"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 83 Yala Safari Camp March 23, 2016 Wednesday Hot and humid as always 86 Pictures Part #1 of 2

Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2016 6:23:23 PM
Subject: Report # 83 Yala Safari Camp March 23, 2016 Wednesday Hot and humid as always 86 Pictures Part #1 of 2

Wednesday began like the previous days….getting up at 4am, and starting the game drive by 5:30am. Gosh, it would have been great to have that early morning coffee, but we know better not to drink too much in the morning. Besides drinking the juice or water given to us during the drive, we also bring our own water to slowly sip all morning. The designated pit stops are a long time coming if you indulge with the coffee too early.

Our destination was Block # 1, close to our camp. That's the good news. The bad news is that the roads are terrible, and you bounce like a yo-yo at times. And that is just getting to the gate. Once we were through the gate by 6am, the going gets slower, and the ride smooths out a bit.

Alex and Michelle were with us for their final drive. At the end of this morning adventure, we sadly had to bid farewell to our companions. It was such a pleasure meeting them both, and more so, since we seemed to share the same interests in life. That is, enjoy all we can, while we can still do it. Speaking for one of us, it is getting a bit difficult getting in and out of these vehicles, although the ladders are a significant help. Not much different than climbing stairs. Even though there is an ocean or two separating us (they are British citizens from Ireland), we think in the same vein. We are escaping the inclement weather at home to enjoy warmer climates in the world. Guess we got more than we bargained for here in Sri Lanka. Hot and hotter. They will need to be back to camp by 11ish, have breakfast, then pick up their ride to Galle for a three day stay. Perhaps we will see them there if we are lucky.

Our first encounter was with elephants. It was so foggy, they were fuzzy-looking in the camera lens. The elephants have spotted color on their ears, actually indicating their age. They can live to 60 years old. The mist was rising off of the pond waters as the whistling ducks, open-bill and wooley-neck storks waited for fish to jump. The common kingfisher was also waiting for his share. He is so tiny, that he is a magician at hiding. He is the prettiest of the kingfishers here with a deep turquoise color. A golden jackal was hiding in the brush, difficult to see him too. The four peacocks roosting in the tall trees saw him, as they sounded the alarm.

We got closer to a granite mountain with trees growing up the side of the steep cliffs. A little junglefowl was rooting in elephant dung by the roadside, never stopping his task of finding bugs. We spotted a little palm squirrel climbing a tree, while water buffalo and three large crocs floated by. Several bird sightings later, we came upon Elephant Rock, a monolith that really resembles the body and head of an elephant. Of course, that makes it a sacred place. There were redhead bulbuls here, and some smaller bee-eating birds devouring the insects underneath a rock cliff.

On the way to a pond to wait for a leopard, we saw a pair of mongoose. On the move, they were having no part of the picture-taking, and ran off into the brush. Suddenly, the road led to the Indian Ocean and a beach, where many other safari vehicles had come for a break. Good time to take a stroll to the water's edge and collect a few small seashells and beach sand for the "sands of the world" collection we have at home. Right off of the sandy beach, is a set of three metal sculptures of waves. They represent the height of the waves caused by the 2004 tsunami. The height had to be 8 feet. Can you imagine a wall of water coming at you at breakneck speed, and there is nowhere to run? In a small cove near the end of the beach, were huts for fishermen. Their boats were pulled up in front of the huts. We are fairly certain that this village would have been here, but was wiped out. Memories must be short, because they are back here again.

Right over the ridge from the beach, was a big natural pond full of heron, spoonbills, and water buffalo. Further up the road, we saw a wild boar being cleaned by a common mynah bird. He enjoyed the cleaning until we came and spoiled his party. He and the bird left the scene.

We came across an even larger flooded plain choked with water lilies and pink and white lotus flowers blooming. More storks, coots, and jacanas flew over this body of water searching for food. By 10:45am we were exiting the block with a rough ride back to the camp. Too bad we did not see any more leopards, as our safari mates would have liked that.

We arrived back at 11:45am, enough time for Michelle and Alex to finish packing and eat their breakfast. We said our goodbyes, and shared emails so we can send them photos from this visit here. They will be missed.

We had a brunch served at our tent table. It consisted of a cheese omelette, rolled pancakes filled with a coconut mixture, a hot bowl of chickpea curry, and tortillas to dip in it. A platter of assorted fresh fruit was added for dessert. We drank copious amounts of water, soda, and coffee with milk and sugar. The French-pressed coffee was great, but nice and strong.

For the next few hours, we took showers and worked on the computer and compiling the notes taken while in the jeep. Most of it is legible, some is not. Way too rough at times to make out the key words clearly. With the help of the photos, it comes together, more or less.

Guess what? Lunch was served around 2pm, not that we really needed it. We had requested it to be light, but not sure that message was completely understood. "Light" to the cooks was a thali-style 7 or 8 bowl meal. The small bowls contained chicken or tuna, simmered with onions and spices, more curries, several varieties of cooked veggies, and finally a heaping bowl of fried rice. Well, you know how that goes, when the food is presented, you have to be polite and try it. And besides, dinner would not be served until 8:30pm or so. Heaven forbid, we might get hungry.

Filled to the brim, we were ready for the afternoon game drive at 3pm. We found we had new jeep mates…..two young fellows from London. They were here for one night, so they would only have tonight and tomorrow morning to do the drives. If we were as lucky as our first drives, they will also see some leopards. It is the luck of the draw, we say. Besides our driver and guide, Manjue, we had two more guides along for the ride. First time we were a jeep-full of eight passengers.

We headed for Block # 5, the best place to see some big cats, we think. This time, once we entered the park gate, we turned right and were enveloped in the deep jungle growth. Looking back, we think they took us here to see some different landscape, as well as use up time until they knew the leopards would be on the move.

On this part of the drive, we found another pond, or tank as the guide called it. Little side note: after getting our hands on an excellent Yala Animals book in the drawing room of the hotel, we learned that these ponds were created by a corp of engineers. They are a series of flooded plains that are fed by gravity from a huge reservoir. Without them, the animals would only be here seasonally. They were creative in their thinking back then, and are responsible for much of the wildlife becoming permanent in this massive park.

Anyway, we saw the expected raptors up high in the trees, watching for prey. They included the grey-headed fish eagle, the crested serpent eagle, and anther crested hawk eagle. These birds are basically the "vultures" of the park, as we did not see any of those. They will clean up the carrion, as well as hunt fresh prey.

More monkeys were hanging around, watching the langurs, junglefowl, and the grey hornbills. An orange-headed green pigeon appeared with a small Ceylon barbet. Earlier, Michelle and Alex had told us the name "langur" had a much different meaning in Ireland or England. It referred to people who drank too much and left the bars in a drunken stupor. No wonder they chuckled every time our guide pointed out the langur moneys.

Further up this road, we saw a herd of spotted deer. This is good, because the leopards will be close to these herds. Every now and then, Manjue requested his driver to stop, turn off the engine, and listen for the sounds of animal calls. That is how we tracked some of the leopard sightings.

With no sounds heard, we drove to the sulfurous river for our "munchee" stop. Mango juice and cold water hit the spot, along with a few cheese and cracker sandwiches. Hey, remember, dinner would be late……..

At this point, it was time to back track and search for the leopards. With the full moon last night, it could be possible they made a kill or two, and would not be active today or this evening. That turned out not to be the case, since by 6:15pm, we saw one leopard that came out when it was almost dark. Did get some silhouette photos of it, but it was really getting dark rapidly. Without the light, the camera could not focus properly on the big cat. We stayed, watching for him to come back out, but we were pushing our luck, since the ranger had to be back by 6:30pm sharp. It was already 6:32pm and we sped all the way to the gate in a cloud of dust.

We were on the highway heading back, when the very same young elephant appeared on the side of the road, probably looking for handouts from the passing cars. Signs everywhere warn people not to feed wildlife, but it goes ignored by the do-gooders who have plenty of produce to share with them. We slowed in order not to hit the animal, then continued our journey. Not more than a few miles away, a leopard suddenly appeared from the brush, with the intent of crossing the road. The headlights of the jeep made the animal freeze in his tracks, which was good for a moment to get a picture. Changing his mind, he turned, and dove back into the cover of the jungle. How good is that? We saw two leopards in one game drive? Manjue said that was really unusual. Got back to the camp by 8pm.

Cocktails were waiting for us all, except we needed to do a quick wash-up and drop our gear off in the steaming tent. Wonder if this heatwave will ever let up?

Our group had increased with four more guests, a family with two kids from Wales. Like the two fellows from England, they would only be staying until after tomorrow's morning game drive. All of us would be leaving then, making room for more new guests. The beers tasted wonderful. We ate our dinner down by our tent. It consisted of a platter of delicious chicken, surrounded by sliced tomatoes. Another platter of steamed veggies, potatoes, green beans, carrots, and beets, accompanied the entrée. You could smell the aroma of garlic from the slices of garlic bread. Good thing we were both eating it, so there would be no problem with "garlic" breath. A cool custard with a caramel sauce finished the meal nicely.

It wasn't long before we crashed, and called it a night. But not before a cold shower and shampoo first. Seems like you cannot wash the dirt and dust away, no matter how much soap you use.

One more game drive tomorrow….hope we see more leopards, but that's wishful thinking.

Bill & Mary Ann

Pictures of the Morning Drive…….

Block # 1 of Yala Park