safari

MY SRI LANKAN TRIP I was fortunate to travel to Sri Lanka on the 1st of May with Riviera Travel as part of an Educational Trip with other 30 agents.  Riviera Travel have been around for 40 years.  I have sold many trips with Riviera, but this is my 1st escorted tour by coach. Nothing had prepared me for the beauty of the country – from beautiful tea plantations, gorgeous beaches, amazing wildlife and most of all the beautiful, friendly people from Sri Lanka. We flew with Sri Lankan airlines from Heathrow on a direct flight.  10 hours travel overnight there, and 11 hours, during the day back.  As there is only 4.5 hours time difference, I didn’t feel any jet lag.  Sri Lankan airlines were good, plenty leg room and good meals.  We had a few meal options and a choice of seat back entertainment. Riviera Tours include all your accommodation and most meals, flights, expert tour manager and a local guide.  The guide also sets up a tip kitty which is very handy at the start of the tour. Hotels We were very surprised by the standard of the 6, 5* hotels used on our tour. They ranged from more local-style hotels like the Habarana Village by Cinnamon to our beautiful boutique contemporary Golden Ridge hotel in the hillside at Nuwara Eliya with spectacular scenery en-route and from my room.  All rooms were very spacious, with walk-in showers, plenty free toiletries and very helpful/friendly staff.  Our last hotel was the 5* Anantara Kaulara which was out of this world. We even had a walk-in wardrobe which was amazing and gorgeous big bathroom. As we were on a 10 night tour, we travelled to different areas of Sri Lanka – generally the South East and the centre of the Island, staying at 6 different hotels.  Each hotel had it’s own identity and I loved the difference between them and would definitely recommend each one. Out and About I discovered four UNESCO world heritage sites of the Golden Temple Dambulla, sacred city of Kandy, Sigiriya and the old town Galle Fort. We explored Kandy and seen the Temple of the Tooth – said to house Buddha’s tooth – plus visit the stunning Royal Botanical Gardens.  We heard lots of history about Sri Lanka and of Budda from our local tour guide who was very educated on his country, different religions, local facts, geography. A highlight for me was climbing to the top of Sigiriya Rock – 1200 steps, with an early morning start, as you wouldn’t want to climb in the midday heat. The views were spectacular.  What I liked about the climb up here was that you could do at your own pace.  There are gardens you can wander around and a museum if you don’t wish to climb.  You can climb to the 1st level or you can climb to the top with tiers where you can stop for a rest.  We saw monkey’s at the top and even a few puppies.  Sigiriya Lion Rock is an ancient rock fortress known for its massive column of rock that reaches nearly 200 meters high. The site dates back to the reign of King Kasyapa (477-495 AD), who chose this site as his new capital. He decorated the walls with frescoes, and built an impressive palace right on top of the rock column, accessible only through the mouth of an enormous carved lion. Feeding time at the Udawalaw Elephant Transit Home was so much fun.  The baby elephants were so cute and cheeky. The orphans are cared for, before being reintroduced to the wild. We saw so much wildlife during 2 safari drives – one very early morning and 1 late afternoon.  We were in a 4×4 drive in Yala National Park which held 6 people.  Every seat had a great view and we felt very safe. We saw lots of amazing birdlife -including peacocks and Asian Green bee eaters to name but a few.  We were treated to the spotting of a leopard in the morning drive and the afternoon drive.  Our driver said it was very unusual to get so close.    We were in total awe and stayed to watch them for a while.  We saw various groups of Elephants, from bathing to just walking about and feeding on the trees.  We saw a crocodile catching it’s dinner, wild water buffalo bathing and lots of cheeky monkeys.  We even saw deer, small chipmunks and even mongoose.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see any sloth bears.  We saw lots of beautiful fauna, trees and plants. En-route to Nuwara Eliya, we went on a guided tour of the Glenloch tea factory near Kandy where the founder was from Scotland.  We then headed into the plantation for some Ceylon tea tasting.  We had the chance of picking some tea leaves ourselves and had to obviously had to buy some tea to bring home. You have the option to take a signature tour for extra which we feel is well worth it. We were treated to the sea turtle hatchery/sanctuary on our way from Galle.  I honestly cannot express how excited I was to have the opportunity to go here.  We learned how they care for baby turtles and turtles who are injured.  I was able to hold a 4 day old baby turtle which was amazing.  I also held a bigger turtle which was extremely heavy.  Defintely an experience I’ll never forget. We saw some amazing wildlife on another signature extra – boat trip along the river at the Cinnamon Citadel hotel in Kandy. Our last few days were spent at the 5* Anatara Kalutara.  This hotel was outstanding and our room was gorgeous with a massive bathroom and walk in wardrobe.  We relaxed by the pool, kayaked along the river and saw the sunset on the beach.  If you wanted to do something more energetic there was an activity programme available, zip wire, climbing wall and a pool table. We experienced superb