It was my 8th week in Sri Lanka and I had just about recovered from a viral infection which left me with a troublesome cough and headaches. I was getting itchy feet again and wanted to visit the Deep South of the island with its national parks and pilgrim centres. I booked a three day trip with Flamingo Tours – a small local tour company. In the next few posts I would like to tell you about that journey.

On Day One, we drove from Colombo to Udawalawe, taking the road through the central hills. A Kangaroo Cab dropped me at my pick-up point in Pannipitiya on the A4 at 6.30 in the morning. At 430 kilometres, the A4 Highway is the longest in Sri Lanka connecting Colombo with Batticaloa on the east cost.

Fifteen minutes later we were on the pink 18-seater coach with Padmini, the tour leader and thirteen other…