10 Apr 2023
Very early start and late finish - but Dilan was the best driver to have on a long drive - very careful and if you have never been on the roads of Sri Lanka before trust me - you need a very *careful* driver :-)
Dilan picked us up from our hotel at 03.30 in the AM because the best time to go see animals in the wild is when they wake up so guess what - you have to wake up earlier than them in order to be there to watch them. So we climb in the lovely AC minivan and off we go - we arrive 3hrs later so around 06.30 just in time for a magnificent sunrise and the air was super fresh as the humidity had yet to really build up. We jumped into the jeeps and literally from the moment we rolled into the park there were Elephants, storks, big crocs, bee eaters, Eagles - all manner of beast and foul - really enjoyable tour good to see animals in their natural environment and not being hunted or paraded for tourists- you must get there early - the animals don’t do schedules or show - if you see an elephant (or five or six) then your lucky but we saw lots. We had a great guide as well as a driver and we tipped both 5,000 LKRs as their insight and knowledge were invaluable in spotting the animals (ironically not as easy as you would think - elephants move almost silently) lovely day, great experience - Dilan was amazing and his organisation fantastic - five stars!