Allow me to start with a vote of thanks to the weather gods. You see, the Malshej Ghat we intend to go to is best experienced in the monsoons. The rains just make the road, and the thick green cover surrounding it, come alive. Unfortunately, we’re in the heart of November and make our peace with the fact that it’s going to be a sunny day. But, come the day of the drive, the formerly clear skies are now chock-o-block with clouds hanging low in many of the famed 50 shades of grey. The power of positive thinking can seriously do wonders!
That it’s going to rain only reaffirms our choice of vehicle. Unsure about the condition of the roads leading up to Malshej Ghat, we decide to play it safe and make the drive in an SUV. Of course, since Land Rover has earned its stars making the best of these, it’s the ideal partner of choice. With us today is the rather attractive Range Rover Sport that’s got a smooth 288bhp, 3.0-litre V6 diesel under its squared-out bonnet.
But before we get a chance to really put the Sport in its name to the test, we have to first make best use of its capabilities as an off-roader. That’s because the road leading up to Malshej via Shahapur on NH3 is, to put it mildly, terrible. It’s filled with craters, making it a place more suited to a Lunar Rover than the Range Rover we’ve turned up in. Still, the Rangie doesn’t wince and rolls along as if smoothening bad roads is second nature to it. Come to think of it, it is. Still, as we learn on the return leg, we’d have fared much better had we approached the Malshej road from the denser trafficked albeit smoother way through Kalyan.
Anyway, things improve as we reach Murbad. The town’s buzzing with activity, but local folk do stop to take a long, hard look at the big, black SUV we’re in. But we have a date to keep with the ghat roads and turn on to NH222 without any delay. Almost on cue, the heavens open up. Nikon-man Ashley is happy, and not before long, I realise why. The intimidating, cloud-covered hills in the backdrop and the smooth tarmac in the foreground make for a frame he’s not going to pass on. I can sense he’s going to have
a field day.
