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YALA PARK
The first safari in my life!
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Sri Lanka is not only about beaches!
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When planning a vacation in Sri Lanka, we have allocated a couple of days specifically for a safari. After examining the many reviews of the safari visited by tourists, we chose Yala National Park, which is located in the south of the island. Especially for this adventure, we moved from the city of Tangalle to the small village of Kirinda, which is located almost on the border with Yala Park. The peculiarity of the local safari is the departure very early in the morning. Animals are active only in the cool morning hours of the day from 7:00 to, somewhere until 12:00, and then the incredible heat makes them hide in the thicket and it will be unlikely to meet them. Based on this, we should have been at seven in the morning at the entrance to the National Park. On " Tripadvisor " I chose a company with an average cost of a safari per person, but with many positive reviews, and after bargaining for $ 48 per person, including lunch, this company assigned us a check-out time from the hotel at 4 am. So that you understand how they look in Sri Lanka at 4 o'clock in the morning - I am attaching a photo.
Safari jeep is designed for 6 people in an open body and plus 1 seat next to the driver. There were seven of us and so everything turned out perfectly. At 5 am we were the second car that arrived at the starting point and then sleepy in the dark we stood for another hour and a half, waiting for the park to open, and cars with tourists kept coming and going. About an hour later, we began to joke about the current situation, shouting to the newly arriving tourists: "Well, you give it! We missed everything that you can! We arrived at the beginning of the seventh, what will you see here? You had to leave before! Normal tourists were already here. at five in the morning! "
Laughter with laughter, but we ourselves were still a little worried, why were we still not allowed into Yala. Gradually dawn lit up a line of standing jeeps and it looked like this.
We broke into the wild.
To be fair, it should be noted that the queue of jeeps to enter was observed and we were the second to rush through the "checkpoint" of the park. True, this did not bring us big dividends, since if the drivers-guides did not meet animals there when they entered any of the sections of the park, they gave a signal to all the cars from behind to turn around and go back.
And then the last jeep in the chain proudly became the first ;-)
Since the story is about a safari, it is logical that animals should become the main characters here. But before you see in this report a lot of graceful and not very creatures - let's pay a debt to the beautiful nature. If you have never been to the savannah (and even if you have), the magical colors that surround travelers there will not leave anyone indifferent! See for yourself. (photos below are clickable)
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Well, now let's start a story about animals. The most popular animal in Yala Park is the buffalo. There are countless of them. You can find them in any part of the park. Some just walk, some roll in puddles and lakes, but they chew everything without a break ;-)
Start of research.
After seeing the buffaloes, our entire enthusiastic group took up selfies. We, too, did not escape this and happily photographed against the background of sluggish buffaloes and buffaloes.
The photographing of the buffaloes and "with the buffaloes in the background" ended immediately after a grunting boar rushed past. It was a shock! Pumbaa flew past our car, the real Pumbaa! Now, the goal of each of us was to photograph a wild boar.
We found a lot of them and photographed them in various moments of their life! ;-)
But the monkeys were extremely few. To be honest, during the entire trip we found only one flock that could be filmed at close range. Perhaps monkeys are more intelligent animals and know how to hide from intrusive photographers.
We even managed to film a small fragment from the life of these humanoid animals.
Further more.
No matter how hot you are during a safari in Yala Park, we will not recommend you to swim in any of the many lakes, because crocodiles reign there! There are so many of them that near the lakes we even rejoiced at the height of our car.
Elephants will be an outlet for every kind traveler there. Although Bulgakov's Sharikov believed that "elephants are useful animals," they are not engaged in any kind of work in Yala Park. They just walk, frolic and eat. We were very lucky with the elephants - we saw them whole families, individually, walking, playing. Elephants are animals that bring joy! (photos below are clickable)
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We also met in the park Riki-Tiki-Tavi . Yes, it really exists! At first we could not understand for a long time what was behind the fur "tube" near the road. But a couple of triangular pieces of cheese snatched him out of the "clutches" of his sleep and made him come closer. Hurray-Hurray-Hurray !!! We fed the mongoose with our own hands! True, when he had a snack, he quickly retreated and we did not have time to ask him how old Chuchundra was doing. ;-)
I would like to boast and tell you that we were able to see a sloth bear, but that would not be true. We saw several trees that swayed very strongly and the guide claimed that sloth bears behave this way in the trees. We cannot help but trust the professionals, so we hang a photo of one of the trees, where a black carcass peeped out from time to time among the branches. And we attach the photograph of the sloth bear below, so that you understand who we are talking about ;-)
Photo of Sloth Bear taken from the site: http://travellanka.ru
Now I will tell you about our most important achievement. 99 percent of travelers come to Yala National Park for the main trophy - a photo of a leopard. Catching a leopard through the lens is almost impossible. He is very careful and very fast. During the entire safari tour, drivers here and there ambush, suspecting that the leoprad may be nearby. Below in the photo you can see how in the early morning in the rain, we stand in ambush for a leopard, and in the next photo it's not early, but a sunny morning, but I'm still trying to see the leopard in the distance. We attach a video to make you feel the atmosphere of a leopard ambush.
Who is the Champion? I am the Champion!
It so happened that in one of the ambushes, our jeep was the very last in the chain.
The driver-guides discussed with each other that, judging by the crackling of branches and noises coming from the bushes, there must be a leopard somewhere nearby. We obediently sat in another ambush until I decided to look out of the jeep and what I saw shocked me: a leopard was quietly sneaking across the road from behind our car! I abruptly pulled out the camera on my outstretched hand and blindly pressed the button. When I opened the preview, I was filled with pride. I managed to photograph this cunning beast, which, seeing a large number of cars with tourists, outwitted everyone and walked around our "caravan" from behind.
Our guide-driver, seeing such a photo, began to show it to all his colleagues from other cars. They were really surprised and glad that at least someone captured the leopard.
When our safari came to an end, the driver told me that that day my photo of a leopard was the only one in the whole park. Here it is - look!
What else did we see interesting there? For example, a python crawled the road in front of our car. Varan, a very careful animal, seeing us - went home. And the birds in the park were very friendly and rode buffaloes and "hung out" with wild boars ...
The birds in the park deserve a separate gallery for them. There are beautiful and smart and even predatory ... (photos below are clickable)
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When it was noon in Yala Park, we were burnt out from the incredible heat, we were sweating and thought of only one thing: "Never, never again will we go on any safari !!!". But half a year has passed, we looked through our photos from Yala, and we say with great confidence that safari is one of the most interesting adventures in our life. We are already ready to go again to meet with beautiful animals in some of the corners of our incredible land ...
And I want to end the story with something kind. And for this role, roe deer were chosen. We already wrote that we saw Pumbaa and Riki-Tiki-Tavi in the park, but as a bonus for you: Bambi with all his family! (photos below are clickable)
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We would be glad to receive your comments on this article.
If you have been on a safari in Yala National Park or are just going to visit - share your impressions in the comments. Reposts and likes will be greatly appreciated.
Vitaly & Nataly
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