A jeep for seven, gears crunching as we roll backwards and forwards, smoke chugging out the back…not the ideal way to lure a leopard but still the search continued……
Yala National Park is located on the south east coast of Sri Lanka covering an area of 1260 sq km. Its recently be re-opened again to tourists though the 5.50am start has been put back to 6.30am so that the army can ‘clear’ the roads from potential bombs. Enquiring with our driver about the bombs, “do they actually find many?”….”Oh yes” he calmly responded. Thankfully we were safe and well in the park by now, my decision hadn’t been made until two days before to go. It was after speaking to the locals and tour guides that they put my mind to rest and I booked in, my safety being my main concern.
So there we were sitting in the back of a jeep, John the Swede taking a multitude of snaps of himself, John.com (named because of his love of the internet) his camera non-stop clicking, Gavin the fiery red head from Ireland, Ant and I. It wasn’t the most spacious or comfortable, legs forever clashing, heads cracking against the interior but since when has wildlife searching been done in luxury, unless you are sitting in front of the telly watching wildlife on one?
On arriving in the park we acquired a compulsory ‘guide’ though to say guide is a mere suggestion of his job, I think throughout the whole day he pointed out two things and then promptly nodded off! Our driver though was an absolute star, constantly surprising us by spotting animals and birds that were mere feet from us, even with our five pairs of eyes staring out covering all angles we had failed to spot.
“There up that tree, a hawk eagle” he would pronounce as the jeep came to a halt.
“Wild boar” as he reversed the jeep, smoke billowing out.
“Marsh crocodile” as we looked out across the lake trying to find it dozing on the bank.
“Mongoose” as we came to a stand still to watch it dart across the road into the under growth.
“Bee-eater bird” as we looked around, only to find it perched on a branch inches away.
“Monitor lizard” as we trained our eyes on the camouflaged reptile moseying along.
Our driver was fabulous, to say he had an eye for it would an under statement.
We of course like the other jeeps rattling around the park were on the hunt for a leopard, highly endangered due to their habitat destruction. It turned out to be a futile search though, but nevertheless we stopped and waited with patience, just incase. Fourteen eyes peering into the bushes desperate to spot one, circling tracks, reversing up and down, hoping against hope to see one prowling for food or lounging in a tree. To be honest I don’t think the noise of our jeep helped one little bit, the black smoke pumping out the back, well I felt it was a bit of a deterrent…
Not spotting the leopard did not ruin our day though, we were far from disappointed. Yala was better than I had imagined and exceeded my expectations. The landscape was an eye capturing mix of dry barren plains, rocks jutting out, blue lakes, luscious green trees rising high up and a sand covered coastline just teeming with wildlife. There wasn’t a minute that went by that an animal or bird wasn’t visible.
In the park 130 species of birds have been recorded and I could see why, Parakeets, Brahiminy Kites, Hornbills, brightly coloured bee-eaters, huddles of storks chilling by the lake, these are to name but a few. Such amazing colours as you see them fly through the sky to rest on a barren tree sitting in the middle of the lake. The perfect platform for us to observe them.
We sat and watched spotted deer munching on the grass, dancing peacocks strutting their stuff and fanning their tails in a mating ritual, wild boar roaming, jackals running through the bush, langal monkeys swinging through the trees and my ultimate favourite the elephants. We were able to get close to the mums and their babies without disturbing them, watching them feed on the scrubs, kicking at stubborn roots, having a good munch. One baby we saw stood behind its mother, just out of shot of her pooing but then proceeded to eat her dung! Can’t say it looked all that appetizing but I suppose that’s nature at its finest!
During the suns peak at midday we stopped by the sea in a sheltered spot to have lunch. It was picturesque, a deserted beach with crabs scurrying in and out of the water and huge out crops of rocks waiting to be climbed. We all gave in and had a snooze before dining on rice and curry. Gavin unknowingly turned out to be the afternoons entertainment, as the four of us were sat chatting he strolled down to the sea for a swim. Over the dune of sand then he disappeared out of sight. After a while we thought he had been quite a long time and then he came slowly into our focus, his head of curly hair, his torso and then the rest of his NAKED body!!! Obviously seeing a deserted beach he had taken the opportunity to be free in the water. Little did he realize that we could see everything!!!….as he stood there starkers looking out to sea for the last time and as he did the foot shake dance trying to get the sand off him before covering up…Needless to say the boys jokes about seeing a python spurred on much laughter…. later seeing himself captured on camera in full glory he finally cottoned on to the merriment!
Rested and the jeeps punctured tyre changed we set off again but still no sign of the leopard. After a couple more hours of feeling like David Attenborough we left the park fully satisfied. Though one last joy was to be had as our driver squirmed through some bushes to spot a very rare tusked elephant, what a beauty! Tusked elephants are rare because they normally have their tusks removed to save them from being hunted by poachers….it was a perfect way to end an eye encapsulating day.
