"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 84 Kulu Camp and Yala Drive to Galle March 24, 2016 Thursday Part #1 of 2 Still extremely hot 86 Pictures Morning Drive Block # 1

Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 6:47:48 PM
Subject: Report # 84 Kulu Camp and Yala Drive to Galle March 24, 2016 Thursday Part #1 of 2 Still extremely hot 86 Pictures Morning Drive Block # 1

Wake-up time came all too soon at 4:30am so we could be ready to shove out of camp at 5:30am. The road was bumpy as we headed to Block # 1, slowing down to avoid the ruts for ½ hour. We arrived at the gate by 6am, and were among the first through once we picked up our ranger. Right before we started up, one of the British fellows in back of us, yelled and jumped up suddenly. Yikes! A mouse had jumped from a tree, no less, and joined us briefly. Running around our feet on the bottom of the jeep, Manjue got a towel and scooped it up, dumping it overboard. Can you imagine if the rodent had climbed up our legs? Good grief.

Wild boar were begging food from us, as well as the monkeys following suite. Time to leave. Driving to a flooded plain, we spotted an eagle hawk perched over the grey-looking pond. It was an eerie morning as the jungle seemed to be steaming with a low fog. It cast a strange look to the rising sun, turning it an orange color.

A ruddy mongoose darted across the road as we traveled to a substantial bridge crossing the river. On one side of the bridge is Block # 3, and the other is Block #4, not accessible to safari traffic as of yet. We understand that the same is true for Block # 2, as we never drove into that section.

Two jackals, probably a pair, ran ahead of us on the road. They like to travel on the dirt roads instead of staying in the brush. They really have no enemies, except the leopard or the sloth bear. So they are not worried about hiding. We saw what looked like a pile of elephant dung in the center of the road, but when we got closer, a ruddy mongoose stretched out full length, and took off.

Nearby a water buffalo was enjoying a cleaning from a couple of mynah birds. If we were in South Africa, the birds doing this job are the ox-peckers. While we were fixated on the cleaning, a large spotted deer came by on a run. Wonder why? That's when we heard the monkeys "barking" an alarm call. Our guide stopped the driver, and we waited for five minutes to listen and wait for movement. A whole herd of spotted deer, a huge buck in the lead, crossed the road right in front of our vehicle. Something big was happening for sure. That's when we saw two leopards in the tree line, chasing this herd. Just as the majority of the herd took cover in the brush, one small doe stopped, turned around, and ran directly back towards the two leopards. The buck stopped, turned around, and watched as if to say what are you doing? Was it possible we were going to see a kill? At that point, they gave up when the doe ran like the wind, right past the pair of cats. Then she was gone, as were the leopards….out of sight. We wondered if a strike was made, but Manjue said no, we would have heard something. It was only 7am, so the leopards would probably still be close by, biding their time. The rest of the herd simply walked away, slowly, at that, like nothing had occurred.

We also decided to move on, but stay close by, and have a munchee break at 7:45am. This time it was in the jeep. That way, if we heard the langur calls once again, we would be free to drive quickly.

The monkey calls came again…very close. We drove towards the sound, when Manjue spotted another leopard walking in the trees. Our driver followed slowly, when the cat turned, and went the opposite way. Now we were backing up quickly to keep up with her. Many other vehicles were appearing, so we were stuck in the middle at this point. Suddenly the large female leopard went up a tree right towards the barking, startled langur monkeys. She had a cub at the base of the tree. We had a perfect spot to see the action, but the other drivers were getting so close to each other, that there were only inches in between the vehicles.

The leopard did not pay attention with all the commotion going on, since she was intent on grabbing one of those monkeys. We are still wondering how the branches held the weight of that cat. She went right to the very end, hugging the thickest part of the tree limb. Now the monkeys simply sat there, knowing they were out of reach, but not panicking. Curiosity took over their thinking as they held their ground, not running. Almost teasing the leopard. As a result, the cat eventually gave up, slithered down the tree, and slowly disappeared with her cub in the thick brush.

Now we had a dozen jeeps jamming the road. That's when it happened……one of the drivers opened his door to stand on the edge of the jeep to take photos. His door flew open, and another moving jeep darn near took his door off. Oh boy, somebody is going to be in trouble over that one. Even Manjue got out his camera, and took pictures of the damage and both license plates. The jeep door was tweaked enough that it would not close. Oops, bet this happens often. At least no one was hurt.

Guess that was enough excitement for our final game drive. We had the extreme luck of having spotted ten different leopards in the four days of safari game drives. Cannot be any better than that. The rest of the wildlife sightings were frosting on the cake.

It wasn't over yet. Once we were outside of the gate, several wild boar with a ton of babies strolled on by us. They are certainly prolific, and capable of reproducing at a very young age. Our guide called the piglets bacon on the hoof.

On the way out, we passed a weaver's nest. They are a small bird that literally weaves grasses into hanging nests. As we took photos, several buses of school kids passed by our jeep. They were on a field trip, and the boys were in one bus, while all of the girls in another one. The boys were singing, having a fine noisy time, while the girls sat quietly, acting like perfect young ladies. Kids are the same no matter where you go.

We arrived back to camp by 11:15am, giving us the needed time to resume packing. Brunch was served immediately at our table over-looking the pond. Breakfast was a bowl of sliced sausages with roasted bell peppers and onions. Served with it were slices of rice and coconut milk. Assorted fresh fruit was brought along with diet soda and coffee. We had time to zip off a few emails, while downloading the last of the morning photos.

We took care of handing out the tips, but not to individuals. We were advised to give the tip money to the general staff, where it is distributed evenly. That was fine with us, as we had had different drivers on most every drive.

We said our goodbyes, and said thanks for such a unique experience. Our two pieces of luggage had been picked up, and loaded into the jeep, where we joined Manjue for our ride back to Kataragama. One last climb into the safari jeep. On the way, Manjue asked if we could send him some of our most special photos from the trip. Ten minutes later, he pulled into a temple area, where our driver, Lucky, was waiting for us. Sure nice to see things connect easily like this. Lucky had been advised of the heatwave in this area, and unknown to us, had checked daily to see how we were doing. Also nice to know they cared for our safety. No wonder the camp staffers were always reminding us to drink lots of fluids.

We assured Lucky that we survived the heat, but sure were looking forward to a cool drive to Galle in his air-conditioned car. Our drive began at noon as we headed south towards the UNESCO World Heritage city of historic Galle. Once we got past the rural dirt roads, the ride was smooth and yes……very cool.

The scenery was interesting as we watched burning fields of recently harvested rice. Again we witnessed flocks of ibis and egrets gobbling up the frogs. These little critters must be in the fields by the millions.

By 1pm, we had passed Hambantota, where the ship had been docked about 5 days ago. The schools were getting out, and the roads were crowded in the villages. The kids were all dressed in uniforms – the boys in starched white shirts and blue shorts. The girls were all dressed in white skirts and matching blouses. Neat and tidy.

We arrived to the city of Tangalle by 2pm, where Lucky pulled over so we could have a quick pit stop at a restaurant. As we were following the beach, this restaurant had a nice view of the ocean. Funny how all of the villages had so many buildings blocking this view, you would not know the ocean and beach were right there.

At this point, we had wrapped around the southern-most tip of the island, and arrived to Matara city by 3pm. This city had been badly damaged by the 2004 tsunami. We passed a Buddhist shrine and a statue of a woman depicting the height of the flood waters that took this village out to sea. The statue had to be 12 feet tall. Very chilling to imagine the horror of this incident. There is also a lighthouse here that is the tallest one in the country.

At this point, it was 43 kilometers to Galle, our destination. We drove by Weligama, a resort village known for its surfing and old fishing boats that are pulled up on the beach. Judging from the tourists we saw walking through town, most of them were young couples and families. We would say all of the tourists were European, especially from Germany. Also an interesting sight were the stilt fishermen, who fish with a baited line while sitting on a single stick erected in the surf near the beach. It is the strangest-looking art of fishing we have seen. These days, according to Lucky, they really don't fish for a living, but do this for the tourist industry. When people stop to take photos, someone is there to collect donations. Always an angle.

Shortly, we were in the middle of heavy traffic as we neared the city of Galle. Lucky pulled to the side of the road several times , lowered the back door window, so we could get some quick photos of the fort and the surrounding points of interest, such as the fruit and fish market, sunbathers on the beaches, and boats floating in the surf.

We drove through the gates at the Galle Fort, and went right to the front of the Amagalla Hotel, an old colonial building with a wonderful past history. It was like going back into time as we were led by the traditionally-dressed Sri Lankan staff to the waiting area to check in. There was no lobby desk, but a simple writing desk with a few fellows to help us. Immediately, we were handed chilled scented wash clothes to use, followed by a refreshing cool drink of fruit juice. Quite civilized for sure. The only thing they needed were our passports. With them checked, everything was in order with our pre-booking, and we were led to our room.

We went down a flight of ancient granite stairs, obviously original from the hotel, where the building would have ended. This guest wing must have been added later on. Passing the neatest sitting room with a library, we went down a few more stairs, turned, had more stairs, then found room # 31 through a garden path. (Not a facility for the handicapped.) We were right next to the beautiful pool area, buried in frangipani trees in full bloom. The staff was decorating the area for a private dinner for a visiting family of eight later on, we were advised. The affair would include a Sri Lankan dance team and a band. Worried that the party would be loud, it occurred while we were at dinner in the main dining hall. Unfortunately, we missed the entire thing. Too bad, because we heard there was a belly dancer. We did, however, heard the beat of the drummers while we ate dinner.

In the meantime, we were in heaven as we cooled off in our room with the help of a glass of iced tea given to us as the hotel guide showed us around the room. He had returned our passports at this point, which we put in the safe. Another plus was that we would have internet for our stay. Fast and free. Perfect. A bowl of tangerines was on the end table, and they helped tide one of us over until dinnertime. The refrigerator was also full of complimentary waters and sodas, which we soon enjoyed.

Since it was getting dark, we wisely decided to stay at the hotel for dinner, and not go venturing into the fort. Actually, our itinerary included a guided evening walk with Lucky as our guide. But we chose not to do it, as it was way too hot and we were tired. Truthfully, we were just here last year on a day tour with our travel agency, so we knew we could do it on our own. It had been a long day, and we could see bus after bus leaving the fort filled with school kids, obviously on field trips. It worked out that our visit here coincided with one of the their major holidays, so the locals have flooded of these typical tourist sites too.

We had checked out the Amagalla dinner menu, finding it very pricey. Having expected that, and it didn't matter. We were more concerned about the choices that were offered. At this point we were ready for some "un-spicy" cuisine, and had no trouble finding many items that fit the bill.

So we were greeted by the pretty sari-clad hostess who led us to a table for two on the veranda's railing. For our meal, we both ordered lentil salads, and the roasted chicken with potatoes and green beans entrée. Dinner rolls including bread stick arrived first. Since we had missed lunch, the food sure tasted good. We must have consumed ten glasses of water, realizing how easily we had become dehydrated during the heat of the day. The temperature was still in the high 90's, but the overhead fans helped to make us comfortable.

You can imagine how wonderful it was to have a warm shower before going to bed. It was tempting not to continue with computer work, but we both needed to keep up-to-date with photos and writing, so we stayed up until midnight. Then we crashed. Tomorrow will be another whole day to explore the fort.

Bill & Mary Ann

Morning Drive Block # 1

Wild boar sow and piglet