time for lunch. Luckily the end of the route was marked with a bakery where the team tucked into delicious egg puffs before jumping on a local bus taking them back to Fieldbase.



We've been well fed so far with local caterers providing curry for lunch and dinner and breakfast being the obligatory Raleigh fuel of porridge. We're also a fit bunch, with sun rise yoga classes and jogging groups going out on routes past paddy fields and through local villages, not to mention the odd game of late night frisbee!

The main topic of conversation and head space for the Project Managers has been Project Allocation to find out where they will be on Phase One. Anticipation has been building all week and the wait was over last night as the announcements were made whilst the team were out to dinner in Mysore. So without further ado ...

Phase One Community team will be Carloine, Eira and Liam leading Charlie One. The inital Environmental phases are Echo Three with Hannah L, Charlotte and Christina and Echo Four consisting of Hannah W, Sterling and Laura. Heading out for Adventure phases are Tango Five led by Mountain Leader Lynne accompanied by Josse and Bethan and Tango Six which Mountain Leader, Olly will be leading with Phil and Rachel. Finally, Fieldbase Medic for Phase One is Luke and assiting Logistics will be Susan.

The teams have now set about familiarising themselves with their individual projects and will be off visiting their sites for a few days this week to get to know ther surroundings and complete their preparations. Upon their return we'll catch up with each of the groups to tell us all about their projects.

Till then, Raleigh India 10k Volunteer Managers bid you farewell :)

All text by Polly Carpenter and photos by Polly Baldwin www.dynamicpictures.co.uk (unless stated otherwise).