Thar 2003 (4x4 Offroaders Club Karachi)

Village

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 00:47:13 +0500

A view of the village.

Khipro House

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 00:49:32 +0500

The front lawn at Khipro.

Eucalyptus Forest

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 00:53:14 +0500

This is a large Eucalyptus forest planted by the government. It is under forestry protection, and logging is controlled by them. In this picture we had just entered into the forest, which is spread over a large area.

Pepsi Break 1

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 00:57:47 +0500

The first of many rest stops after 30 minutes of gruelling coasting along the highway. We had just left Khipro 30 minutes back. This was the small rest stop before the bigger one 5 minutes later.

Tea Stop at Village

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 02:13:53 +0500

Relaxing once again, waiting for the tea and biscuits.

Along the way

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 02:33:33 +0500

A not so lonely road in the desert.

Desert panorama

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 02:46:25 +0500

The M170 cruising along a desert route.

Ali Raza with Land Cruiser

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 02:53:15 +0500

Stopped at a fresh water lake.

Yaseen in his M170

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 02:56:47 +0500

Stopped in front of a lake enroute to the dunes.

Buffalo

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 02:59:51 +0500

Posing for the camera.

Thar Savannah

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 03:06:11 +0500

Yet another picture stop. We got a glimpse of what the African Savannah must look like.

Group photograph at Salt Lake

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 03:09:44 +0500

Khalid, Yaseen, Ali Raza and Abid at one of the many Salt lakes.

Salt Lake

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 03:14:38 +0500

A scenic view of a salt lake and the surrounding vegetation.

Kaikra

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 03:18:44 +0500

a.k.a. Dodge PowerWagon. This six wheel drive beast carries 2 tonnes of salt through the desert.

Good luck

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 03:26:53 +0500

Yaseen in dire need of Good luck throws a shovel full of salt over his shoulder!

Camel Train

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 03:30:13 +0500

These camels are carrying fresh water for workers at the salt lake.

Rain Water well 2

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 03:41:15 +0500

The well in the foreground had water upto the top. It is man made for travellers convenience and collects rain water that flows down the dunes.

Let the dunes begin

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 04:00:27 +0500

These dunes in Achro Thar mark the beginning of some beautiful but hair raising terrain. In Sindhi language, Achro means white. Close up, the sand here appears white.

Looking in the distance

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 04:09:47 +0500

Ali Raza looks on as the guide points towards our destination.

Shifting sands

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 04:15:33 +0500

Many men may have tread here before us, but there remains no trace after a day or so.

Into the Desert

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:19:01 +0500

We're well into the desert now, way off the beaten track.

Yaseen and Salman

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:21:47 +0500

Posing in the desert.

Ali Raza in Desert

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:26:12 +0500

Group Photo.

Rest Stop in Desert

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:28:51 +0500

We had stopped here to survery the terrain.

Land Cruiser Stuck

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:30:50 +0500

Well and truly stuck.

Still Stuck

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:33:35 +0500

Another angle of the Land Cruiser which had slid down a dune.

Rescue 1

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:36:12 +0500

Here we're in the process of towing out the stuck Land Cruiser with the M170.

M170 towing out Land Cruiser

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:38:29 +0500

The picture says it all.

Free at last

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:40:43 +0500

After digging away sand for quite a while and putting bushes in the tracks we finally managed to pull out the Land Cruiser.

Desert View 2

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:42:58 +0500

Lawerence of Arabia could have been filmed in this desert.

Desert View 3

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:07:04 +0500

Notice the sharp contrast as the greenery disappears. All this greenery is due to the recent record rainfalls, and by december all of it will be gone.

Group Photo at Well

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:08:38 +0500

A group photo at a well in the desert.

Salman and Yaseen

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:11:19 +0500

A bit of greenery in the desert. This is right next to the well in the previous picture.

Rain water well

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:14:17 +0500

Driving upto a rain water well to quench the Jeep's and our own thirst. Wells such as this are scattered across the desert to aid travellers and are located in the dip between dunes. Rain water flows from the top of the dunes and collects in the well. The well has sides and a top made from mud. There are small openings on the sides to allow water to trickle in and a circular opening at the top for drawing water. The well is covered to limit evaporation. There is also a canvas or rubber (usually salvaged from old truck tires, conveyer belts etc) bucket with a rope for drawing water.

Date Plantation

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:18:57 +0500

This is a very old date plantation. We did a bit of target shooting here. Yaseen managed to shoot a Pepsi can with a AK-47. The most succesful hunter of this trip was KO, managing to bring down a whole bunch of dates with two well placed Shaheen No. 8s.

Yaseen shooting Salman

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:20:55 +0500

A better view of the Date Plantations.

Group Photo amidst Date Trees

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:23:41 +0500

The Manic Militia!

Local Dwelling

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:25:22 +0500

A local house in the desert.

Tent

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:27:13 +0500

A view of our tent. We really had to rough it.

Super Feast

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:29:09 +0500

After a long and grueling day, we finally sat down to a amazing feast. The food was brilliant!

Morning Hunt

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:31:08 +0500

We left at five in the morning to scout the area for a prospective hunt. In this picture we're along the Nara canal.

Water Lilies

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:33:28 +0500

Water lilies in the nara canal.

Nara Canal

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:34:50 +0500

Driving along the canal, looking for birds.

Mirchies

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:36:05 +0500

Chillies drying.

Ajraks

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:37:39 +0500

An ajrak is a traditional sindhi block printed garment with geometric or floral designs. The ajraks adorned by us were presented to us by our host Ali Raza Rajar. This is a sindhi custom where the host honours his guests by presenting them with ajraks.

Lawn at Khipro

Sun, 12 Oct 2003 18:39:51 +0500

This lawn is home to a few members of the bird family including these guinea fowl aka "chinese murghi".

Campsite in the morning

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 01:18:10 +0500

Waiting for breakfast