6 Stars out of 5

We spent 2 weeks travelling through beautiful Sri Lanka with Gune as our guide. He picked us up from the airport and told us that we meet as strangers and we would part as family and this was so true. Gune drove us safely from Colombo to Wilpattu, Anaradhapura and Kaudulla National Park to Sigirya, ancient Polonnaruwa, upcountry to Nuwara Eliya and Ella, Tissamaharama, Yala, Tangalle, Galle and finally Colombo. He is a great driver who always kept calm, and found nice lunch places for us to eat at. He stopped for us at street stalls to buy peanuts, rambutan, papayas, mangoes, strawberries, cashew nuts and red bananas, and joined us on our safari adventures. He taught us how to negotiate tuktuk prices and how to bargain at shops. We learned from him about Sri Lankan history, people, nature and wildlife, about the Civil war and the Boxing Day tsunami. We went to a turtle rescue station and saw tiny 1-,2- and 3-day old turtles that were rescued and will be released back into the sea. We encountered a couple of elephants on the road and sped past one on safari as we were racing towards a leopard that had been spotted. We walked the Horton Plains with Gune and experienced the “World’s End” view. He spotted bee eaters, kingfishers, monkeys, hornbill, eagles, sambar deer, crocodiles, monitor lizards, painted storks and wild buffalos for us. He pointed out traditional rice harvests in the paddy fields and the speciality of each village. He found us a spot on the train in tea country and picked us up a few stations later. Gune was very professional and even though always looked out for us he also kept his distance and gave us the chance to relax and do nothing when we needed to. If we could give him 6 stars instead of 5 we would. Thank you Gune for making this such a special trip!