We hadn’t realised that Udawalawa was about an hour and three quarters away from our hotel, otherwise we would have changed hotels…..We awoke with stiff tired bodies, collected our takeaway breakfasts from the cook, who now greeted us with a smile ( proof that when you beam at someone constantly, they have to smile back…it had been a struggle but we got there!!!). Suminda drove us in the air-conditioned car and we enjoyed the, now usual, rural scenes along the way…….dogs lying asleep in the road, cows causing a road block, bicycles wobbling along, mopeds swerving all over the place, buses driving up your tail and peeping loudly as they push you off the road, school children in their white uniforms walking to the days lessons, teachers in saris greeting them at the gates of schools, roadside vendors selling an array of fruit/veg/buffalo curds. etc and so the daily life of Sri Lanka passes by our windows.
Just before the National park we saw a big tusker behind the electric fence. He was evidently re-known for standing there opposite a sweetcorn vender because people buy the corn and throw it over the fence to him. The Government warns against this as it makes the elephants dependant on this food and when they don’t get it they can turn aggressive, like the fruit searching bull elephant in Yala.
On arriving at Udawalawe we met up with our jeep and its driver – a nice, smartly dressed young man who spoke little or no English. We bought some snack lunch items, samosa, plain roti and stuffed roti from a small cafe by the gate for a light lunch. I also bought a nice cap with the Park on it…a gift for my dad…which was put to use straight away by his younger daughter!! So only slightly second hand!!. With the preparation for the day completed we set off into the park. We heaved a sigh of relief, the roads were much better condition than in Yala, they were well maintained and our driver was a considerate driver who took a great deal of care when going over bumps and potholes.
Udawaiawe National Park is known for its herds of elephants and bird life. It certainly did not disappoint.
We spent a very enjoyable day, driving on over grown but good condition roads, stopping by a river for breakfast and a lake for lunch, seeing a whole array of wonderful wildlife.
A baby elephant of less than a month old was exploring life while keeping its mum close by, another youngster drank greedily then chucked loads of water around to cool off. The elephants were not alarmed by vehicles, who showed respect and quietly gave them space. These giants were quite happy wandering across the dirt roads, in pursuit of tasty leaves and grasses. On one occasion an elephant brushed between a jeep and a bush, giving both a gentle nudge to make way for its bulk.
On our way out of the park we saw our first terrapin, of this trip, gracefully slide into the water. We left the park very happy, at about 4pm so Suminda didn’t have to drive the rather long journey back to Tringa Villas in the dark and also to give ourselves a shorter day. We had enjoyed seeing a wide variety of wildlife whilst in the capable hands of a careful driver.
That evening Suminda dropped us at the end of the road at The Aqua House Seafood Restaurant. It was only a 100 yards from Tringa Villas but as the road had a crocodile in it on our first night and evidently often has elephants wandering about, we all decided not to risk the walk. Aqua House is also a hotel and would probably be our choice if we were recommending to anyone…it had super high speed Wi-Fi, nice smiling waiters, quick service, cheaper food and rooms, a lovely clean swimming pool and an extensive menu. Having said that it didn’t have any prawns they were ..”finished”… so we made do with grilled fish and chips..no dry rice for us..what a treat… the fish was tuna and it all tasted great. It was also a lot cheaper than we had been paying at Tringa Villas. The only downside is that like Tringa Villas they don’t take credit card it all has to be cash. Suminda returned to collect us and we were soon asleep dreaming of our last Sri Lankan Safari, with our tummies full of nice tasty food.
2 J's World of Adventure 