We finished up our drive through the hill country and headed for Yala National Park. After arriving in the town, we visited a local temple. Lots more baby adoration there!
We spent the night at a gorgeous safari lodge, just near the national park. It was rustic and glamorous feeling all at the same time. Here are the boys having a ball in the semi-outdoor shower.
The next morning, we were up well before dawn to head off on our safari. We absolutely loved it! The boys were so into the jeep and the excitement of the chase. (Mike more than anyone!!!) The scenery was beautiful. We saw lots of amazing wildlife. For me, it feels like a connection with my African colonial roots, and I loved sharing that with the boys. Such a fun day!
This is how we roll on safari. David just fit!
The roads were quite amazing at parts. Rather terrifying! And, we probably gave David shaken baby syndrome from the fast, bumpy rides as we were trying to follow tips on a leopard.
And, since we weren't allowed to get out of the jeep while driving through the park, here's how the boys rolled when nature called! :-)
Some of what we saw:
- Crocs
- Lots of Buffalo
- Wild Cows
- Beautiful Antelope
- Incredible birds
- Mongoose
- Monitor Lizards
- Wild Pigs and their babies
We stopped for a bit of a walk around to take in the views here. Gorgeous!
- Lots of monkeys!
We stopped for lunch by the river in the heat of the day. Most animals are resting at that time anyway, and the break was very welcome.
There were lots of monkeys trying to steal our food throughout the afternoon.
We had never seen monkeys swim, but these guys were having quite the time in the water!
- Ele!!!
- And, attempting to see a leopard. We did not luck out :-( But, here we are in a huge line of jeeps who have all been tipped off and raced to see the leopard. The guy at the front is watching him. He had left by the time we got up there - boo! These tracks we saw in the morning turned out to be the closest we came to a leopard. Next time! ;-)
This picture reminds me of taking Lewis on safari in Malawi at Mvuu when he was about to turn one. He was much more interested in his animal crackers than the amazing herd of elephants right in front of him. David certainly didn't notice much of the wildlife! But, he was a gem of a baby and happily played or slept the whole time.
We had a most delicious Sri Lankan dinner back at our lodge, and we let the boys dip in the salt water pool before bed. After they crashed, I washed out the clothes from the day and was in complete shock to be stung by this guy's pincers. OWWWWWW!!!! He was vicious!
Here is Lewis with Manju, our driver and guide for most of the trip.
The following day, after another delicious meal and after packing up, we headed off to Udawalawe National Park. It's known for lots of elephant. We just did a short safari there, but really enjoyed it as well! We were so close to some of the eles, it was amazing! And, the scenery was just beautiful!
And that was about it! After a late lunch, we drove for the rest of the day back to Colombo. That ride did involve a few stops for our poor Lewis who had gotten car sick. But, we made it through without anything coming out! We crashed at a hotel near the airport. The next morning we packed up, the boys put on a few shows for us (this is a regular occurrence most every day!), and then we headed to the airport. Goodbye Sri Lanka! You gave us one of our most memorable family trips!
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