Although we were literally run off the road by safari drivers who just couldn’t believe that we would come to Tissa and NOT do a safari, we didn’t do one. Nor did we ever plan on doing one. The main highlights of the Yala safari are elephants – tick, and leopards – wow.. 
But, unfortunately, as so often happens in suddenly touristy areas, the drive to sell a safari tour and show a leopard and in turn make a quick buck, has taken precedent over the safety and wellbeing of the animal. We have heard from people who did the safaris of the drivers calling each other and of 20+ jeeps surrounding the one leopard.. poor thing. As much as we would have LOVED to have seen one, that just isn’t a practice we can condone..

No-one we had met, nor any of the guidebooks really had anything nice to say about Vavuniya, so we hadn't really thought about it as a place to spend the night. But, after a really really long day driving, and with Gypsy more than over being in the tuktuk, the idea of stopping in a trucking town over night was becoming more of a reality - all be it a not very welcome reality...

But then we arrived! And we were baffled. Vavuniya was BEAUTIFUL! So green and leafy and with a lovely breeze blowing. The people were super friendly, the women were dressed in amazing saris, and the streets were full of colourful sari and material shops.

About 10 km (and 5 police checks) later, we stumbled upon an accommodation that just had to be way out of our price range. But what the heck, lets ask anyway...

What's that? You have brand-new cabins out the back for 2500LKR?? Well, Thank you, I don't mind if we do! And, why don't we stay a couple more days too!!  (It's called Boo oya Nature Resort for those interested)


It really was so beautiful and peaceful. Gypsy had a wonderful time chasing the ducks and geese!

The food in the restaurant was great and the staff were very friendly. We even got complimentary tea delivered to our room in the morning!!! And it was a great place to use as a base to explore Vavuniya and the wetlands and lakes around there.

After bidding goodbye to the donkeys, we headed north along, what looked on the map to be, a main road that followed the sea. Our first stop was a beautiful old Shiva temple, one of the most important in the country. And we were lucky enough to be there for the amazing smells and sounds of morning Puja!

Gypsy loved the resident holy cow!

Having left nice and early, we were hopeful we would make Jaffna not too late in the afternoon. We hadn't eaten breakfast or even had our daily dose of Ceylon Tea! We figured we would find something in the first little town we went through. 
And then we saw it.. 
The dreaded "concrete road ends here" sign.... Oh no..

And so it took us over an hour to go the next 15 km....

We were finally reunited with bitumen long enough to get breakfast and for Gypsy to be passed around what seemed like the entire village. 

No sooner had we gotten back on the road and felt like we were finally making progress when it happened again.. Now you see it, now you don't... Goodbye again nice smooth road..

And so our journey to Jaffna went. Bitumen for 10 mins, bumpy dirt roads for an hour, then bitumen again.. 
What the roads were lacking in comfort though, they made up in wildlife! Being such a terrible road we didn't see too much other traffic apart from a couple of buses and trucks and the inevitable Army checkpoints, but we did see more variety of birdlife than I have ever seen before! Ibis, Peacock, Eagles, Herron, Kingfisher, Crows... To name the ones we recognised! It's just beautiful countryside!

When we finally made it to the bridge over to Jaffna we were surprised to see it was more of a rockwall through the shallows than an actual bridge. I swear you could walk over the strait it is that shallow! Quite surreal actually.

And so we arrived in beautiful, peaceful, tree-lined and shady Jaffna. We really like the chilled out vibe here. I think we will stay a while.... Gypsy, as always, is already making friends...

We were a little hesitant about taking the main road, as we really prefer to avoid traffic if we can, BUT, this is the main road at peak hour... 

For the most part the only other company we had on the road were of the 4 legged kind.. (I LOVE cows! I could photograph them forever!)

The towns were really beautiful, and there was certainly lots to look at. We passed by places of worship of all denominations - churches, mosques, buddhist temples and Hindu temples. 

It's amazing that for such a small country, that even within the 150km we travelled that day, the terrain changed so much.
At times the roadsides were teeming with birdlife, as they splashed and bathed in the impromptu wetlands that spring up with every big downpour of rain. Then a few kilometres down the road we would be in dry sparse desert. And then around the corner, we would be in salt plains. And then more lush green surrounds. 

The constantly changing landscape means it's never safe to put your camera away..

And then, as soon as we crossed into Mannar province, we started seeing them. At first just one or two. And then in groups of 10 plus!

DONKEYS!! 
Here, there, everywhere!! 
As strange as it seems, wild donkeys really do roam the streets of Mannar Island! I don't think reading about it in a guidebook or on the internet can truly prepare you for just how many you will find!
And what really surprised us is that the locals haven't tried to domesticate them for use around their farms. Nor are they necessarily considered holy. They are just left alone to do as they please.

On Mannar Island there isn't a great deal to do. The beaches are nice and the fort is nice. The town is cute and very laid-back and about as far off the tourist trail as you can get. It's not really a "doing thing" type of place. More somewhere that is nice to go to get away from the backpacker trail and just chill out for a couple of days. And there are certainly lots of donkeys and cows and goats to photograph!! Oh, and there is a Baobab tree too of course!

After watching a beautiful sunrise over the lagoon and salt farms near our flintstones hotel, we found some deliciously fresh and cheap roadside rotis (15 rupees - 10 cents each) and hit the road!

And picked up locals along the way! What better way to mingle and give a little back to people?? Even if it does get a little crowded when you pick up 2 ladies and another baby!

The road through Putullam was a lot easier to navigate than we expected, and before we knew it we were practically the only bajaj on the road. And what a gorgeous road! It twists and winds it's way past wetlands teeming with birdlife and lotus flowers, followed by beautiful jungle with monkeys swinging in the trees!

But don't forget to watch out for people out walking their cows!

And apparently wild elephants!!