Sri Lanka - Day 7 - Tissa

We got up and head breakfast with Amin, then parted ways and headed off to Tissa.  The drive was pretty uneventful, we stopped at some lovely waterfalls and got hounded the minute we got out of the van by men selling quartz. They gave us 3 pieces as 'presents' but then asked for money for them, cheeky sods.

We arrived at our hotel, the Hibiscus Villa and had an hour to chill before our first safari. The hotel is nice, in a nice setting with a pool and a gorgeous bathroom.

beautiful waterfall on the journey to Tissa




The safari was amazing, the time flew by (it was 5 hours!) and we saw loads of birds, crocodiles, peacocks, water buffalo, deer, wild boar and a distant elephant.  One of the most amazing things was our guide- he looked about one hundred years old (obviously not that old) and had the eye sight of a hawk.  Things he pointed out we often had to use the binoculars for, and even then struggled to see what he was pointing at. Given that he was concentrating on driving too, it was pretty talented!
























We stopped off at Yala Beach which was an eerie experience. There used to be two bungalows here for tourists, but they got swept away in the Boxing Day Tsumani. There's now just foundations, and a metal sculpture to honour the dead.




The day had been a long one and we were shattered by the time we got back so opted for quick omelettes for dinner then crashed out.  We had a 5am start the following day for the morning safari.

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