Most Inspirational Moment
Hard to choose one. The scenery and tea plantations, national parks and the animals within including monkey, jackals, wild boar and elephant. The Elephant transit home at feeding time.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Thushan was full of enthusiasm. Determined to provide us with real Sri Lankan experiences, which he succeeded in. A little more assertiveness in decisions required maybe as he tried to please everyone and found it impossible to please all. We had some issues with a couple of members of the group and he was tested, but handled the issue professionally as far as he was allowed. He gave everyone in the group equal attention and made sure we kept hydrated and safe.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Expect early starts and some long days, only way to see the best on offer over a wide area. Do not be disappointed if you do not see everything, the wildlife is wild, not captive. Take care with the leeches, they can be picked up even in the rainforest lodge grounds, socks are available at the lodge so you need not take your own. Do not forget sun protection.
Suggestions
The driver was great, friendly, enthusiastic and always made sure we had water. Our naturalist, Ashan(?) was very knowledgeable and loved his job. His expertise was more on birdlife however, mammals were less important.
Unfortunately there was a clash of personalities within the group which detracted from what would have been an excellent trip. I was disappointed at how Exodus head office dealt with the situation, sending one elderly person home who although did lose his temper did not deserve this. The other person was able to put his side of what happened forward first, and strongly, due to time differences (Australia, Sri Lanka and UK) and made the most of what most thought was a minor incident that could have been sorted with a shake of hands. There were reasons for the ill temper but these were ignored. If there is a policy of sending people home after a confrontation then both parties should have been expelled, not just the one. However this was a minor incident and did not in my opinion warrant expelling. The feelings and thoughts of the rest of the group were not considered, awkward!
Reply from Exodus
We would like to thank both Robert and John (review below) for their reviews, although we remain sorry that their trips were impacted on by this unfortunate incident. It is incredibly unusual that there are any altercations or disagreements between group members, and we appreciate that group members can have different perspectives when an incident like this occurs. As a tour operator, Exodus has to have a zero tolerance towards any violence on our trips and we have been in touch with both clients about the very different concerns that they raise.
Lucy Crabb – Customer Services Manager