Selous GR - Day 4

African skimmer

Our final morning was planned to see if we could catch the hyenas again.  Unfortunately it was not to be and after hanging out and around at the den for a while, we gave up and went to check out what else was around.   

Selous GR - Day 3

Lion and lioness

Again we were up at at the gate by opening time the next morning.  We planned to see if we could find the mating lions, so headed to where we'd seen the pride of males the evening before.  

Selous GR - Day 2

Roadblock!

We were the first in the park the next morning, and with no paperwork to be done other than it being checked, we were straight in for our first full game drive of our trip.  Our plan was to head on the main road straight to Lake Manze to catch the lions with their buffalo kill.  

Selous GR - Day 1

Rufiji river

We arrived at Selous around lunchtime, and had planned to spend the day relaxing and then head to the park first thing in the morning.  The national parks (of which Selous isn’t a member) don’t allow multiple entries during your 24 hour permit, so if we went in the afternoon, we’d still have to pay again for the next morning.  

Sri Lanka

We've always said that we'd go visit Sri Lanka.  For me it would be my 1st trip to Dru's homeland.  But it took us 8 years before we finally booked our tickets.  But finally on 3rd July, I climbed on a plane from Tanzania, met up with Dru in Dubai, and then flew the remaining 3,5 hours to Colombo.

The timing of trip couldn't have been better, as Dru's brother and sister-in-law were also visiting the folks, so we decided to do a mini tour of Sri Lanka. Because Dru & I were only there for just over 2 weeks (what a pity work restricts holidays!) we weren't going to see all of the island at once (got to leave something for the next time...) so the itinerary planned was a nice mix of city, sea and mountain. 

After a few days in Colombo, we hired a minivan and headed to Yala National Park for a few days, so famed for its leopards.  Then we visited Arugambay and checked out the beach which is so popular with tourists nowadays.

After the beach, we drove to Nuwara Eliya. At about 6000 ft, it was some of the highest areas in Sri Lanka, with its famous tea plantations.  Then it was down to about 2500 ft to Matale where we relaxed for a few days before heading back to Colombo and home to Tanzania.

The whole trip was fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  The main photos were just snapshots of family and friends, but I've added a couple of posts from our trip around Sri Lanka:
Colombo
Yala National Park
Arugambay
Nuwara Eliya
Matale

Sri Lanka - Matale

The best braai spot in the world!

It was a long and winding trip down from Nuwara Eliya to Matale, with plenty of hairpin bends to make me slightly car sick ;) Finally, it was a VERY narrow road up a steep hill before we got to the house in Matale.  

Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya

At 6000ft, conditions are perfect for growing tea - plantations are everywhere

From the beaches of Arugambay, it was a steep and winding climb on narrow mountain roads to Nuwara Eliya.  

Sri Lanka - Arugambay

The long stretches of beach at Arugambay

From the wilds of Yala National Park, we headed to the relative peace of Arugambay.  Near the town of Potuvil, Arumgambay is a coastal town on the east coast of Sri Lanka.  Formerly behind enemy lines, nowadays it is a popular tourist destination for surfers from all over the world. 

Sri Lanka - Yala National Park

Famed for leopards, Yala produced plenty for us!

It was early in the morning that we headed out to Yala National Park from Colombo.  The drive itself is long, not in terms on kms, but the fact that you need to wind around mountains on small roads pretty slowly.  

Sri Lanka - Colombo

The main religion in Sri Lanka is Buddhism and can be seen everywhere

We had a few days in the biggest city of Sri Lanka, Colombo. (Unknown to most, the captial is actually Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, a bit of a mouthful!)