Memories- My first visit to Yala National Park

Yala or Ruhunu National Park is the most famous Safari destination in Sri Lanka. The park was out of bounds for a few years due to a terrorist attack in 1996, therefore even after Yala was re opened to the public the school did not want take any risks by taking young school chindren into a place with another possible terrorist threat. I had heard so many stories about Yala, and had seen many old black and white photographs of my mothers trip to the park. Finally during the April holidays of 2000, I was able to go to park which I have heard so much about. For me, this was a big step up from what I was used to. The parks I used to visit at the time, Wasgamuwa, Udawalawe and Bundala all had elephants, but we hardly saw other animals. Even the deer were very shy in these other parks, thus it was a big surprise for me to see so many spotted deer in such close proximity, and being so used to vehicles. It was also the first time I saw wild boar.

We camped at Jamburagala Camp Site, which had a small cement structure, thus not requiring tents. Water was supplied by a well some distance away for water. We were strictly instructed not to go to the well alone as the place was next to some rocky outcrops which were frequented by bears. I remember the well being very stale and the water was very brackish with small shrimp like crustaceans floating on the surface. That evening at around 10.00 PM we heard the unmistakable rumble of an elephant very close to the camp site. Mr. Rohan one of our school masters who joined us on the trip was sleeping in the jeep closest to the elephant. Nirmal Sir had warned us of the phobia Mr Rohan had of elephants. I slowly woke him and whispered that there is an elephant close by. He yelped in fright and scrambled from the back seat into the front seat of the jeep, and from there made a hasty retreat towards the building. The elephant clearly frightened by the noise went on it way. We were in fits of laughter, as Mr. Rohan on other occasions was a very tough individual.

The next day morning we were driving along Uraniya road, and while taking a bend came face to face with a tusker. This was my first tusker in the wild and I was extremely excited. This tusker was named Anuradha and I couldn’t believe my luck, a tusker on my first park round in Yala. We had a face off for a few minutes, and then the tusker went on its way into the bush. Still buzzing with excitement from the encounter I had a hearty breakfast and worked on the camp chores till evening. In the evening round while heading back to the campsite from an uneventful safari I encountered my first leopard on the middle of the road in Jaburagala. It was a large male, and after snarling at the lights of the jeep (it was pitch dark), it started walking along the road, and we followed it, for some distance before it slunk into the darkness of the forest. I was beyond words by then a tusker and leopard in one day was something I could never have imagined back then.  

That night we were all in a jubilant mood, and Nirmal sir seemed to be a little at ease as well , and allowed us to bathe at the well for a little longer than normally allowed. I was given a small camp bed by my friend Bimantha, and I remember it being so flimsy that it would collapse down if I moved too much, and I slept very carefully because Rohan Uncle was sleeping on the floor next to me and as he was very irritable I did not want to upset him. I slept soundly and in the morning I tried to slowly get off the bed and  quietly step over the sleeping Rohan Uncle, but suddenly the bed gave way and  it collapsed with Rohan Uncle underneath. I believe he would have had the shock of his life and the bed with all my weight fell on top of him. I swiftly jumped off him and darted out to the open before he could catch me. I heard him loudly cursing back at the scene of the incident, and I hid from him for the rest of the day.

The next few days we saw one more tusker on the main road. Its name was Kublai Khan after the great Mongol Emperor. It gave a small mock charge and thereafter remained on the road for more than 30 minutes, so we turned back and headed the other direction. We also took part in a small project where we put up sign boards along the Palatupana road warning vehicles of crossing animals and urging them to slow down. This was due to a request made by the park warden as many animals, especially small ones such as monitor lizards and black naped hare, were being run down. We were also given a lecture about the park by one of the senior rangers who visited our campsite. Back then I maintained a field book with notes on all my sightings, and learning’s from each trip.

My first visit to Yala will never be forgotten and will be the first of many visits to this amazing park.

Memories-My First Camping Trip in the Wilds

I will never forget the first meeting of the Wildlife Society which I attended in 1997.  I was the youngest member, and all the other boys were seniors in their late teens. This did not hold me back and I signed up for the first trip of the year, which was a 5 day camping excursion to Udawalawe. The cost was very minimal back then, and the charge per head was around 400 Rupees.  The master in charge Mr. Nirmal Fernando also known as “A.E.N Sir” due to his initials was a very tough character and I was mortally afraid of him as he was our caning master in school, and I had received quite a few lashings in my first term at College. Nirmal Sir in the future years became a very close mentor of mine, and even to this day is like a father to me.

The plan for the trip was that we assemble in front of the College gate at 4.00 AM in the morning. My mother had to dive me there, and brought along Nishantha one of my neighbors as a chaperone as she would have to drive back alone in the dark, as my father was overseas on work. I remember it was a very organized affair, and there were around four jeeps in total, all provided by one of the parents of the boys named Rohan Kulatunga, who we called Rohan Uncle, who would play a big role in most of my jungle adventures in the coming years. We departed at around 5.00 AM, and I was put in a jeep along with all the other junior members, Daham, Bimantha and my cousin Dilsiri. I was the only fresher as the others had gone on trips before me, and I had a mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness. This is the first time I was off on my own without my parents and my mother ensured that I had everything I needed, from food, to a complete list of clothes and toiletries. I remember my mother was worried about mosquitoes and ensured that I take a dose of quinine as well as a full stock of repellent. She had packed her famous home made pizzas for my breakfast, and as soon as the seniors got a whiff of it, it disappeared before I could even have a bite. The ride seemed long and tiring, reason being that the roads weren’t as good as they are now, and also because these jeeps were old land rovers and land cruisers and were not made for comfort, but I did not mind, the adventure was something I was looking forward to for a very long time. We reached the park entrance by noon, and headed towards our campsite, Alimankada (Elephant Pass). I was tremendously excited about the fact that we were camping next to a river.  But I did not have time to be idling as there was lots of work to do, as 30 of us got together to set up the campsite and prepare lunch. After a good meal we had a nice cool dip in the river, but Nirmal Sir did not let me go too far as he was responsible for my safety and thus kept me close to the riverbank. The evening game drive was not that eventful and I cannot recall any sightings of elephants. 

Back at the campsite, I had a major dilemma. I need to answer the call of nature, but as I had never been in the outdoors, I was very uncomfortable of going the bush to relieve myself. I asked the cook Ranji to accompany me, and I still remember me being very embarrassed that I had to go out in the open where everyone can see me.  In the night we all gathered around the campfire, and Nirmal Sir, Rohan Uncle and the seniors shared with us their experiences and knowledge about the wild. I was allocated to a tent where all the juniors slept. It was very uncomfortable I remember, because it was raining and the tent was leaking from certain areas, and the heat was pretty unbearable.

In the morning we had a nasty surprise, someone had left some fried “papadam” underneath a jeep at night, and entire army of “kadiya’s” had invaded the campsite. There were literally millions of these soldier ants whose bite was very painful and they were all over the campsite and despite the efforts of using Kerosene oil, we were left with no choice but to move camp. 

The new campsite was called Pansadara, which was a much larger and we had more room to spread out our tents.  During the evening I witnessed my first herd of wild elephants.  I also recall an encounter with two big bulls that had a brief face off before engaging in a short duel. I noticed that many of the boys had cameras with them, and I was longing for one of my own, to capture all these memories. This yearning is what made me try my hand at photography many years later.

 The following days got me accustomed to the rhythm of the jungle life, I learnt many camp chores such as how to pitch a tent, how to clean vegetables for the kitchen, and how to light and clean a hurricane lantern. These and many more skills have helped me take on any problem and hardship in life. I will always remember this first venture into the jungles of Sri Lanka, as it not only gave me the first taste of the wilderness, but it made me who I am today.