Sri Lanka Adventure

December 28 2005 saw the birth of the most ambitious and logistically demanding overseas trip yet organised by our indefatigable Principal. In the early hours of that fateful morning, ten students and five adults boarded the plane at Tullamarine bound for Sri Lanka, holiday destination extraordinaire – home of the terrible Tamil Tiger; scene of the most destructive tsunami known to modern man; and scorched by a relentless equatorial sun every day of the year. Yes, Fr Loschi had really picked a winner this time!

Adventure in the jungle.

After a 13-hour stay in amazing Kuala Lumpur (which means ‘muddy river-mouth’), and a brief stopover in the Maldives, we landed in Sri Lanka. Our first day was spent resting, swimming and generally getting acclimatised. In fact, this programme of rather relaxed acclimatisation occupied us for a few days, until we left the priory in Negombo, our base during the trip, and headed to the interior of the island. There we visited the unique Pinnawala elephant orphanage, where endangered or abandonned elephants from all over are brought to give them a new start in life; there is even a three legged elephant, Sama, whose other foot was blown off by a landmine in the troubled north of the country. Riding on these animals, these gigantic, living, breathing Himalayas of the animal world, is something one can never forget.

The following day brought us to the impressive ruined palace and gardens of Sigiriya with the breathtaking rock citadel that rises vertically for over two hundred metres, a physical challenge too great to resist for the more boyish (and cashed up) members of the party, not excluding Fr Pepping. Our next stop was Kandy, Sri Lanka’s former capital where shopping was the order of the day, and where we encountered exhaust troubles; a problem easily solved by the obliging Catholic bishop, who, fortunately for us, turned out to be an accomplished mechanic and a good Samaritan.We also visited the botanical gardens, a picturesque exhibit of tropical plants and trees.

Our next stop was the highlands, where we saw the evergreen forest of the famous Knuckle Range, but more especially the hills and tea plantations of the Dalhousie as far as the eye could see. These plantations somehow captured the heart and soul of what we came to see in Sri Lanka, a tropical land with a colourful pagan culture; a natural beauty unlike any other; a warm, generous, basically peasant people whose colonial history, as politically unfortunate as that may be, has tied them to a commonwealth we share. Everyone has heard of Ceylon tea, haven’t they? Frs Loschi and Pepping made sure they bought up stocks to take back to Tynong, for reasons best known to them. (Apparently, the way to a District Superior’s heart is through his teacup.)

	On the site where the film “The Bridge on the River Kwai” was filmed

Meanwhile, on our return to Negombo we visited the site of the filming of ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’. The river itself is actually in Thailand but since the Thai authorities refused to have the movie made there it was filmed in Sri Lanka.

We recuperated at the priory, swimming, shopping and going on day excursions, such as the visit to a shrine of St Anne and a boat ride in the lagoon. Most nights we dined out at hotels and restaurants, eating very well, setting aside the occasional insanely hot curries that our chips and steak Aussie stomachs could not handle. Our next major trip took us south along the coast into the tsunami-affected areas. After 12 months there were still families living in the poverty of tents that were not even their own. The coastal road we took presented us with constant views of ‘perfect’ tropical beaches, a number at which we stayed and swam, thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

Heading back to the priory once more, we passed through an area where gemstones are found. We saw how small plots of land were manually excavated, in search of these precious stones. Shortly afterwards we visited a diamond shop/museum which the girls managed to lose themselves in. After we returned to the priory we spent the last few days doing last minute shopping and going out to the best restaurants in town. In farewell, we set off as much of our gigantic pile of firecrackers, as time allowed (to the displeasure of the sleeping adults). It was a holiday jam packed with fond memories that all flood back as I write this and I realise just how great it was. Many thanks to Fr Pepping, Mrs Walker-Hasset, her mother, Miss Cranswick and primarily to Fr Loschi for such a memorable adventure and in recognition of all the hard work he put into it.

By Luke Fox, Year 11 Student

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