Nuwara Eliya to Yala
En route to Yala National Park, there was a visit to a tea plantation. The Sri Lanka high country has perfect conditions for growing tea and a wide range of vegetables with its rich soil and great climate.
I'll have to admit that tea growing and processing was not something I'd thought too deeply about but it turned out to be a fascinating couple of hours and a lot more complex than I'd imagined. It's also made me appreciate how nice tea without milk is, but the rider is that it has to be a high quality tea to get the most from it. As with the botanist at the previously mentioned botanical gardens, the owner of the business was both enthusiastic and extremely interesting.
The owner explained that the very best teas come from the very tips of the tea bushes and the pickers are skilled in selecting what to harvest.
The drying and crushing process is critical to the flavour and requires a great deal of skill. Larger, darker leaves constitute the premium teas whilst the powdery remains tend towards tea bag use. The factory owner was circumspect in his comments about tea bags as they're convenient to use and have market value as a result. If I can paraphrase his remarks, they're at the bottom end of the taste ladder!
This is the moment when Jennie indulged in a bit of eye-rolling and less than complimentary remarks about engineers. The photo below shows some residue on the floor from a screening process which grades the dried leaves in terms of size and quality. All I did was to remark that there was less volume generated by the higher quality grades and they could be interpreted as a tea leaf-based pareto distribution. I thought that it was a perfectly natural observation but apparently not, according to Mrs J.
Tea tasting came next and yes, there was a marked difference in flavour. We chose an Orange Pekoe which was delicious for when we're having high tea at home (yeah, right!).
The outstandingly high standard of lunch stops has been remarked upon previously and the latest stop was no different. However, the view from the terrace was better than anything previously encountered with world-class views down a valley.
Not far down the road towards Yala was a beautiful waterfall which was well worth stopping for.
Our destination that evening was the Yala Hilton, located not far from the national park entrance. If we thought that Uga Ulagalla was the pinnacle of accommodation (part 2), Yala was next level up. With individual units situated in tree-covered park-like grounds and a central admin/dining area, it was a masterpiece of understatement, not at all glitzy or over the top. This is something which Sri Lanka excels at. We were advised to call for a golf cart to take us to the central complex as wild animals are often encountered in the grounds. Our unit:
Two trips were planned into the national park, one in the morning and one late afternoon as the mix of animals changes during the day. Our guide was a young Sri Lankan ranger nicknamed Sarge. Part of his education and work experience was in South Africa and his knowledge was phenomenal. Yet another guide that the country can be extremely proud of. His ability to spot things was uncanny and when asked about this ability, he explained that it wasn't a case of actually spotting something, but being aware that something was out of place, or didn't quite fit in the overall landscape. That's the same as heightened situational awareness for advanced riders/drivers, pilots or yachtsmen. A selection of photos from both outings follow.
Yala National park in particular is a "must see" wildlife destination and we left the park completely enthralled with what we'd seen. The sunset was magnificent and the clouds looked like a Greek God throwing thunderbolts.
Part 7 to come....
