We decided to base ourselves in Dambulla for three nights, a town with a good range of mid-price options and easy access to the sites. We stayed at the Thilanka Resort and Spa which has large grounds, including a lovely swimming pool, cricket ground and even a tennis court. We were lucky to get rooms in a standalone villa. Molly completely fell in love with the buffet!

A major highlight was an afternoon visit to Minneriya National Park where we discovered new animals whilst on a safari. Spending nearly an hour at close quarters to a family of female and baby elephants was so special – and intriguing too to see a trail of male elephants heading towards a female in heat in the opposite direction!

We certainly learnt the hard way what elephant musk smells like… Thanks to our trusty driver and spotter Vijay, we learnt many of their names and ages. We also saw plenty of peacocks, monkeys, deer, land monitors and countless birds. The girls were also good at spotting termite holes, not surprising considering the size of them!

Despite many herds being at the neighbouring Kaudulla National Park, it was good that the park was not overcrowded with tourist jeeps.

The next day we also planned an afternoon activity, climbing Pidurangala rock which faces the more famous Sigiriya. The hike begins at a temple so knees and shoulders must be covered and shoes removed for the first part of the walk. The climb is not for the faint hearted with lots of tricky rocks to clamber over but MoJo did brilliantly, only a little set back by the windy summit! Molly went to bed that night saying she wanted to climb all the time…