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| Sunday, 15 January 2006 |
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Travel Local and migratory birds abound in Bundala National Park The entire dry zone of the country becomes a sea of green after the North-East monsoon rain. The landscape which is dry and brownish during the greater part of the year is now green. Streams and tanks are full of fresh water and water flowers such as lotus. This is the most prosperous season for the National Parks in the dry zone and this is the best time for nature and wildlife lovers to visit National Parks in the dry zone.
The Bundala bird sanctuary is now teeming with local and migratory birds. The Bundala National Park now has the highest number of birds after five years, said I. H. Sisira Kumara, Warden of the Bundala National Park. Normally the peak of the bird arrivals to the park is from November to January. However, there will be heavy monsoon rains during November and December and therefore it is difficult to travel in the Park. Wildlife officials said that these birds will remain until April. Bundala was the first Ramsar wetland declared in Sri Lanka. The Bundala National Park is popular for local and migratory birds and there are 167 bird species in the park. The lagoons within the Bundala sanctuary are popular wintering areas of migratory shorebirds in the country and can accommodate up to 20,000 shorebirds including rare species such as the black Necked Stork at any time. Bundala is the last refuge of the Greater Flamingo in the Southern part of the island. From November to January there were up to 2,000 Greater Flamingos in the sanctuary. This is one of the best places for bird watching in the island. In addition to birds, the lagoons in Bundala support a large number of fish and prawns. The reptile fauna of Bundala National Park include many International Union for the Conservation (IUCN) Red List species. Three species of endangered marine turtles, Olive Ridely, Green Turtle, Leatherback and one vulnerable species, the Loggerhead, nest on the beach. An endemic frog Bufo Atukoralie is also in the Bundala National Park. There are elephants and other animals in the Bundala National Park. The Park has around 30 elephants apart from another 50 who migrate to the Park during the dry season. Leopards, sloth bears, giant squirrels, civet cats jungle cats and fishing cats also roam in the Bundala National park. The Bundala National Park is on the Southern coast between Hambantota and Kirinda. It covers 24 square miles. The climate is hot and dry. The terrain is flat with sand dunes bordering the coastline. The Park was protected from the tsunami in December, 2004 by these sand dunes. The vegetation in the park consists of dry thorny scrubland. The five enclosed shallow and brackish water lagoons are the most striking features in the Bundala sanctuary. Despite the park being small all species of water birds are in the park because one-third of the Park is covered by water and other areas are made up of natural forest, scrub, grasslands developed land such as homesteads and rice paddy fields. The National park is managed by the Wildlife Department and there are no tourist bungalows in the Park. However there are camp sites in the Park. Private tour operators organise activities such as bird watching, participatory movable camps (luxury or super luxury), special study tours for flora and fauna and wildlife safaris in the Park. (GW) Saga Holidays UK awards Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya set up in 1806 received an award for food from one of the leading up market tour operators from Britain. Saga Holidays has been operating in Sri Lanka since 1996 and has grown by expanding their program promoting Sri Lanka from sun and sand to nature, adventure and wildlife holidays. A niche market tour operator, Saga Holidays specialises in handling senior citizens and has a repeat client base of over 800,000 who travel with them worldwide. This accolade was awarded based on a year's customer feedback for consistency and standards maintained of food quality, presentation, variety, hygiene and food temperature. The scoring system ranges from 1.00 - 4.00, 1.00 being excellent and 4.00 being poor. The aim of Saga is to achieve a rate below 1.70 points or lower in all aspects and is chosen from over 1,200 hotels worldwide. The Director/General Manager Harin De Costa said that in keeping with the organisational policy, the hotel's team of chefs are being constantly trained and the product had been constantly upgraded to meet the demanding trends, even at times when tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka are very low. Costa said that the hotel is currently upgrading the coffee shop, the main restaurant and the super club. The menus in all food outlets will also be changed to coincide with the season ahead. This award was presented at a function in conjunction with the World Travel Mart trade fair held in Excel World London recently, which is one of the largest tourism fairs where potential buyers meet from all over the world to do business. The local handling agent for Saga Holidays in Sri Lanka is United Holidays. SriLankan's London Station Manager honoured SriLankan Airlines' Station Manager in London, Krishan Perera, was honoured with the prestigious "Achiever of the Year Award" by the airline recently, ahead of many members of the staff throughout the company who performed remarkable deeds for the national carrier during 2004-05. "This night is for the men and women who work tirelessly every day to bring satisfaction to our customers, and also manage to come up to that remarkable performance that sets them apart. They belong to a group of exceptional people who have walked that extra mile, often not once but many times during the past year," said CEO of SriLankan Peter Hill, at the awards presentation at the Galadari Hotel. "They have achieved the highest levels of hospitality, efficiency and friendliness, which are cornerstones of this remarkable airline." Chairman of SriLankan J. M. S. Brito, presented Krishan with a Gold
Trophy and US$2,000. Krishan won the honour with his proactive efforts which
saved SriLankan Airlines Rs. 36 million (US$358,000) by arranging logistics
for three flights to London during a lightning strike by British Airways
staff that crippled flights of other airlines at Heathrow's Terminal on
August 4 last year. |
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