Tag: wildlife

Day 8 – 12th February 2024- Wasgamuwa National Park.

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We were up bright and breezy, excited to be wildlife viewing in a new National Park. The previous evenings meal, a buffet, had been a bitter disappointment…..the usual fried rice or fried noodles were on offer with devilled chicken ( small spicy chicken pieces on the bone) and what should of been grilled fish and steamed vegetables only they were both finished. There was also what was described as battered mushrooms…there was lots of strips of batter but absolutely no mushroom. This was followed by some melted ice cream and some cubes of jelly….and no Coke Zero, so it was water again…

We met in the reception with Suminda and the Safari driver at 6.00 am……alas no one from the hotel was around with our pre-ordered packed breakfasts… 6.20 we were finally loaded on to the, marginally easier to access, jeep with breakfast and off we went. The main gate was less than 10 minutes away. We feared that our late arrival would mean queuing…we couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact for the majority of the day we were the only people in the park, late afternoon another vehicle joined us….what a shame such a beautiful park is so under utilised. We set off, having picked up a spotter at the gate, bumping along the tracks, which were in far better shape than those in Wilpattu. We quickly came across a large herd of very skittish white spotted deer. Our spotter then took us to a river where we alighted the jeep and walked a little way to a sandy beach. There were literally hundreds of endemic fish, we think he said they were Systomus Asoka, which are Asoka Barbs. We saw dozens of Iguana basking in the heat of the sandy roads.

It soon became clear that we were in a bird watchers paradise. Every few minutes we had another type of bird pointed out to us. These included Jungle fowl, (hens, cocks and chicks) , Button Quail, Sunbirds going in and out of their nests, Bush Larks, Pygmy geese, junior Hawk Eagle, Purple Herons, Painted Storks, Peahens and Peacocks, Lapwings, Green and Blue Bee-eaters, White Throated Kingfishers, Black Headed Munia, Stick Weavers going in and out of its funnel nest, Open billed storks, Asian Paradise Flycatchers, Malabar Pied Hornbills and many, many more whose names we failed to commit to memory !!!!!

At around midday the driver took us back to the Parks reception. We were supposed to disembark the jeep and stand around for an hour, in the heat of the day waiting for the driver to go back to the hotel to pick up our packed lunch and have his own lunch. The park doesn’t allow re-admission without repayment which at approx £80 we didn’t want to have to pay. However, I needed the toilet and the park doesn’t have any “foreigners/English” toilets and my knees are not capable of holding the squat position and standing back up unaided. My request to be able to return to the hotel to use the loo without paying the re-entry fee needed 9 men to discuss it, there was much debating going on, a phone call was made to the boss but he was unattainable…..some 15 minutes later it was decided we could leave the park to use the toilet and come back in again…..we really had to laugh at the hearty discussions with regard to my necessary bowel movements!!!!!
On the way back to the hotel we were amazed to see that half the road had rice laid on it to dry. The rice was raked over and some which had already dried was swept up and placed in sacks which were then collected by tractor pulled trailers or small vans. Seeing this could easily put you off eating rice, when you think of the dogs, cows, vehicles, people who have walked and done other unmentionable things on the road. We now understand the term ‘dirty rice’ which is cheaper than other rice in many African countries……fascinating.


On returning to the park we continued our viewing. We saw 2 Mouse Deer ( the smallest of the Asian deer family) these are a reddish brown deer the size of a rabbit, a barking deer (muntjac), a lizard on a branch, many more birds and the icing on the cake….lots of elephants ..a total of 27 in several smallish herds.

Just as we were leaving the park a Peacock put on a display for a passing Peahen. She took no notice so he turned his efforts towards us…a fabulous sight.

Happy from a days game and bird viewing we returned to the hotel. Supper was much more substantial…soup followed by a grilled chicken breast with not too much spice, potatoes and vegetables and of course the obligatory rice. Desert was ice-cream or fruit, John had both. Thank goodness for Suminda who had spoken to the hotel with regard to the previous nights meal….We went to bed with full tummies and happy hearts.

Day 4 & 5 – February 8th & 9th 2024 – Wilpattu National Park

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We bade Brenda, and Ron at the Ayubowan Guest House a fond farewell. It was definitely a place to recommend, very clean, very convenient to restaurants in Negombo, a nice place to stay with a refreshing pool.

We headed up north for our first experience in a Sri Lankan National Park. It was about a 3 hour drive through interesting villages and countryside. We stopped to have a look at a roadside temple.

We arrived at the Cloud Nine hotel around lunchtime. It had been advertised as a luxury hotel with views of the lagoon. We think someone was using poetic verse when they wrote the description. We entered our super deluxe room to see a giant corner spa bath and a massive bed and very little else. The balcony overlooked the forest/ jungle which evidently went down to the lagoon….we would have needed a machete to actually see the lagoon. The spa bath would have been heavenly for John if the taps actually worked and when we finally got some water out of them we’d have had to wait 2 hours for it to fill up !! The evening light show in the room was unexpected, the lights dipped, flickered or went out completely when the fridge tripped in and out..but hey! It was different.

We had a quick freshen up in our room before heading off to the Wilpattu National Park. The drive to the gate was 25 minutes. On arrival you walk across a bridge not dissimilar to those used to exit the jungle on “I am a Celebrity get me out of here”. Our Safari driver met us in a very beaten up Jeep. Evidently a bull elephant had taken a dislike to him 2 days prior and it had actually lifted the front wheels off the ground with its tusks, causing quite a mess to the front of the vehicle.

Climbing aboard was not for the faint hearted. We’ve boarded hundreds of Safari vehicles before but never one quite like this one where one really needed tiny feet, long legs, and a back able to bend in all directions…phew finally in and ready to go.
Over the following day and a half, we bumped around having Sri Lankan massages, over the very rough roads, through deep water, traversing the jungle and plains. We spotted a superb assortment of wildlife and bird life. One of our first spots was wild boar quickly followed by small herds of elephant. We also saw Spotted deer, Sambar Deer, Barking deer( muntjac), iguanas, buffaloes, mongooses, crocodiles, and the much sort after sighting of a leopard.

The bird life included the most magnificent peacocks, peahens, wooly necked storks, lesser adjutant storks, Indian pond herons, Indian rollers, egrets, herons, serpent eagles, bee eaters, Bitterns, pelicans, sitting ducks, lapwings, jungle fowl (the national bird) and many, many more. A real birders paradise.

On one occasion a frog leapt from the ground and landed on my trouser leg. It was quickly dispatched to whence it had come by Suminda who was sat behind me. Thankfully Suminda was with us and translated brilliantly, as the driver’s English was very limited.

On returning to Cloud Nine each evening we were offered a choice of two set menus…both at a price of LKR 3500 each ( approx £10 each) Our first night was leek and potato soup followed by crab curry and fruit salad or ice cream for dessert. Yummy you probably think and so did we. A plate with two sets of crab crackers, picks and scoops were put on the table. Our expectations were high…even the right equipment for the job…..but alas we really were on “I am a Celebrity”, the crab was the size of an egg cup and the amount of meat we managed to extract was minuscule, not even enough to wet our whistle let alone fill our tummies… The following night we opted for tandoori chicken and the obligatory rice but once again the chicken must have died of starvation or suffered with anorexia because it’s leg had next to no meat on it….so rice and more rice was once again our main meal. We again went to bed hungry and lacking protein.

Our over all opinion of Wilpattu National Park is that it is a total delight, full of surprises, a wonderful place to start our tour of Wildlife Parks. However! It really isn’t for the faint hearted, not just because of the struggle with getting in and out of Safari vehicles but because of the high level of rock and rolling which takes place due to the state of the roads.