Family Traveler

101ISLANDIN THESUNClockwisefromtopleft:boysclimbapalminTangalleBay;BuddhistmonksattherocktempleGalVihara;WhyHouseinThalpeisavailabletohire;ancientrockfortressSigiriya,nearDambulla;turtlewatching;boatsonthebeachnearTaprobaneIslandsrilankaSRILANKAISATROPICALISLANDWHEREGUSHINGFALLSFLOWTHROUGHRUGGEDHILLSthetraditionalsrilankanartofstiltfishingManythousandsofyearslater,Adam’sideaofHellhasbecomethedefinitionofholidayparadise.Holidayingfamiliesofallagescriss-crosstheislandinsearchofexperiencestheirchildrenwillberecallingforyears.Butitgoeswithoutsayingthatit’sthebeachesthatreallymakeyoungandoldalikehappy,andanimpressivearrayofcreaturessplashthroughthewatersandalongtheshoresoftheisland.Gettingupcloseandpersonalwithafewoftheseanimalswillbeahighlightofmanyaholiday.Fromangelfishtoelephants,bluewhalestooliveridleyturtles,here’sourlowdownonhowyouandyourfamilycanmakefriendswithsomeofyourwilderSriLankanbeachneighbours.OK,we’llsayit.Atabout 10 hours,theflightouttoSriLankacanbealittletryingwhenyouhavesmallpeopleintow,butthinkpositively.Youcouldbemummyturtle,inwhichcaseyou’dhavehadtoswimtherefromhalfanoceanaway,allwhilecarryinghundredsofeggs.Thereareacoupleofturtle-friendlyspotsaroundtheislandwherekidscanengagewiththeocean’scutestreptile.Bestknown,andonthesurfaceatleast,mostenjoyableforchildren,arewhataretoutedasturtle‘rescuecentres’,or‘hatcheries’,aroundtheremarkablyuntroddenpalm-backedbeachesoftheBentotaarea.Thecentres(thereareseveralwithinafewkilometres)consistoflargeopen-airseawaterpondsandaquariums,inwhichbabyorinjuredturtlesofvarioussizesarekeptsafeuntiltheycanbereleasedintothesea.Visitorsyoungandoldcanpeerin,holdsomeofthebabies(whichwilldelightchildren)and,ifyoutimeavisitright,evenhelpreleasethemintothesea.Asfunasthesecentresare,though,theydohavelittleconservationvalue,andexpertssayhatchingturtleeggsincaptivitylikethisandthenkeepingtheminpensbeforereleaseintothewildactuallycausesmoreharmthangood.Amoreeco-sensitiveexperiencecanbefoundfurthereast,atRekawabeach,closetostunningTangalle,where,betweenAprilandSeptember,theTurtleWatchRekawa``````(turtlewatchrekawa.org)programmerunsnight-timetourstowatchtheanimalshaulthemselvesfromthewatertolaytheireggs.UnlikethesanctuariesaroundBentota,theeggshereareprotectedinsitu,andifyoumisstheegg-layingmummies,youmightcatchthenewlyhatchedoffspringflappinganddashingtowardsthesea.It’sgoodforconservation,andwatchinginthemoonlightasgiantreptilesemergefromthewaterisdefinitelygoodforchildren.THETURTLETRAIL