 |
| Club
report: The Kumudu Valley Waterski Resort in SriLanka by Ulf Unbehaun |
|
 One picture says it all! A natural tropical scenery, perfect water sheltered by palmtrees, year round warm water and a hotel right next to it. What else do we need for a perfect waterski vacation :) ? |
The story Back
in 1998, Holger Brümmer, a German waterski coach was looking out for new
waterski destinations in Asia. In Sri Lanka, he asked the locals for their
favorite locations and ended up on a beach near the village of Negombo located
close to Colombo. When he walked down this beach, the jungle opened and gave
view to the lagoon like river delta you see further down in the section "Boat
club". Well, the picture has actually been taken from a palm tree and not from
the beach. But the view is not less spectacular. In 2003, he found another area
just big enough for a six ball slalom course. He teamed up with the local
"Christian Fernando" who was about to open a hotel at the lagoon at that time.
Holger knew that it would be ideal to have an extra spot for slalom skiing only
and started to build his second site "Kumudu" for slalom skiers only. Since the
beginning in 1998 Holger has been working hard to build one of the best
waterski and wakeboard sites you can dream of. Scenic surroundings, tropical
clima, perfect water and professional waterski equipment make it my favorite
personal winter waterski destination. |
| The Kumudu slalom
waterski lagoon 30 minutes away from the airport or one hour from Colombo is one of those perfect spots waterskiers dream about. A tournament waterski boat on a secluded lagoon surrounded by palm trees. As you can see on the picture above and below, there are not just some pitoresque postcard palm trees standing there but massive tropical vegetation. The plants cuts off all the wind and the mangroove roots swallow the boat waves completely.  The lenght of our 8 ball slalom course is just fitting into the lagoon. It seems that the Dutch colonialists, who dug out the lagoon as a part of a network of transportation channels already knew the dimensions of a slalom course a 300 years ago :) Something about the water temperature: I have to confess that I hate cold water! But what can you do if you want to extend the waterski season and don't live in Florida? This is not a problem when you head off to Sri Lanka. When I skied there in the month of May, the water temperature was 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) on one side of the lagoon and 33 degrees (91,4 F)on the other. Unbelievable!  |
The mixture of western and local tourists often leads to funny
situation. On the picture on the left you see the rider "Wolfgang Dittrich"
demonstrate that the hotel pool can be used for more sports than just swimming.
Needless to say that the locals had also a good time seeing us "mad" Europeans
doing such stunts.
Several excurions can be organized
individually – everything is obligatory and there are many different
programs to choose from. To be absolutely independent, hire one of the
inexpensive vans and a driver will show you the most interesting sights in the
area. So no stressful sightseeing at Holger´s camp. Remember: you are on
vacation! You can easily go on a 2-3 day discovery tour, relax and come back to
get ready for another training session. If you like to travel on a small
budget, this is the place to go to get your money´s worth. Comparing a
week at Holger´s camp in Sri Lanka to a week in Florida, it is fair to
say that you will only spend about half. So, what about local food? The rich
buffets at the hotel offer a large selection and variety of local delicacies
adjusted to european cuisine. If you are a seafood lover, Holger will lead you
to his favourite restaurants to enjoy the best fresh lobster, king prawns &
Co. For more information check out Holger`s website at:
