Tuesday, April 2 – Friday, April 5
Finally, it’s time to shake myself out of my beach coma and do something more than swim and take walks all day!
The beautiful banana plantation around Coconut Gardens
My friend, Ranjith, that I met at dinner picked me up promptly as he promised and we set out for Tissa. I chose to stay at Coconut Gardens, which sits in the middle of a banana plantation only steps from the beautiful Lake Tissamaharama. This place was quite a step up from my meager accommodations at the beach. The hotels are much pricier for those who come to the Yala area to go on safari, so I found a happy medium which was on the “more-budget friendly side” for me but also still had impeccable reviews and offered safaris directly.
The staff here was unbelievable. So kind, so helpful, polite and very informative. The owner introduced himself to every guest and checked in with them each day to make sure they were having a good experience. I’ll say it again, Sri Lankans are so wonderful.
Sunset from the roof deck of CG looking at Lake Tissa
Now, THE SAFARI!
I was ready for pickup at 4:30am and the sweet lady from my hotel was there waiting in the reception area with a bagged breakfast for me to take with me! It was about 40 minutes to the park entrance and we were jeep #15 for entry! Everyone sits around and waits for the gates of the park to open just after sunrise.
Leopards are the prized sighting in Yala, with the large black bears coming in a close second. Around 7:30am, after following many leads on where one might be, we were so fortunate to have a female leopard come out of the brush, cross the road and literally walk right in front of our jeep! She was only feet in front of me! …. ok, but I learned a lot about myself in this moment, because I freaked out. She was a bit farther up the road and then starting walking down straight for us. I froze. I ducked behind the cab of the truck! When she turned and walked in front of us instead of coming up next to the jeep I felt silly and panicked that I didn’t have my camera to take a snap. So I just enjoyed the moment. I watched her slowly and elegantly stride along, unfazed by any of us being there, and then disappear into the brush again. My guide kept yelling “PHOTO! PHOTO!” I told him I got scared and didn’t get a photo, and he proceeded to laugh about it the rest of the day. Apparently that never happens, they rarely come out and get that close. Only 1 in 4 safaris even see a leopard. And I botched my golden moment. Oh well, I have the memory in my mind, I told him.
Not an hour later, we had a sighting of a large black bear in the woods. It took me minute to be able to see her but then once I did, I could not believe how gigantic she was! Her head was so big, I can’t even imagine how tall that bear was when it stood up. She was walking along, hidden behind a good amount of brush, casually eating some breakfast. Then all of the sudden, a darling little black bear cub comes running out and crosses the road in front of us! Gush!
Sunrise from the back of the jeep
My first elephant! He’s an older guy. Males travel alone, females in groups with the youngsters.
Not to rub it in for those that didn’t see any leopards, but around 5pm when we were starting to wind down for the day, there was word of a male sighting. We flew over there at some reckless speed that had me holding on for dear life (theme of the day), and were able to spot him. There he was just lounging in the open. He got up to take a drink from the lake, laid in the cool water, then slowly walked off into the woods. He was a large male, much bigger than the female I saw earlier in the day. And with that we called it a day, because how do you top seeing another leopard?
I won’t go into detail about every animal story I have, but those two were highlights since they are encounters not every guest is lucky enough to have. I saw so many elephants, monkeys, wild boars, deer, crocodiles, water buffalo, and an unbelievable variety of large and small birds. I’m not really a “bird person” but the colors, sizes, and variety were really fascinating in person.
On the beach in Yala
Our beast of a truck. There is literally nothing this thing can’t do!
Painted stork and crocodile
It was an incredible day. Lots of highs and lows, no doubt. It definitely wasn’t magical every moment. I was grumpy at times, it was hot as hell, it was boring, there were so many flies. But all the highs made up for any of those silly things.
Fast forward 14 hours later, and I’m dropped off at my hotel totally covered in dust, dirt, sweat, and lord knows what else. It’s as dirty as I can remember being. But it was so much fun and what an experience! I showered off and went to have some dinner! I met a lovely Australian couple who invited me to join them as they were going on a half-day safari the next morning. We had some gin and tonics, delicious Sri Lankan cuisine and lovely chats!
The next day I just recovered! Did some pool time, took a nap, and took a tuk tuk tour of little Tissamaharama. My guide was from a local village and had so much pride in showing me around. What a beautiful region and lovely experience I had!
Scenes from beautiful Lake Tissa
Every time I passed this spot (it’s on the way to CG), locals were swimming, washing clothes, bathing or socializing. This little slice of Lake Tissa by their village definitely plays a huge role in every day life there.
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