Lodge Review: Martin’s Simple Lodge, Sinharaja

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Tara

This review is a bit unusual as we didn’t actually stay there. We just made a visit for a mid-morning snack & cold drink and I really wanted to see the property. I was pretty upset to learn that contrary to what a Sri Lankan tour operator (Red Dot) told me, he did have room – more than one room actually.

Martin’s is the closest lodge to Sinharaja Forest Reserve and you can get here with a Central Asian award to Colombo, then taxi or bus to Kudawa. Martin is a very friendly man and although his lodge is indeed simple, you can’t beat the location a few minutes down the road from the entrance.

Sit here and watch the birds fly by!

If they had been selling this t-shirt I would have bought one!

To book this lodge, you really need to call Martin. He speaks English but he doesn’t have email or internet access. His rates are probably the lowest in the area and tour operators prefer to steer you to more expensive accommodations. Call Martin on 045 568 1864.

For me, I think the perfect combination is to spend your time here due to proximity to the reserve except for the last night. Then move to the Rock View Motel for the sweeping views over the valley which bring different birds into the mix. You can also easily catch a bus to Kalawana from in front of the Rock View.

Flightstats Airport Terminal Guides

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Tara

While Flightstats doesn’t have a guide for every airport in the world, they do have most of the major airports. You can always Google the name of the airport to find the airport’s official website for greater details but the Flightstats are available on iPhone & Android apps which may be more convenient.

On the Airports tab, click on Airport Terminal Guide. Since Qatar Airways joined One World, some of us may be using Doha as a transit point so let’s go to the Middle East tab and see what the airport has to offer. Maybe they have a lounge we can use or some good shopping.

The map on Flightstats isn’t very good but we can see a few lounges (L) On the Overview tab, they have a link to the official website where we can get more details.

And yes, there is a pay per use lounge we can use if we wish.

Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis)

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Tara

The Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis) is a hornbill and a widespread and common endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka. Hornbills are a family of tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World.

The Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill is a gregarious bird found in forest habitats. It feeds mostly on figs, although occasionally it eats small rodents, reptiles and insects.

They are widespread througout Sri Lanka. I had no trouble spotting them in Kithulgala & Sinharaja. An award to Central Asia can get you to Colombo, then take a taxi or the bus to Kithulgala or Sinharaja.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Ceylon Bird Club

VIDEO

Leech Socks – The Must-have Fashion Accessory In Sinharaja

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Tara

When you start doing research to prepare for a trip to Sinharaja, you will notice a common theme (other than raving about the beautiful birds). LEECHES! Everyone will tell you that you MUST have leech socks to prevent these disgusting slimy creatures from using your blood as a meal. I wasn’t about to become the plat-du-jour so I set out to find some leech socks in Australia……………..and failed! I could have ordered them from Amazon.com and had a nice choice of colours (affiliate link).

Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to have them shipped to Australia so I had to make do with the much cheaper ones ~ $5 available at the park entrance which were a bit too small for our large feet. The guides showed us how to use them properly – over your regular socks and pants.

I noticed with envy the much trendier birders with more colourful leech socks!

I also took the precaution of spraying the socks and our pants with DEET repellent and using the strongest possible anti-mosquito & leech cream on our skin before we got dressed in the morning.

We may not have been on trend but at least we stayed free from leeches during our visit to Sinharaja!

Lodge Review: Rock View Motel, Weddegala (Sinharaja), Sri Lanka

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Tara

It was disappointing to arrive at the Rock View Motel after dark but it was my own fault for taking the wrong bus! Although the map on their website isn’t much better! You can’t book this lodge through any portals so just email them using the contact on their website. Rates are pretty reasonable, Double Half Board – Rs. 8,500.00 and you must pay in cash so be prepared. Reviews are mixed – yes the rooms are basic but the views more than make up for it! If you are there for the birds, you will see plenty from the balcony!

When we finally did arrive, the friendly staff had been wondering where we were and showed us quickly to a corner room with a stunning view over the valley.

We were starving as we had skipped lunch thinking we would arrive in plenty of time. They made us dinner pretty quickly and we arranged for the included breakfast to be packed so we could take it with us to Sinharaja the next morning.

A Red-vented Bulbul kept us company while we waited for the rickshaw.

He arrived a couple minutes later and we were off for a day of exploring Sinharaja National Park.

Birding & Fishing Northwestern Peru

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Tara

Another excellent video by Birding Adventures with some great footage! If you would like to visit this area for yourself, use your miles for a Peru award on either One World or Star Alliance to Lima, then connect to Piura in Northwestern Peru.

Although the host, James Currie does use an app to attract the owl, he does caution against overuse of this practice as it can upset the owl.

The Language Of Birds

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Tara

Since many birds camouflage well in the surrounding foliage, sound is very important to help us locate them while walking through the rainforest. Sound is also very important to the birds themselves as they communicate with each other as you will see in this mini-doco video.

Getting Lost Enroute To Sinharaja

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Tara

The trip started out easily enough. I knew that we had to get a bus from Kithulgala to Ratnapura and that these buses left from the main street and were very cheap.

I always feel so bad for the poor birds stuck in these pet shops in tiny cages.

The trip went smoothly up to this point and we arrived in Ratnapura about 90 minutes later after making a lot of stops. The instructions from our next lodge, Rock View Motel near Sinharaja were to take a Kalawana bus, then change to a Rakwana bus and hop out when we saw the motel on the road side.

At the Ratnapura bus station, we waited to see a bus with Kalawana written on top. Soon, a bus with Rakwana written on top pulled in. I thought we were being smart to avoid a change of buses in Kalawana so we hopped on and headed out of Ratnapura.

We saw another bus with Kalawana written on top so alarm bells went off but I ignored them thinking we were still OK.

We continued on and enjoyed more scenery.

We finally arrived in Rakwana and I was wondering why we didn’t see the motel on the road side.

I should have listened to the alarm bell! As it turned out, the road to Kalawana and subsequently the Rock View Motel were different from the road to Rakwana. On the map below, you see the road we were supposed to take in blue with the blue X marking the hotel location. The red line represents the road we actually took.

By the time we got to Rakwana and realized our mistake, it was too late to get another bus so we had to hire an auto-rickshaw to take us to the motel which cost more than if we had just taken the rickshaw from Ratnapura! It was annoying to arrive after dark but lesson learnt! Always check even the smallest towns on a map, listen to your gut feelings and follow directions!

Rufus Roo, Anyone?

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Tara

I have to admit I still prefer Scottevests, but you may want to consider a Rufus Roo, especially if you live in the UK!

Not to mention the Rufus Roo Loo!

Does Your Flight Have A Tendancy To Be Delayed?

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Tara

This is another great use of Flightstats. If you have various options for an award ticket and you want to avoid flights that are notorious for being late or cancelled, check this. On the Flightstats home page, click on the Flights tab, then “On-time Performance”. Type your route into the appropriate boxes.

Now let’s see which flights have the best on-time record. Ignore the codeshares and just look at the actual airlines who are operating the flights. Look at the percentage of flights on time and how many minutes the delayed flights lost.

Those last two AA flights are a worry. In both cases the average delay was around an hour and between 57-73% of flights experienced some delay. None of them were cancelled so at least that is good. But if my final destination was elsewhere in Brazil, I would be leaving a very generous layover to make that connection!

If you click on AA929 at the bottom of the display, you can get more details. 17 out of 61 flights were either very late or excessive.

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Author Archives: Tara