5. Sri Lanka - Part 2

5. Sri Lanka – Part 2

We left Kandy behind as we drove through the hill country climbing up past tea plantations and waterfalls.

Tea plantation

We had to stop to enjoy the view. So the journey took longer than expected.

We stopped off at a tea factory where we were shown the process used to make the tea that we buy in our shop. At the end of the tour we received a cup of tea and cake.  The view from the factory was stunning.

We continued on our way to Nuwara Eliya which is also known as Little England due to the Victorian and Tudor buildings that are found there.  Nuwara Eliya is also the highest town in Sri Lanka.  Our accommodation for the night was “The Hill Club”, an old gentleman’s club dating back to 1876.  It is only open to members and paying foreign visitors. 

Feel like Rapunzel in the tower

It is a very nice old building set in beautiful gardens.  The dining room could only be accessed if you were dressed appropriately ie jacket and tie, so we walked into town for dinner. 

With the town being the highest place in Sri Lanka it was a bit cooler – 22 degrees. We were given hot water bottles to keep the chill off during the night.

After breakfast we made an early departure as we had a long way to travel.

We headed down through the hills stopping at Rawana Waterfall to take some photos before heading west to Tissamaharama, where our final hotel on the tour was situated. 

It was a quick check in before we were picked up by jeep for our safari in Yala National Park. The cattle in Sri Lanka seem to have freedom of the road, so our journey was slow on a few occasions.

road to Yala

The park is huge so we would only be able to see a small part of it.  The part we saw is close to the east coast of Sri Lanka and home to many native animals.  We saw monkeys, wild boar, samba deer, white spotted deer, water buffalo, elephant, crocodile, mongoose, painted stork, hornbill, kingfisher, fish eagle, kite, green bee eater and many more. Unfortunately we did not spot the elusive leopard.  That would have been the icing on the cake.

We headed back to the hotel as darkness fell, extremely happy.

We checked out of the hotel and headed south and west towards Galle.  As we got closer the scenery changed back to paddy fields and coconut palms.

As we reached the southern most point in Sri Lanka, we stopped to admire the crashing waves as we had a cup of tea. 

Stilt fishermen

Galle has an old fortified town which tells the story of Sri Lanka’s time under the rule of the Portugese, the Dutch and the British. 

After lunch we headed north to Bentota where we had booked a hotel on the beach for a few days.  When we arrived it was time to say goodbye to our guide Priya who had made our tour unforgettable.

The hotel we had chosen was small – only 20 room.  It had it own little beach which led out onto the vast unspoilt beach which runs for miles along the western side of Sri Lanka. The plan was to do next to nothing for the next few days.  We lounged by the pool and walked along the beach.  Stopping for food and drinks in the beach huts.

Think Syd's a bit too heavy for that surfboard

Bridge across to private beach

Just along from the hotel was a Turtle Protection Project. For some reason the fishermen in Sri Lanka tend to dig up the turtle eggs.  The project buy the eggs from the fishermen and bury them in the sand within their compound.  Once the eggs hatch the keep the baby turtles in tanks for a few days then releases them into the sea in the evenings when it is safer for the young turtles. 

Freedom......

We released our turtles back into the ocean

It was all very interesting, but couldn’t see why they should pay the fishermen for the eggs, surely it would be better to stop them digging them up in the first place.

We arranged for a driver to take us back up to Negombo for our final night in Sri Lanka.

It has been a wonderful 16 days.  The Sri Lankan people are extremely friendly, the country is beautiful and the wildlife is unbelievable.

Originally we thought we would hire a car and explore ourselves.  Thankfully we changed our minds. We would have missed so much.

Most of the roads are better than those at home, that wouldn't be the problem.
I have been told that there are rules when driving in Sri Lanka, but I'm not so sure. The favoured driving lane is straddling the middle of the road and overtaking around corners, narrowly missing both the vehicle being overtaken and the oncoming traffic.  Not sure if it's a case of who dares wins or if it's just wacky races!

Goodbye Sri Lanka - we leave with many happy memories.