Day 6 - Lions Rock & Jeep Safari

Today was an early start as we left at 7.30am to get to Lions Rock before it got too hot. It was a quiet bus ride as the boys drifted off to sleep again in preparation of the 1200 steps up to the top of the rock. On arrival Henry Welland exited the bus enjoying the chocolate brioche that he had found at the bottom of his bag, sadly he only got bite of it before a monkey ran up his leg and snatched it from Henry’s hand! The monkey then proceeded to mock Henry as he sat and ate his new treat in front of him.

As we walked to the start of the climb we went through the water gardens, which were ancient water pools and fountains that worked on water power. These spring to life after the monsoon season when the ponds and lakes are at their fullest. Apparently the engineers are still trying to establish how the system works as these were designed over 500 years ago, clearly it was built to last! We were slightly apprehensive about what lay ahead as several people coming back from the climb were looking quite warm and tired. 

On arrival at the foot of the rock it was an intimidating sight seeing the steps wind their way up the side of the rock at quite a steep angle. Initially we started on steps that were carved out of the rock but these quickly gave way to metal steps that had been integrated in to the side of the rock and were pretty steep. Fortunately there was an area halfway up that allowed for a rest, although the warning signs of staying quiet due to bee attacks wasn’t that reassuring as where would be go if they didn’t decided to have a go at the tourists?!?! 

We continued up the steps and were relived when we made it to the top and could enjoy the spectacular views. I think we were most surprised to see some stray dogs at the top, they manage to get themselves everywhere. We had a rest and took in the pools that had been created at the top when it was initially used as a fortress. Mr Hale using his extensive military knowledge highlight it was a wonderful vantage point but the major flaw is that the attackers could just cut their supplies and they wouldn’t last very long! 

On the way down we stopped to look at some cave art from the 5th century, which was in incredible condition but we weren’t allowed to take pictures due to potential damaged caused by the artificial light of the flash. This was quite a climb down via a spiral staircase before rejoining the traditional stone steps to reach the bottom. We then headed back to the hotel to enjoy some breakfast and a little downtime before the afternoon excursion. 

Just before lunch we had the privilege of going to see where the kit that was donated by the school community was going. We were invited to the house of the local administrator for Lions Sport Travel where there were several local children who had been chosen to receive cricket kit or financial assistance to help with their education. This was a fantastic opportunity for the boys to see the impact that their contributions was having and to see how grateful the local students were. It was also really nice to see that the tour operator was invested in the local community and was helping sustain cricket and education for under privileged children who were facing adversity due to circumstances outside of their control.

We then made our way to a local restaurant for lunch that overlooked a lake and we had our first elephant sighting from a distance.

After lunch we made the short trip to the Jeep Safari to see some elephants and local wildlife. We split in to groups of 6 for the jeeps and headed into the bush. It wasn’t long before we caught sight of our first elephant up close as they were eating grass at the side of the lake. We were lucky enough to see a whole herd that included young elephants in the shadow of their mother and we could get quite close to them as well. The boys really enjoyed this opportunity and the cameras/phones were utilised to take loads of pictures. 

When we returned to the hotel the boys enjoyed a bit of downtime in the pool and relaxing as it had been a busy day!