Day 6 brought the tour party even closer to Sri Lanka's unique flora and fauna. Leaving behind Kandy, we had a quick visit to a glittering gem museum and work-shop before journeying to the Pinawala Elephant Orphanage. On the way there, our coach overtook a young man on the road, riding an elephant, whilst chatting away on his phone! Pinawala's 88 elephants make it the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. It was set up to rehabilitate the many elephants injured as a result of the Civil War (especially from land mines) and from the increasing conflict between farmers and wild elephants competing for land in a small country. We enjoyed watching bathing time and general play in the rain, as well as catching the end of feeding time and the marshalling of the entire herd through the main road of Pinawala itself. We were even able to get up close with a family of elephants by the river, scratching their leathery ears, marvelling at their sheer size, and watching out for their wandering, inquisitive trunks.
From Pinawala, windy roads took us deep into the Sri Lankan jungle and to a camp at Kithulgala. We camped by the river, in between the trees and amidst the cacophony of noise the natural world creates here. The late afternoon brought river-based frisbee; the more adventurous tackled the rapids. Fist-sized spiders, plenty of geckos and colourful birds were all in abundance. Unfortunately, a few leeches - the size of a freckle, though rapidly expanding to a few inches once they've sarted snacking - also made an appearance. They seemed to have a particular predilection for older flesh though, so only the staff were hit. Bizarrely, a form of karaoke was possible in the evening, and between them Latymer students covered, paid homage to, and butchered, a variety of classics. Alex Powell's hypnotic hip movements will linger long in the memories of those lucky enough to witness it.
