Elephants!

 Last night we went to dine at the rooftop resteraunt that we ate at the night before. Owing to Crispys condition. Once we have found somewhere where we are confident they understand the concept of " gluten free" we tend to stay there. Otherwise it's a trauma for Dear old Crispy and every meal becomes a gamble. Here has been particularly difficult as there is no understanding of allergy or dietary problems. 

The resteraunt we have found is good although a little pricy but the young waiters speak very good English. It's a tuk tuk ride away from our lodgings but for peace of mind and Crispys "constitution" it is worth it. Also from the roof top you are treated to a spectacular air show from the flying fox. A type of bat with a 3 foot wingspan. I believe its the biggest bat in the world but thankfully is a vegan and doesn't want to bite or eat you.

I could drive there but at night the roads are even more scary than the daytime and it would mean I couldn't have a cheeky beer with my tea. Crispy knows I like a cheeky beer with my tea when travelling so doesn't mind me indulging. 

Last night we were late eating. A group of young lads, all locals, came in and it was obvious that they had been drinking. They weren't noisy or aggressive but a little excitable. One of them decided, for reasons known only to himself,  to "swing" his way upstairs like a monkey and went feet first through a plate glass door. It exploded with an enormous bang.  It's not safety glass here so  he suffered very serious lacerations to his legs on the glass shards.  The waiters quickly got him outside and off to the local hospital. Looking at the injuries I think it is going to involve surgery to sort him out.

After everything calmed down we made our way outside to get some drinks for the room and tried to hail a tuk tuk home. It was about 10 o-clock.  I think they must all stop working early as there was only one on the streets. Crispy approached the one young guy in his tuk tuk and asked if he would take us home. He said he would but that it wasnt his tuk tuk but had borrowed it from his dad. He was at a party to celebrate his grandads "Bob Marley's" birthday. I kid you not. He had come to town to buy some more beer for "Bob's'" birthday bash. We jumped in and he set off. Completely in the wrong direction. After a little confusion he took us to the party where "Bob", an old Sri Lankan guy in dreadlocks, rastafarian hat and hippy clothes insisted we join his celebration. It took all our resolve to stop us from being dragged into what looked like a fantastic party. Crispy was up for it and i had to restrain her from getting out of the tuk tuk and jammin the night away with the Sri Lankan Reggae massif. After a chat with " Bob" he explained to the young guy where we needed to be and he promptly took us straight home.  Crispy sulked all the way. You can't make this stuff up.

 

Other than that it was an uneventful evening.

I had been trying to book us a safari whilst we are here in the central region. This is the best area to see wild elephant and there are three national reserves close by that the majestic beasts are free to roam and do what elephants do.

The three reserves are not separated by any physical barriers and the lack of barriers is the reason the elephants end up on the roads. They migrate to different feeding areas according to the weather and seasons. I was told the best and biggest  reserve was Minneriya and had googled to find a safari company to take us there.. You are not allowed in the reserve unless you are with an organised and licensed safari group.  Many were operating and available but were really expensive.

 This morning at breakfast I spoke to the owner of our lodgings who said that he had a friend that could help. He rang him and within minutes we were sorted. For very little money his friend would send a safari jeep to collect us at 1pm for a private tour. He explained that at this time there are very few elephant in the Minneriya reserve and that they had moved to one a little further away.  Knowing that he knew best I arranged the tour and at 1pm we were collected as promised. The reserve is around 1 hour away by jeep (2 hours by tuk tuk) and we set off on our adventure. Once past Sigiriya (the place we visited yesterday) the traffic eases and every hundred yards is a big yellow sign saying " caution. Elephants crossing". 

I was busy reading these signs when our driver braked to a sudden stop. On the road in front of us was a young bull elephant. A young tourist couple on a scooter had stopped right in front of it.  Our driver was shouting through his window at the scooter couple to move away quickly as the elephant was very dangerous. They smiled waved and very slowly drove away totally oblivious to the danger.  Last month a motorcyclist was killed by an elephant on the same road. 

We saw two more elephant on the road before even getting to the safari. I'm just glad we were in a rugged reinforced jeep and not "Ruby".

If its ears are out it's not a happy bunny!

We arrived at the reserve and joined the throng of all the other safari jeeps. All were crowded whilst Crispy and I were sat like royalty in our Private vehicle. It seems all the jeeps wind their way through the jungle roads until one spots where the elephant are. Then all congregate in that one spot so the eager tourists can see them. Our driver was excellent in getting us close to the action. The elephants do not seem disturbed by this phenomenon. They amble off or stay close depending on how they feel. There is no feeding or contact with the animals. It's very well done and the elephants have 1000s of acres to roam around so there is no guarantee that you will see any of them.

We saw lots of wild elephant.. Large bulls, females with baby's and lots of adolescents. They seem to move in family units or congregate in large herds. By the amount of young we saw I think the future of these majestic beasts is guaranteed in Sri Lanka.

We have seen many elephants on our travels but this time it was amazing to see them in their natural environment. 

All in all it was a great experience and I was pleased that we managed to do it. There are more nature reserves in the south and we are hoping to do another safari once there hopefully see leopard and bear. I'm sure I'll be able to sort it.

After the Safari it was back to our lodgings to shower and get some tea. 

Tomorrow we will take Ruby to go and see an ancient city and temple complex. Crispy is excited as she loves a bit of rubble.

Bare and Crispy signing off, Dambulla, Sri Lanka