Sri Lanka: Don't Mention The Boar. Sunday 11th November

Sunday 11th November

To get from my room to the restaurant, I had to get past a herd of wild boar. Thankfully, they were as wary of me as I was of them.  The monkeys were always ready to steal anything that wasn't nailed down. I didn't see any elephants at the reserve, which is probably a good thing if this notice is anything to go by. The writer has a sense of humour...

Much as I appreciate the chance to visit Sri Lanka, I felt that this trip was a missed opportunity; too much time spent on a coach with almost no contact with locals. Our guide was interested in history but not in the wildlife. Shame.

Sri Lanka: Elephant Orphanage

Thursay, 8th November 2012
Orphaned elephants at Pinnawala, near Kandy. The elephants are taken to the river twice a day, watched by lots of tourists. The Mahouts are there to make sure that they don't wander off to the far side of the river. There are currently around eighty elephants at the orphanage. Around a third of them were brought to the river this morning.
Elephants at Pinnawala are used to contact with humans and so cannot be released back into the wild, unlike at the Elephant Transit Home where they are kept away from people as much as possible.
Controversially, Pinnawala has sold Elephants to private interests leading to allegations that some have been neglected or mistreated.

Elephant Transit Home
Elephant Orphanage

Sri Lanka: Tasty & Toasty

Sunday 4 November 2012

I've just started my final tour of the season - Sri Lanka. I'm here without laptop or fancy lenses as I've got shoulder problems and lugging heavy gear around is giving me grief. I took this shot of the chef at our first hotel in Colombo with my iPhone.