Day 6, Udawalawe Safari

- October 30, 2017

Day 6, Udawalawe Safari:

One of our rooms at the Grand Udawalawe Hotel

It was time to say goodbye to Colombo and the Pegasus Reef Hotel on Day 6 of our tour of Sri Lanka. Having rallied the boys and packed the bags, we boarded our “Golden Dragon” buses and embarked on a long and winding journey to Udawalawe. Weaving our way through small villages and dense jungle, it took nearly 5 hours to arrive at our destination. We passed via Ratnapura – meaning “City of Gems” – dreaming not only of wealth and gold, but also of a richness of runs against our next opposition, the Lancashire Cricket Academy.

However, first on the agenda was a safari, and after unpacking at the Grand Udawalawe Hotel, and viewing the elephant-sized bats in reception, it was down the road to the safari resort.

George Hopwood, Tom Preston, Jonny Browne and two over-sized bats

Conditions for viewing elephants were good, and it was actually on the way to the resort that we saw our first friendly elephant by the side of the road.

Friendly Elephant

After arriving at the resort, it was dodging men selling safari hats, straight onto the jeeps and out into the wilderness. From minute one there were peacocks galore – something our Sri Lankan guides were very excited about! – as well as water buffalo. Although the former can be viewed in the unique and tropical climate of Southport Botanical Gardens, the latter were certainly worth seeing. But the main attraction was the elephant, of which a small family were seen near the entrance, and many seen along our route.

Baby Elephant – isn’t he cute?

Team Safari!

A baby crocodile got the whole team’s attention, but unfortunately (or you may actually say fortunately in case mummy was nearby!) we were too far away to take a good snap. There were eagles and green bee-eaters of which we managed to see several. Sorry the pictures are so small – they are the best I could manage!

Eagle

Baby Crocodile

Water Buffalo

Green bee-eater

As the evening set in, we returned to our hotel for a well-earned rest from a bumpy jeep ride. The food selection was much to the satisfaction of the boys, with live Italian cooking and traditional Sri-Lankan dhal being amongst the highlights.

Oliver Kelly, Rob Rankin and our live Italian chef!

Although the safari was over, we were lucky enough to meet the local monkeys on the bridge from our rooms to dinner at the hotel. This cheeky chappy was befriending our parents, and providing entertainment for all; just when we thought the boys were difficult to handle!