Venturing to World's End

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Today was set aside as our "day off", however, I was up at 5:30am climbing into one of two small vans for a 2hr bus ride along with about 10 others from the group. We were heading to Worlds End at Horton Plains which is located over 2200m above sea level. Despite feeling rather sleepy it was enjoyable to watch the scenery and climate change as we climbed in altitude. The sun rose above the hills providing a breathtaking view of the valleys below. In particular I liked the low lying clouds sitting at the bottom of the valleys. The cool refreshing air soon had me awake and ready for the big day ahead!

View from World's End
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We arrived at Horton Plains and I sipped away at a really bad coffee to try and get warm while eating our stale breakfast. It was actually quite cold. The walk to Worlds End was an 8km round trip. We started by walking along the plains which were quite bare due to being frost affected by cold nights. The view at World's End is picturesque ... You're standing on a 1050m cliff face looking down into the valley below. The small down and rice fields look tiny ... Our timing was perfect as the clouds started to roll in while we appreciated the view. Make sure you arrive early as the mist will close in by late morning. On the return leg of the walk we passed Baker Falls, another wonderful waterfall. We arrived back at Bandarawela just in time for lunch where we ate at a very good local place.

Baker Falls
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After lunch a group of us were booked in for a massage. Personally I thought it was average. I hadn't experienced much in the area of pampering or beauty, but it didn't raise my expectations much. Annabel sure changed that when we returned to Australia. She is a beauty therapist and I'm now the lucky boyfriend who gets a brilliant massage from time to time. It didn't help that this place was rather dodgy, I don't suggest anybody get a massage in Bandarawela!

For dinner six of us took part in a cooking class where we got to see a Sri Lankan lady cook up about 6 different dishes. One of the dishes was a flower curry, CRAZY but quite flavoursome! I started to realise I was paying Annabel a litlte more attention than anyone else. We seemed to get along very well and it was a nice thought to know she was also from Adelaide. The dishes were deleicious and I bought "The Spice of Happiness" which was her cookbook and have enjoyed quite a few recipes since my return to Australia. Tonight we all hit the pillow reasonably early because we knew there was a second massive climbing day coming our way tomorrow.