BRETT Kirk and Adam Goodes have been far from idle since the season ended.

The two Swans stars have been in Sri Lanka on a global reconciliation trip, staying with the indigenous Vadda forest people and visiting areas of the country which were wiped out by the 2004 tsunami.

Goodes sent an SMS yesterday saying it had been an “amazing and emotional’’ time.
He and Kirk are in Sri Lanka with former Richmond player Richard Tambling (who’s just been traded to the Adelaide Crows), Hawthorn player Brad Sewell and Adam’s brother, Brett.

The trip is supported by the AFL Players Association and has been organised by Global Reconciliation, which is an international network of people and organisations seeking to promote communication and dialogue across national, cultural, religious and racial differences.

The broad aim of the trip is to facilitate reconciliation in both Australia and Sri Lanka using the medium of sport - to share experiences and expertise about how obstacles can be overcome and communities developed.

Before he left, Goodes told AAP he was excited about the “Playing Together’ project in Sri Lanka, and was interested in other indigenous cultures.

"That's something I'm really looking forward to, visiting the Vadda people up in the hills," Goodes said.

"They still live a traditional life up in the hills. When other people came to their country they moved, retreated to the hills, so they could keep their own culture and their own beliefs and really haven't assimilated into the other communities.

"Anything that we can bring back and brainstorm when we come back into the country would be a fantastic thing. We could implement a few things into our own indigenous communities."

The players will arrive back this Friday after spending 10 days touring Sri Lanka, a country that has been troubled by a 27-year-old civil war that ended last year and the 2004 tsunami, when more than 35,000 people were killed on the island.

The partners in Global Reconciliation include government and non-government organisations, academic institutions, professional associations and community based groups. The patrons are global leaders including The Reverend Desmond Tutu of South Africa, The Hon Sir William Deane, Aung San Suu Kyi, President Jose Ramos-Horta, and Australian indigenous leader Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue.