Off beaten track

Our final round of the park and once again we decided to head down Gonalebe pare to see if the cub would ever deign to let us photograph it. Half way there we got confirmation via text that the cub was indeed up in a tree and getting to the spot we hit a major traffic jam. It looked like all the jeeps in the park had converged around the tree and tempers were flaring. One asshole in particular in a blue Nissan Patrol was being a complete idiot, blocking everybody�s way and showing complete disregard for anybody. My guess, seconded by the rest of the party was that he was probably a minister�s kid, especially since he was exceptionally rotund. Disgusted by the congestion and choking in the fumes, we passed the cub in the tree, where only a portion of its rear end was visible, and turned around to leave�only to get stuck in another traffic jam on the way out. Resigning ourselves to being stuck there for the next 10 minutes, we idly looked up at the cub�s leg. Serendipity then struck. Th

The morning run began as last afternoons with two jeeps. This time however we decided to use two trackers with Nana coming with us. The jeeps split apart as we started quartering the park again for any interesting sightings. First up was a couple of rounds down Gonalabe to see what had happened to the leopard cub. Unfortunately a number of other people had the same idea as us and we met more jeeps than wildlife on the road. On a search for solitude we decided to head down the Akasachayitya sub-route, which is fairly out of the way from the usual haunts in block 1. After a few minutes spent at the Gallukuda Weva, where an extremely photogenic white necked stork kept us company, we headed towards Akasachayitya. White Necked Stork Two things sprung out at us as we traversed the road. One was the isolation, not another jeep in sight, though the tracks indicated at least one jeep had gone before us. The other thing was the white sand of the road. The jungle

I greeted Nalin�s suggestion for getting back into the park at 2pm with some trepidation. For one thing we left the park only at 11.30 and taking into account the need for a shower, lunch and getting organized for heading back into the park, the prospects of a much needed afternoon nap receded into impossibility. A second jeep joined our group into the park and Nana rode with them.  Did I mention Nana was a good tracker? His good judgment entered the realms of fantasy as on his instructions we turned Siyambalagaswala pare and surprised a leopard picking its way through the puddles on the road. The other jeep was in front of us and as we swerved behind it to get into position for a photograph the leopard (apparently) did a spirited leap over a puddle and bolted into the undergrowth. I say apparently because after a first glimpse of the leopard, I was so caught up in making sure my camera gear was ready I missed out on the acrobatics. Inquisitive leop

The first morning was a tough one to wake up to, my ears still ringing with the whines of the dive bombing mosquitoes and feeling a bit weak from losing a couple of pints of blood to the beasts. Shaking the grogginess off, Nalin and I headed back into the park, picking up Dhammika and Nana along the way for good measure. There were a lot less tourists this morning than on the penultimate day of 2009 and it looked like it was going to be a quieter morning in the park as we started on our search for wildlife, with a perky mongoose starting the day's tally. Ruddy Mongoose There is often a fine line between luck and instinct when it comes to trackers successfully spotting leopard and our first sighting of the day might have bordered on the former. While it was Nana who suggested the Gonnagala para as an initial route, it was Dhammika, fortuitously looking left and behind him, who made the spot. And what a spot it was, a massive male leopard stalking through the lush green undergrowt

I have welcomed the New Year in many a different place, 5 star hotels in Colombo, a cold pub in Bromley, fireworks on the home street and on the streets of Vegas. 2010 however had most of those other times beat, as I returned to a place that has always had a hold on my heart, Yala National Park in the deep south of Sri Lanka. Yala has played a large role in my life, from the lore of family tales to my first memories of wildlife and nature. The dry plains and twisted palu and weera trees formed the back drop to most of my childhood photographs. The half glimpses of the elusive leopard and the lumbering bear and the old men of the jungle trackers formed some of the best parts of my childhood. Despite all this prior to August 2009, I hadn�t been into the park for well over a decade, the vagaries of college and working in the first world having prevented me from any trips on the mostly breathless visits back home. What I found when I went back in 2009, having moved back to Sri Lanka for an

Welcome to 2010 and in many ways a fresh start for myself. This blog is something I�ve been meaning to start for awhile, chronicling my travelling travails in Sri Lanka along with showcasing some attempts at photogrpahy along the way. Of course until recently this has been a bit tough since I lived on another continent. However having returned home for the next few years watch this space for tales of my wandering around the island and other trips I have taken/will take in other lands. Madiha seashore at sunrise