After a week on the coast, I was finally feeling ready for some different scenery. We packed our bags at Tangalle, and made our way to the bus station. It was time to head inland towards dusty savannahs and lush hill country with tea fields. Our next stop was Udawalawe National Park, famous for its wild elephants, with a herd of about 250 believed to be permanently resident in the park. We arrived by local bus and had about a 20 minute walk along the edge of the national park from the bus stop to our homestay. On this walk we saw two elephants, which heightened our excitement for the safari the next day.

The safari experience in Sri Lanka is full-on. We woke before sunrise, and crawled out of bed into the jeep waiting outside in the dark. The race was on now to beat the other jeeps to be the first into the park. We booked a safari with a guide called Lahiru recommended to us by some friends from back home. He was a friendly Sri Lankan with a wealth of knowledge about the national park, and had been guiding safaris for over 13 years. With his VIP status we were able to skip a large queue of jeeps to be one of the first to enter the park. 

After the rush and chaos before sunrise, things settled down as the sun came up over the wide and open savannahs of Udawalawe. As we drove further into the maze of the park, we gradually left behind the other jeeps. It was peaceful, and Lahiru with the eyes of a hawk started pointing out wildlife hidden in the trees and lakes. We saw crocodiles sleeping, water buffalo grazing, mongoose darting through the bush, and countless birds including a hornbill reminiscent of Zazu from The Lion King. 

However, we were most excited to see elephants and I was delusionally hopeful that we might spot a leopard, even though the leopard population at Udawalawe was tiny. For the first hour we saw lots of beautiful wildlife but no elephants, and just when we were starting to worry along came a huge lone male elephant. Not long after that, we came to a section on the road known to be a crossing point for elephants in the park. Elephants can travel up to 200km per day, and are almost always on the move. Seeing them in the wild made me sad for elephants in captivity. Lahiru said he could hear elephants coming so we waited at the crossing, and lo and behold a family of five elephants appeared including a baby elephant that was only a year old according to our guide. Our jeep was parked at the crossing, and the elephants walked right in front of us as they crossed the road, giving us ample opportunity to photograph them.

This safari was our biggest expense so far in Sri Lanka, and about half of the money went to the national park. The rest went to our guide and driver, who were more expensive than other operators but well worth it. Lahriu had excellent English and his years of experience and knowledge about the wildlife in the park was astonishing. I had heard stories of the safari drivers chasing animals and scaring them, but I saw none of this at Udawalawe. There was a lot of respect shown for the wildlife, and it is great that they have these protected national parks in Sri Lanka which are only accessible on a safari.

The coast so far has been busy! We loved the surf spots, the beaches, the food and the hustle, and when talking to people at home it’s been hard to reconcile what we have done so far into a mere ten days.

Tangalle was our last coastal spot for a few weeks. From here we will venture into hill country and the worlds of ancient civilizations, tea plantations and of course, elephants. We wanted our final days on the coast to be relaxing, and we splashed out on some slightly nicer accommodation with the main attraction being a gorgeous pool! Cinnibar Resort is located right on a wild beach with a beautiful restaurant on the sand. Although the resort had many tree houses, our room was on the ground level, with the most comfortable bed and sheets (it’s the little things!) and an outdoor shower. It was open to the elements, so we kept the mosquito net very well sealed around the bed, and Josh worked on his centipede phobia with a few small ones we encountered in the bathroom!

Unfortunately, our time in Tangalle was dominated by the Sea Urchin saga… for those who haven’t yet heard, an encounter with a couple of sea urchins during a swim resulted in the first test of our travel insurance! The prickly spines of these creatures have backwards hooks so once they are stuck in your digits they are very hard to remove. After having a good dig with a needle and tweezers (unsuccessfully, the spines just got even deeper) the amazing team at the hotel foraged us a local plant to help. The sap of this plant is supposed to dissolve the spine so the body then expels it naturally. After 24 hours, only one of our spines had dissolved, and swelling was starting. So we made the decision to visit the local hospital and have the spines removed under local anesthetic. Our experience in the hospital was amazing, it was much faster than any medical experience I have had in New Zealand, and we felt very well looked after. Now fingers crossed our insurance accepts the claim, although it only came to about $80 NZD which is pretty cheap if you ask me. 

Outside of the hospital visit, we spent lots of time in Tangalle just relaxing, reading and swimming in the pool. We got some much needed washing done, and used this as some time to recuperate before the next leg of our trip. We didn’t eat in the resort restaurant at all due to our budget, but instead found a few places down the road that were a bit more cheap and cheerful, still with ocean views!! 

Tangalle did spur a number of conversations about how we want to travel, and how our travel impacts the communities we are visiting. To be honest, it’s something that has been occupying quite a lot of my brain space. I would recommend having a read of this instagram page and watching this Tik Tok video (no account needed) which has impacted my thinking. 

It is such a privilege being able to travel on the other side of the world. A privilege that the majority of people on this planet do not have. I want to try my best to move through this trip in a way that is helpful and not harmful. It is easy to see why and how travel has been described as ‘modern day colonialism’ in a country like Sri Lanka which has a very rapidly developing tourism industry. Examples include Tuk Tuks that won’t take locals anymore due to price inflation from carrying rich tourists, cafes where only western food is served, displacement of local communities for the building of resort towns, and locals moving to destinations such as surf towns for work which consequently removes young people from schools and communities. 

On a personal level, it has been fascinating to look at the variety of experiences we have had so far, and how much the quality of these experiences is dictated by how much (or how little) they are catered for tourists. For us, all of our best restaurants have by far been little places where we walk in and there’s no menu and we eat what we are given! The nicest places we have stayed have been guesthouses in local homes, where you might need to use google translate to communicate but you know you are directly supporting a local family. Even in the surf towns, we loved visiting the side of the road shops for stuffed roti or fresh hoppers from a local grandma. I don’t want to sound like I am up on a high horse here (just this morning I bought a flat white for the same price as I would in NZ - yikes), just wanted to share something that is really on my mind at the moment. 

I think Tangalle made this very obvious, as we felt like we had been a little bubble in the area around our resort. After we visited the hospital (in the main town), we went to a local market that was just next door. Here we had some amazing interactions with incredible people and ate some delicious (and cheap!) food. It made us ponder what our experience would have been if we had stayed in the main town, as opposed to our resort on the beach.

So, the question I wanted to ask myself was, “How am I going to travel for a year and ensure I am helping and not harming the communities I visit?”

Some ideas I have so far are:

If anyone else has any other ideas or thoughts on this I would love to have a discussion in the comments, as I know there are many avid travellers reading this blog!!! I want to reiterate that this is not about judging anyone else’s travel or holiday decisions, it’s my personal experience and something that’s important to me and my values, especially seeing as we are travelling for an extended period of time. It’s also something we’re not going to get right every time, and I’m sure you’ll still see the fancy flat whites on my Instagram from time to time.

After getting a little taste of Sri Lankan surfing while we were in Hikkaduwa, it’s safe to say I was full of excitement for our next stop on the south coast, the surf mecca of Midigama. There are a whole selection of amazing surf breaks in the area, including a famous left hand point break dubbed “Lazy Left” which was situated directly in front of our accommodation. I was able to roll out of bed and walk over the road with my board for a sunrise surf after which we would grab a big Sri Lankan breakfast. 

On our first day in Midigama we went and treated ourselves to an expensive coffee in a place reminiscent of many western style coffee shops in Bali. While we were planning our day, Marie, one of Alice’s ex-colleagues from NZM, walked in. It really is a small world! She had been in Midigama with her partner Ollie for a couple of weeks. They had collected a group of friends who adopted us and showed us the best surf spots and places to eat over the next few days.

While Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna were both packed full of Russians, Midigama seemed to have almost none. Maybe Russians don’t like surfing? It was predominantly Europeans of every other variety, and at times it felt like I was surfing in Europe with all the different European languages I heard people speaking.

Here is a breakdown of my favorite day in Midigama. It started with a sunrise surf at Lazy Left while Alice went to a morning yoga class. After my surf I rented a scooter with a surf rack (it’s actually really hard doubling on a scooter with a surfboard), and went to pick up Alice from her class. We brought some cheap but delicious breakfast (coconut pancake rolls and a coconut cake), and found a beautiful spot on the beach to read our books and enjoy our coconut heavy brekky. Outside of just Midigama, the surrounding southern coast of Sri Lanka boasts a huge selection of beautiful surfing beaches, with waves ranging from beginner to advanced. We took our scooter for a drive to explore some of these beaches and found ourselves in nearby Mirissa, where we parked up at a beachside bar offering happy hour cocktails (“hour” in this case meaning from 9am till 9pm 😂). After reading more of our books with a cheap cocktail while watching the local surfers, we made our way back along the coast to Midigama. In the evening I went for a sunset surf at another local spot named “Coconuts” for the towering coconut trees dotting the beach. An alternative name could be “Coconuts & Turtles” as there were turtles everywhere, and the combination of getting some great waves with a beautiful sunset, surrounded by turtles really exceeded all my expectations of surfing in Sri Lanka. We finished off this perfect day, by meeting up with our friends for dinner at a great local spot near our accommodation.

Our friends had been in Midigama for a few weeks surfing every day, and by the time we were about to leave I was feeling a little envious as three days didn’t feel like enough. I can definitely see myself coming back here one day for a dedicated surfing trip, as it really is a surfers paradise. 

The only real downside was the localism, which for the non-surfers reading this is basically a general unfriendliness towards non-locals at a surf break. Unfortunately, it  is a part of surfing, and as the Earth’s population increases, beaches erode, tourism increases, and surfing’s popularity grows; surf breaks are getting increasingly crowded. This is definitely not exclusive to Sri Lanka, I have seen localism at New Zealand surf breaks. However, it was quite brutal at times when a group of the locals were out. They would often take over the lineup, totally disregard surfing etiquette and hand out cold stares at any tourists. Not following surfing etiquette is dangerous and can cause injuries, so when this happened I would usually call it a day. It is frustrating, but at the same time I totally understand why they do it. Many of them likely only have a few months a year when the surf is good, and they have to deal with hordes of tourists getting in the way and competing for the waves.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our old and our new friends, as we continued on our way down the coast. I left Midigama with my body aching from all the surfing, sand everywhere, but totally stoked.

I’m a big believer that the universe sends you little signals so you know you are on the right track. It’s not a coincidence that you get the perfect coffee on the morning of a major meeting, or that you and your sister happen to message each other at the same time. Our day in Galle Fort was no exception. It felt like a real affirmation to me that I had made the right decision coming on this trip, and that there will be opportunities for me and my unique strengths that will come my way in the future. It reinforced the importance of the connections you build with individuals, and the responsibility we all have to use these for the good and people and planet. 

Now I know this is a travel blog, so before I get all woo woo, let me give you some of the facts. Galle Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the southwest coast, and a key travel destination on most modern day Sri Lanka itineraries. However foreign visitors to the fort are by no means new. Galle Fort has been a key stop on trading routes for hundreds of years, due to its prime location along the Indian Ocean. The fort was originally built by the Portuguese in 1588 and later was captured in 1640 and fortified further by the Dutch. It was taken over by the British in 1796 and stayed in British control until 1948 when Sri Lanka finally became an independent island nation once again.

The fort has always been a diverse cultural hub, and still is today. As we toured the fort we saw places of worship of different religions, architecture influenced by many styles and antiques and trinkets from all over the world. Interestingly, we were told that ancient artifacts had been found in the area dating back to King Solomon, showing the level of history embedded in this special place. It has to be said, colonization is a real cornerstone of the Galle Fort. Despite its colonial roots, it was the presence of ancient connections between different civilizations and a modern day melting pot of culture that I felt most strongly. To be clear, I’m not saying that the colonization of Sri Lanka (three times!) wasn't terrible for this country. We discussed the role colonization played creating the cultural context that has made Galle Fort the special place it is today a lot over the course of the day. I’m still not 100% sure where I sit on it. 

Our day at the fort started with a walking tour with the writer, artist, curator and connector Juliet Coombs. Originally hailing from the UK, Juliet has now lived in the fort with her family for over 20 years. Her late husband’s family are ninth generation traders in Galle Fort! She has worked around the world as a war correspondent and photojournalist, oftentimes award winning. She has authored a number of books, many which tell stories of the people of Sri Lanka. She’s also an advocate for the animals and landscapes of this amazing country, working on the creation of the Pekoe Trail, and now protecting elephants with her latest project, https://www.instagram.com/elephantstorytrails/. She is also a mother to two wonderful boys, and from our time spent walking the streets of the fort, is clearly such an important part of this diverse community. The smiles and conversations we shared with others throughout our walk were telltale signs of her unique gift for connection and making others feel special. When we arrived she said that she wants her guests to leave the fort as friends, and she so graciously made us feel like we could return at any time, or maybe never want to leave in the first place!

Throughout the morning Juliet showed us so many things we would have missed on our own. There were cultural traditions like hanging chilli and lime above doorways to keep out the spirits and the different types of masks used in Sri Lankan culture. We discussed historic stories such as the use of shipping chests repurposed as modern day furniture, or the coral used to build the walls of the buildings. But perhaps my favourite part was the introductions to the artisans and characters of the fort, whether that was to pick up a fresh roti and chai or check in on a jewellery project. Juliet also helped us work out a plan for the rest of the day which included walking the walls, a cheap and cheerful lunch stop, beach time and of course browsing the many shops, before we met for drinks again later. We loved the history steeped into every step we took in the fort, and the people we met along the way. The jeweller who happily showed us around his whole studio with no pressure to buy, the lighthouse keeper who took us up to the top of the lighthouse just after sunset for magic night time views of the fort, and the mixologist who proudly championed Sri Lankan arrack in all his drinks. 

The highlight of the day for me though was sharing a cold glass of Chardonnay at Juliet’s studio above the gallery at the end of the day. She knew we were on a budget so invited us to her place, an intimately thoughtful gesture that broke the fourth wall of ‘tour guide’ and truly invited us into her space. She had bought some nice cheese from the supermarket, and sitting there eating, drinking and chatting while surrounded by the most amazing art was a pinch myself moment. The power went out (still repairing from the monkey), and we kept talking in the dark before moving to a nearby historic hotel for our first taste of Arrack (a distilled coconut liqueur), as the perfect ending to a very special day. 

Seeing the space Juliet creates for all those she encounters was very inspiring, and the way she lit up when discussing her family, friends and her projects was how I want to feel about the things I choose to do in my life. Whether it was giving a voice to the stateless Tamil tea pickers, protecting the remaining elephants, or checking her sons school exam marks, Juliet approaches this world with a mixture of honesty, grit, passion and love that I deeply admire. And to get to experience this all in one day, within our first two weeks of travel… such a treat that will continue to define our next steps. 

This story picks up right where the last one left off, as our journey to Dalawella was a perfect example of the generosity and kindness of the Sri Lankan people. We were standing at the bus stop out of Hikkaduwa for thirty minutes, waiting for the right bus to stop. Google maps had told us that one should stop every minute but we quickly realized this was not the case!! We’d had a few tuk tuks pull up next to us asking where we were going and if we wanted a ride, and we were getting pretty good at the customary smile and no thank you, explaining we wanted to catch the bus. One tuk tuk driver in particular kept asking, and we told him we were going to Dalawella, just past Unawatuna. “My home town” he exclaimed, before encouraging us to pile in with our bags as he was heading that way with an empty tuk tuk anyway. He told us we could pay what we liked, and he was just happy he could help us out. We stopped for gas on the hour-long journey which we contributed to (probably more than our bus would have cost), but totally worth it for a much more pleasant journey further south. 

For this next stop we had again chosen a small town out of the main center, and we were staying in a beautiful room just below the main house of the family hosting us. We were met by the daughter, who was helping run the guest house, working reception at a nearby resort, and in school to be a nurse. They offered us a cup of tea on arrival and explained some of the main tourist attractions in the area, including suggesting a temple to visit later that evening for the Poya Day celebrations. We’re realizing it’s not uncommon to feel totally looked after by our hosts, which has really defined our stay so far. 

We chose to stay in Dalawella for its proximity to Galle Fort and Unawatuna, and as a nice midway spot between Hikkaduwa and Midigama (our next stop). Dalawella itself is quite a local beach, and with the high tides at the moment due to the full moon it wasn’t somewhere we spent a lot of time. Same with Unawatuna, we popped in for a look and found a highly developed beach area absolutely packed with restaurants, hotels, beach loungers, umbrellas and hawkers… and even more Russians than Hikkaduwa. It would be fair to say we were a little disappointed as it wasn’t the beachside town we thought we were getting, but a quick reset at the room helped us reframe what else the next day or so could bring. 

In case you haven’t picked this up by now - Josh and I love food. Trying different things and exploring the more local options is totally one of our favorite things to do. Between Unawatuna and Galle there is a stretch of road along the beach that is more of a local hub, so we knew this was where we needed to go to find dinner on our first night. While Josh was fixing our scooter tire using a mixture of body language, google translate and trust, I walked the strip looking for the most packed spot (my favourite gauge for good food). Madeena Beach Hotel had a crowd outside and inside with people waiting for tables and takeaways, and I went in and had a look. There were cabinets full of rice and curry, guys rolling rotti in the window, and best of all - no menu. We waited outside for a table and Josh did ask for a menu, and the guy laughed and said “I’m the menu!”. Options for dinner were rice and curry or biriyani, and we asked for whatever he recommended. Chicken biriyani it was, with all sorts of delicious sides like an unforgettable eggplant curry. The food was incredible but the atmosphere was even better and we were so well looked after, the team seemed to genuinely enjoy bringing us things to try and sample (to our absolute delight). We came back the next morning for string hoppers, curry and roti followed by sweet tea overlooking the ocean. After dinner we also found a bakery for some chai and fresh bread straight out of the oven for dessert, taking the place of our usual evening ice cream. It’s funny how one amazing food experience like this can be one of our favorite parts of a place!

Another food highlight in this location was the amazing breakfast cooked for us by our homestay, it literally had every type of Sri Lankan breakfast delight. String hoppers, egg hoppers and plain hoppers, coconut pancakes, Dahl curry and pol sambol, coconut roti and so much fruit! We were absolutely full to the brim by the end but did feel like we had to try everything and finish as much as we could for the sake of pleasing our amazing hosts!!

Also on our first evening we visited a local temple, Yamagata RajaMaha Viharaya. Seeing this temple all lit up for Poya day was an amazing experience, with worshippers all dressed in white visiting the various Buddha statues around the premises. The temple itself was built into the rocks, and with the chanting, candle light and incense offerings it felt otherworldly. We are excited to learn more about Buddhism here in Sri Lanka and throughout our entire trip, we’ve been especially interested in its link with Hinduism here, most temples also have shrines dedicated to the Hindu deities right alongside their Buddha statues. Throughout Sri Lanka so far we’ve been really amazed at how the different religions coexist, it’s not uncommon to see a Church, Mosque, Buddhist Temple and Mandir all within the same block. 

We spent two nights in Dalawella, with our full day taken up entirely at the historic Galle Fort. I’m going to do that as a separate blog post, as it was a very special experience that deserves more time and space than I have here. From Dalawella we are off to Midigama in search of more waves, only a thirty minute tuk tuk drive down the road. This will officially take us into the South Coast, the backpackers paradise of Sri Lanka (apparently). 

P.S. Josh here. Sorry about any spam emails you received today, I was working hard to fix some technical issues 😅