Paul takes tea

Tamil Tea Picker

An 8:00 am transfer up to Hatton and then onto our bikes.  Learning to recognise the different leaf colours to produce the different flavour teas.

Tea plantation in the Hill Country

Even Paul succumbed to taste some green tea (with a piece of chocolate cake).  He still doesn’t like tea.

These hillsides were untouched until the 17th century as the ruling kings forbade any settlements.   After slash and burn policy, Lipton and Co. with others turned up and introduced tea after the coffee plants failed due to disease.

Tea pickers homes

The Tamils from southern India were brought down to Sri Lanka as the labour force to harvest the tea crop.  Initially, they were treated little better than slaves.  More recently conditions have improved for them and the tea plantation owners have started to  provide better education and welfare.

Schoolboys, 10 years old

Hindu Temple

Great Acacia tree

Every single child we have seen has been really friendly and interested.  One even gave Paul a push up a steep part of the hill. Most just want to practice their English.  In school they are taught 3 languages; Tamil, Sengalese and English.

Sundown in Nuwara Eliya

Another bloody waterfall

A hot climb  1426m into the Hill Country with lots of switchbacks and unmade roads.  36c at the start and 15c at the end in Nuwara Eliya