We were picked up at 7.00 am by a different driver today, because we were going to an area of Yala about 1 hour 15 minutes away. The area is known as block 4 & 5 ( incidentally Block 2 & 3 are not accessible to tourist jeeps). Our driver was a scruffy barefooted elderly man who spent the whole day chewing beetle ( it makes you high, evidently) and he had no interaction with us at all. Once again he provided the lunch which came from the same place as the lunch the day before. We took a packed breakfast from the hotel, their cheese and tomato sandwiches were very pleasant as was their fruit platter.
During our morning Safari we saw the peacock perform its mating dance, a splendid sight, lots of Bee-eaters, buffalo’s, grey Langer monkeys, a selection of herons, storks and eagles, some very young white spotted deer and elephants to name but a few.

During the Safari we went alongside the Weheragala Reservoir and viewed the massive sluice gates. A picture of these appear on the back of the Sri Lanka 5000 Rupee note….On the non-reservoir side of the sluice is a small river. We were amazed to see 3 jeep loads of local people bathing in this river in the middle of the national park. Apparently this is a normal activity for a Sunday.

We stopped for our curry lunch by the same waters edge where we had had breakfast. Suminda is becoming an expert on serving curry from the back seat of the jeep…because unless we go to another designated picnic area you are not allowed to alight from the jeep. Our guide reiterated this to us when we asked to stop there for lunch….the 3 of us promised not to get down. On arriving at the area our guide told us he had recently seen leopard there and then promptly descended from the vehicle and went to the waters edge to wash his hands, face and feet !!!!

After lunch things went from rather uncomfortable to an endurance test…fortunately John Suminda and I passed the test ..just….
Having had at least one beetle too many the driver set off on some mission to see how many side roads he could take us down…these were not rock and roll, or even tango side roads more like tsunami wow, wow, wow….. let me tell you holding on for grime life is futile and actually only rips muscles as you are tossed and turned in unexpected directions. It’s better to put your arms out sideways to try and balance and ride the storm on your coccyx, hips and buttocks and just pray that your spine is still attached when you make flat land…ready for the next .. We got badly stuck in the mud twice. The first time Suminda shouted at him where to turn the wheel…the second time we sort of hit a brick wall, crashing our knees into the seat infront and jolting every bone in your body ..we were almost on our left side with the mud over the back wheel and almost into the jeep at the front…he kept going back and forwards in the same place spinning the wheels and showering everything with mud…eventually Suminda instructed him where to turn the wheel and when to accelerate…. At this point John and I decided to call it quits and Suminda told him to take us home… at one point I looked over my shoulder at Suminda and he was holding on with both arms up to the roll bars on the roof and swinging…he looked at me and we both burst out laughing… he shouted over the roar of the engine “I bet I look like a monkey” my reply was “ I Thought you were in the gym doing pull-ups” Even on the dryer roads the ruts were atrocious.

One the way out of the National Park we did see some absolutely amazing Malabar Pied Hornbills, a fantastic sight and some Indian Rollers. Needless to say when we got back to Tringa Villas our driver only got a tiny tip.

During supper that evening the 3 of us couldn’t stop laughing..I think it was the relief of being alive and in one piece as we talked over the days activities and adventures. Our supper was once again not good…if you like dry rice and over fried chicken leg it would be fine, but we don’t. Suminda very kindly took pity on us and offered to drive us to a nearby restaurant the following evening. We all had an early night as our bodies were very sore from the bumping, crashing, bouncing around. I have an extra tip for any ladies who may be stupid enough to do a Safari like this …….put a rolled up pair of socks down the middle of your bra to stop your boobs crashing into each other…… we Safari a lot but this one beats the lot 10x over when it comes to rough roads.