Safari surprises

Our hotel was interesting and a bit basic, but filled with good intentions. And mosquitoes. The staff are standing around watching us eat. Is it all a surprise to them? Still, G&T and then a glass of red wine and the world seems a better place. Musk, Trump et al are having little impact here. May I stay? The meal too exceeded expectations with a good soup and then a fish dish with potatoes, rice and vegetables. Gabrielle finished with the inevitable plate of fruit. No haut cuisine and, more importantly, no buffet. Even our breakfast has been preordered.

Up at 06:30 - I kicked the bed and woke Gabrielle, much to her amusement- for an 08:30 departure to our penultimate hotel that is some 90 kilometres away. Doesn’t sound far but on these roads it’s a lot of driving, hooting and swerving. Breakfast was fruit platter followed by curry which was strange but nothing new as it’s been on the menu every day wherever we have been. It was utterly delicious but I couldn’t deal with that every day. This hotel - The Grand Beragala - isn’t grand and frankly could do with some investment. The rooms look very tired and the electrics are definitely dodgy as they make a point of demonstrating the torch that comes with the room.

“We had big ants. I had to stamp. Not very Buddhist is it?” said Gabrielle at breakfast, shortly after having been terrified by giant bees. The climate here is definitely tropical in contrast with Kandy for example. These microclimates across Sri Lanka mean that you are in an ever changing environment along with the associated vegetation.

Once breakfasted the guys came for our cases. No mean feat this as the rooms are down long concrete steps and our bags are heavy. They are eager for their tips of course.

Long drive down towards Yala National Park in the southeast of the country. The roads are little more than tracks - sub Bishops Offley back lanes - and yet buses and trucks regularly use the route. We would class them as C Roads. And progress is slow, if picturesque

We stopped at the Diyaluma Falls which tumble down into a gorge where a road bridge crosses - see the headline image. It’s sensational and the wind occasionally catches the falling torrent and blows it sideways in a veil. We passed through a rubber plantation where workers collect the sap twice a day as it oozes from the cuts in the bark. The liquid is poured out and dried into sheets which are then sent off to manufacturing.

And then we sat in a queue while a digger excavated a new drainage ditch. We fly through communities, making a brief disturbance in the air, eyed by a dog lying on the side of the road, or an old woman who is watching the world go by. Our impact on their lives is minimal.

It’s a land of microclimates and micro environments where you move from jungle to town to rice paddies to mountains to beaches and savannah. It’s beautiful and chaotic at the same time.

And then suddenly we are on open road that runs straight as a die, heading to Yala. The pace increases and we power past bikes, tuktuks and cars in a bid to get to the hotel as quickly as possible. “Is he on a promise?” I mutter to Gabrielle as we overtake at high speed. Atulah calmly drives and texts as he goes, sometimes speaking to colleagues and friends.

Signs warn of elephants ahead and we all sharpen our attention, scanning the jungle for any bulky form. The signs are immediately followed by identical ones warning of schoolchildren!

Buffalo are being herded on the road. Their milk is prized and sent from the region all around the country. Then we go through an area of wetlands on the margin of Yala Park.

On arrival at the hotel the bus is security checked by a guard before admission to the compound. Once inside our cases are scanned and whisked away until our room is ready. Apparently an important dignitary is in residence. Could it be us? Um, no.

The hotel is a Doubletree by Hilton and sits on the wetlands with beautiful open colonnades that have swing chairs and lots of birds that have serious designs on the cool drinks and large cookies we are offered on arrival. We are early for check in so we do the formalities and then prep ourselves to go full Crocodile Dundee as we head off on safari without having our room.

High of 32 degrees today as we depart and we make our way to a bite of lunch. The restaurant is sweltering but we enjoy sandwiches and ginger beer. Very Famous Five! We are, says Atulah, ahead of the crowd who are now packing the restaurant as we leave.

As we head for the park our driver is, frankly, driving like a loon. None of us feels that safe but we recognise that driving style here is very different. It’s a long drive and then we have the jeep and then the drive back. Atulah reckons 7 hours in vehicles.

We climb aboard our Jeep, welcomed by our driver, Ranga. We have no idea what we are in for but it’s exciting. We set off, perched high in the observation seats on the back and we enter the park through its gateway. Almost immediately we see pelicans and storks, bee-eaters and ibis. Buffalo wallow in the water and deer graze flightily by the roadside.

And then we spot him.

An elephant is wandering through the open land with a baby in its wake. What a beautiful spectacle. After two hours we stop by the seaside for a break and wonder what will be next. We could never have guessed.

As we turn a corner, there ambling towards us on the dirt road is a beautiful leopard. For our eyes only, just for a few moments. Our driver reverses slowly to keep the cat in view and then other vehicles begin to arrive. It completely ignores the excitement and gives us all a show of feline indifference. It is simply the best circumstance with a grandstand view and we are all blown away by it.

Our driver keeps his cool while others jockey for position but no one has a better view than ours. And then it is time to wend our way back.

Peacocks displaying, crocodiles lurking and more elephants round off a perfect day of safari. Over seven hours of driving today and, frankly, we’ve had enough. Dirty and tired we are heading to the hotel, even as I write this.  Tomorrow is another long drive to our beachside hotel for five nights.