Keeping the Camp Fire Aglow ( Express Week, 8 November 1997)
It's adventurous and meant for the entire family. Sounds contradictory, but that's exactly the cocktail of elements that Ashok S Candade intends to mix. And with ingredients like overnight trips, trekking, jungle walks, cycle treks, coracle rides, sleeping bags and peaceful destinations, the cocktail seems spirited enough for Chennai's adventure-conscious. Candade's Wildertrails Adventure Club', which threw open its tent flaps to families and loners in April "offers families and individuals a unique opportunity of round-the-year adventure". But, what exactly does the club do? "Many people would like to get away from the routine, and go in for outdoor activities once in a while. The problems is, they don't know how to or where," says Candade. And it is this vacuum that Candade and wife Kalyani try to fill by camping out in the 'glorious outdoors'. Most people have fixed ideas when it comes to how their 'outdoors' should be. The adventure, without missing out on the advantages of civilisation, the thrills plus most of the comforts of home. But how do these two gel? Candade and Kalyani take some comforts of home on their trips. So, a vehicle always follows the campers, loaded with food (sometimes in huge hotcases), soft drinks, ice cubes etc. Is all this possible? Yes, chorus Kalyani and Ashok. But what makes this camp different is the choice of places (read campsites). On an average, the Wildertrailers camp out twice a month, with one being an overnight stay. In the camp, you have trekking, cycling, jogging, rock climbing, beach walks, and of course, riding on four-wheelers for those who don't quite feel up to it. 'Wildertrails' charges Rs.2,000 per year for a family of four while individual membership costs Rs.1,200. Non-members can take part in the treks, though slightly higher. The places the adventurers visit are relatively unknown, so the novelty of the places is a definite plus point. Try hard and Ashok will still not reveal the places he takes his flock to. Each trip has the 'Wildertrailers' taking along a 'specialist' who can help or contribute by way of his expertise. Once it stabilises, the club would like to move on to schools and other parties, so that it can take off in a big way. And yes, the duo are confident that the concept of family camp-outs will catch on, even if the image of 'dangerous outdoors' has to be removed from many minds first!
LS
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