Hot Water Wells Of Madunagala


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
? “Elephants, when they were in dotage, went to breathe their last at Madunagala hot springs!” – Dr. R.L. Brohier in Seeing Ceylon ? Nobody in the group was in ‘dotage’ but all were anxious to visit the springs. We drove to Madunagala that morning from Udawalawe. The forty kilometre…

Udawalawe Safari


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
The safari jeeps arrived in the late afternoon. We had travelled from Colombo that morning to the Udawalawe Safari Village Hotel, visiting the Elephant Transit Home en route and were looking forward to the game drive. Udawalawe National Park was established as the fifth national park of Sri Lanka in 1972. The total…

Baby Elephant Walk


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
Human-Elephant conflict in Sri Lanka is serious. Of the estimated 4000 wild elephants in the country, up to 200 die each year from  gunshot injuries. Baby elephants are orphaned and many adult elephants are left maimed and suffering. ? Located at the south-western corner of the Uda Walawe Reservoir, the Eth…

Road Deep South


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
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.…

Mirissa Beach Revisited


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
Mirissa is a crescent shaped palm-fringed beach with golden sand in southern Sri Lanka. Despite its popularity with tourists, it has managed to remain relatively unspoilt and clutter free ? I spent a couple of days in Mirissa just after the Christmas break. The drive from Colombo takes only a…

Boxing Day 2015


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
? ? 26th was also Nick’s birthday. The dawn chorus was melodious and a soft mist rose from the lake. A big, black wild boar grunted and ambled across the field in the valley below. Palm trees swayed in a gentle breeze and bright brown Brahminy Kites with gleaming white…

2015 in review


The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,000 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people. Click here to…

Sri Lanka 2015 – Christmas At The Albatross


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
The drive to Kandy on Christmas day took three and a half hours. We left Colombo at 5 in the morning, had seenisambal buns and tea for breakfast at Ambepussa, crawled up Kadugannawa pass and hit Kandy in the morning rush hour. Then, it was another forty five minutes to the Albatross. The Albatross…

Sri Lanka 2015 – Tea At Helga’s Folly


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
Helga’s Folly is on a hill top in Kandy, overlooking the lake.  On Christmas morning I drove the 110 km of the A1 from Colombo to this beautiful hill town and went to Helga’s Folly for tea. ? “Helga’s Folly could easily have been dreamt up as a joint project between…

Sri Lanka 2015 – Bambarakanda Falls


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
With a height of 263 metres, Bambarakanda Falls is the tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka ? One bright December morning, we drove from Haputale to Bambarakanda Falls. At Kalupahana we came off the main road and took the narrow, winding track up the mountain towards the falls. We passed hamlets with…