Was up bright and early today - woke up around 3am for some reason, and couldn't get back to sleep, so finally got up around 6am and wandered outside to see the sunrise. Good call!! For the first time since we arrived in Sri Lanka, the skies were clear and not overcast so I was rewarded with a truly glorious sunrise! I took some other piccies of the gorgeous grounds surrounding the hotel and then it was time for Bed Tea and another delicious breakfast!
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| A great way to start the day! |
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| The gardens were stuffed full of vibrant flowers |
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| Panoramic view from the bungalow's verandah |
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| HURRAY for Bed Tea!!! |
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| Little gazebo in the bungalow's garden |
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Da plane, da plane!! Our jetty also served as the seaplane's harbor -
was fun to watch it come in and take off again! |
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The infinity pool - unfortunately didn't get a chance to use it -
maybe next time! |
Today's activity was a simple hike through the tea fields, starting at Castlereagh bungalow across the lake, and finishing up at Norwood bungalow for lunch. Our bungalow concierge said that it was a lovely walk with great views of the lake and it was about 11km, so would take roughly 2.5hrs. OK - we thought - we could do with a bit of exercise after all the efforts of Baby Chef to fatten us up!
Well. What a treat for the senses. The hike took us back past the Dilmah tea factory and then all the way along the hillside, right to the very end of the lake. It was closer to 12km and actually pretty hard work - lots of uphill hiking! We were given a map to follow, but it was relatively straightforward - look for the green painted stones in the walls with NWD painted on them in white letters - and keep the lake to your left. Then you know you are heading in the right direction! About 2/3rd of the way through, it did get a little sketchy when we "lost" the trail - we'd kept walking uphill along the dirt track - but had missed the NWD painted on the back of a rock that was actually pointing us in the direction of an overgrown trail, off the road!! We realized our mistake after only about 5mins - I think its only because I've been playing so much Legend of Zelda recently that I actually managed to spot the sign - it was NOT obvious!!
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However gorgeous these pics look, it was twice as gorgeous
in real life! |
Anyway, back on the right path and the trail was now leading us through more foresty terrain, rather than the tea plantations we'd been walking through up to that point. We had really lucked out with the weather as the sun was shining and everything looked simply gorgeous. There were lots of ladies out in the estate picking tea - they all smiled at us and we said hello as we walked past. Everyone has been super friendly here and very ready with a smile - its been lovely. We walked past a couple of little roadside bodegas with tuk-tuks parked outside advertising - yep - cream crackers!! We also walked through a tiny village with very tiny houses and even tinier rooms that is probably inhabited by tiny tea pickers and estate workers. We felt like giants!
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| ManpanionTM squared! |
We almost took a wrong turn a second time - but managed to stay on the right trail so that, after almost exactly 2.5hrs, we saw the sign for Norwood bungalow! Hurray!!! By this time we were knackered - and ManpanionTM's hip was starting to play up (bless) so we were both very glad to arrive at our final destination, albeit sweaty and probably a bit smelly. Nonetheless, we were greeted by the bungalow butler and escorted to the dining room, where a glass of chilled prosecco was waiting for us!
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| Finally!! Almost there!!!!! |
Now I'd been eaten alive by toilet mosquitos in Sigiriya (probably in the loos at the Lion's Rock which were a hotbed of mossie activity) and, following my leech experience hiking through the Laos forest with elephants a couple months ago, I'd been sensible and worn long pants, rather than go hiking in a dress again! My legs also looked like they had some sort of disgusting disease, being covered in large red welts, so it was also for the benefit of everyone around me not to have to see that! They were a bit itchy and, looking down to check and see I hadn't been bitten again, what did I find but a sodding leech!!! WTF?!! ManpanionTM doesn't suffer a SINGLE mosquito bite but I get completely munched on by both mossies AND leeches??? Come on now! Fortunately the leech was still thin and tiny, meaning it hadn't really latched on and started draining me dry - but it was a bit disconcerting, so I immediately excused myself and made a quick trip to the bathroom to check there weren't more of the sucker buggers hiding out in any cracks or crevices! Fortunately not, so normal service could be resumed!
Lunch was delicious - but ManpanionTM's loyalty to Baby Chef would not be broken, so he didn't think it was quite as good as the day before (it was still pretty yummy!). The Norwood bungalow is another in the Dilmah empire (the tea estate owns the bungalows and then rents them out for tourism purposes) and was situated high up on the hilltop. It boasted a fairly panoramic view of the surrounding hills and lake, and the grounds were larger - but I think our bungalow was the prettiest of the 3 we'd seen.
After lunch, fortunately a car came to pick us up and drive us back to Summerville. We were both knackered - and it had started raining - so we had the perfect excuse to chill out for the rest of the afternoon before dinner. The staff had also (finally) managed to change our room for one that wasn't damp and smelly, so that was a great bonus for the rest of the day. We had a final delicious dinner and the bungalow staff came to thank us for our stay - and give us a little free box of tea! Then, all there was left to do was go back to the room and sadly pack, ready for Kingsley to pick us up at 8am after a final breakfast, ready for a long long 6hr. It was an amazing few days in Hatton - if you ever do come to Sri Lanka, you HAVE to come here. No trip would be complete without it.
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| Tuk-tuk - apparently over a million of these in Sri Lanka!! |
Enjoy the rest of the pics - to see them at their best, click onto them and they should pop up as full-size on your screen. Onto the next part of the adventure - Yala National Park!!
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| More cream crackers! |
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| Tea picker twerking it! |
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Just gorgeous. Note the two tea pickers in
the distance. |
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Of course, Krusty and Oscar P joined us on our
adventure! |
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| Sometimes the signs got a little confusing! Too many arrows!!! |
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| The sweeping grounds of the Norwood bungalow |
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| Norwood's verandah where we had lunch |
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| View from the gardens of the valley below |
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| Lounge area of our bungalow |
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| Yum |
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| Yum |
Was up bright and early today - woke up around 3am for some reason, and couldn't get back to sleep, so finally got up around 6am and wandered outside to see the sunrise. Good call!! For the first time since we arrived in Sri Lanka, the skies were clear and not overcast so I was rewarded with a truly glorious sunrise! I took some other piccies of the gorgeous grounds surrounding the hotel and then it was time for Bed Tea and another delicious breakfast!
Today's activity was a simple hike through the tea fields, starting at Castlereagh bungalow across the lake, and finishing up at Norwood bungalow for lunch. Our bungalow concierge said that it was a lovely walk with great views of the lake and it was about 11km, so would take roughly 2.5hrs. OK - we thought - we could do with a bit of exercise after all the efforts of Baby Chef to fatten us up!
We almost took a wrong turn a second time - but managed to stay on the right trail so that, after almost exactly 2.5hrs, we saw the sign for Norwood bungalow! Hurray!!! By this time we were knackered - and ManpanionTM's hip was starting to play up (bless) so we were both very glad to arrive at our final destination, albeit sweaty and probably a bit smelly. Nonetheless, we were greeted by the bungalow butler and escorted to the dining room, where a glass of chilled prosecco was waiting for us!
Now I'd been eaten alive by toilet mosquitos in Sigiriya (probably in the loos at the Lion's Rock which were a hotbed of mossie activity) and, following my leech experience hiking through the Laos forest with elephants a couple months ago, I'd been sensible and worn long pants, rather than go hiking in a dress again! My legs also looked like they had some sort of disgusting disease, being covered in large red welts, so it was also for the benefit of everyone around me not to have to see that! They were a bit itchy and, looking down to check and see I hadn't been bitten again, what did I find but a sodding leech!!! WTF?!! ManpanionTM doesn't suffer a SINGLE mosquito bite but I get completely munched on by both mossies AND leeches??? Come on now! Fortunately the leech was still thin and tiny, meaning it hadn't really latched on and started draining me dry - but it was a bit disconcerting, so I immediately excused myself and made a quick trip to the bathroom to check there weren't more of the sucker buggers hiding out in any cracks or crevices! Fortunately not, so normal service could be resumed!
Lunch was delicious - but ManpanionTM's loyalty to Baby Chef would not be broken, so he didn't think it was quite as good as the day before (it was still pretty yummy!). The Norwood bungalow is another in the Dilmah empire (the tea estate owns the bungalows and then rents them out for tourism purposes) and was situated high up on the hilltop. It boasted a fairly panoramic view of the surrounding hills and lake, and the grounds were larger - but I think our bungalow was the prettiest of the 3 we'd seen.
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