Over the mountain

 The past 10 days have seen us in the north Central area of Sri Lanka. Large mostly flat jungle plains. Our journey now takes us south to the beaches. There is only one viable way to do this without a huge detour east to follow the coast roads and that is to go directly over the mountains via Newara Elya. This is the highest town in Sri Lanka and sits high in the cloud forests at an altitude of 6,128 feet. It's also the coolest (temperature wise) place on the island.

Tuk Tuks by any stretch of the imagination are not 4x4's. They are by nature slow. Unstable and underpowered. Design for short journeys within  flat towns and cities.

We were going to attempt to take our little "Ruby" over the mountain and into the clouds.

On the subject of clouds. Since leaving Kurunegala the weather has been poor. It's unusual but not impossible. There have been storms over Borneo and Java. Both have collided to send a load of rain over Sri Lanka. The rains should have ended in December but it's the tropics and there are never no guarantees.

I had been anticipating this climb to Newara Eliya with trepedation. The Tuk Tuk company do not recommend the climb in a Tuk. There is one other alternative route over the mountain but it is a very long drive around and still involves a lot of climbing. Plus Suzy mentioned there may have been a landslide and that route may be impassable.

The deciding factor was that the day of the climb coincided with a national holiday and it was going to be sunny.  Therefore there were not going to be any buses or trucks on the road with us. Also Suzy of the homestay said that the road would be quiet as anyone going to Newara Eliya would already be there. That is probrably why i struggled for accomodation. This made up my mind and we decided to attempt it despite our reservations. (There are many tuk tuk accidents along this route and not always tourists).

Anyhow. Steeling our metal and girding our loins we set off from our lodgings with a full tank of fuel. All eight litres of it. ( it's costing around £2 a day to feed "Ruby". Tomorrow however I anticipate using her full tank)

The road out of Kandy was quiet and we soon made it to the start of the climb. I don't want to brag but by now I'm fairly confident in handling this crazy machine. I can even stop her when things get hairy. Which is every few minutes. Ive had lots of practice at emergency stops. If we get a sunny few hours at the beach I will give a guided tour of her and her driving technique to put on here and facetube.

The road was quiet. Eerily so compared to the usual madness we have become used to. We drove for 4 hours up the  steep meandering road. Stopping where we could to admire the views which were breathtaking. The major problem is that for 90% of the way the views are hidden by forest. The places where the views are best are usually on the tight bends and if I'd have stopped I wouldn't have been able to get the Tuk going again. Still it was an amazing trip and surprisingly we really enjoyed it. Me leaning forward to somehow will "Ruby" up the slope while she screamed her bits off and Dear Old Crispy lounging in the back like the queen mother.

I kept an eye on Crisy with the occasional "Is Ma'am Sahib OK? Would ma'am Sahib like anything? To which she would reply "No. No I'm fine Driver, Carry on, Home in time for Tiffin"

After 5 hours we finally descended down to the town and our final destination. It was raining again!

Newara Eliya is known locally as "little England" a quaint colonial place and one time home to the European planters that established the many tea plantations. Echos of this time are still evident but with the passing of the years the settlement has developed into a typical small Sri Lankan town. There is not a lot here apart from the views or unless visiting the tea plantations and trekking the local hills. As it was raining hard neither was an option.

To confound us further it was a holy day for the Buddhists and as such almost everywhere was closed. We had anticipated as much and I had secreted several beers from the supermarket under the drivers seat which doubles up as beer fridge and spare wheel storage. We did manage to find somewhere to eat and afterwards spent the afternoon and evening in the room. It was OK and we just chilled and watched the rain.

I had planned two nights here but decided to cut and run for the coast in the hope of better weather. 

This morning we got up early and sorted "Ruby" for the long journey south. We had intended stopping in Ella as it is a popular spot but the rain made it pointless. 

There are a couple of checks before climbing aboard "Ruby".  Oil. Tyres and most importantly break fluid. I carry spare of all of the above. Tuk Tuks are notorious for using oil and leaking break fluid. Absence of one will result in the engine seizing. The other certain death. The tyres have no tread to start with so it's simply a matter of making sure all three are still where they should be. It's not complicated mechanics.

We set off in the rain and descended back to sea level. There was one scary incident when a jeep pulled directly in front of me and i had to break really hard. With the rain we skidded wildly and i only just avoided totalling some poor guy at a bus stop. His face was a picture. Oh and I nearly ran over a policeman at a checkpoint that just stepped out in front of us. I don't know if he wanted us to stop.   I didn,t stop to face  any possible consequences but sped off at a break neck 20mph. . Other than those incidents it was an uneventful journey.

It was still raining heavily.  We are now in Yala national park and were supposed to be arranging a Safari to see leopard and bear In the national park.  On arriving we did a bit of research on Google and it seems during heavy rain the leopards and bears seek shelter, makes sense, and the chances of seeing them are few. The Yala safaris are expensive at around £80 each and start early at around 4.30 am. Given the chance of rain again tomorrow  it seemed pointless so we cancelled. We will stay here in Yala just tonight and make the coast tomorrow. Hopefully it will stop raining and I can get Crispy on a beach. We will see. We can change our plans but we can't change the weather. There may be chance of another Safari before the end of the trip.......

Bare and Crispy signing off Yala, Sri Lanka