Our tour around Sri Lanka is almost over and we were fortunate to cap it off with an elephant safari in Udawalawe National Park and a feeding of baby elephants at the nearby Elephant Transit Home.
On our way to the famous game park, we took in some unplanned attractions such as a historic Hindu Temple, a majestic waterfall and a mysterious Buddhist temple.
There are much fewer Hindus than Buddhists in Sri Lanka but this Hindu Temple was believed to have special significance as the home of Sita whhen Ram was in exile.
Surath, our driver, took us to a remote location to view a mysterious Buddhist ruin called Buduruwagala Temple. No one knows who crafted these giant Buddhist images on a huge rock.
The waterfall was one of several we have seen. This one, in addition to being picturesque also served as a bath, shower and laundry room.
We then headed to our experience of a lifetime. After more than 30 years, Cintra and I have enjoyed own little elephant safari at home. They were everywhere and in every medium -- on the mantel, on shelves, window sills, walls, kitchen cupboards, desks, tables, curio cabinet. Their images were on table cloths, towels, dresses, tops, napkins, cups, mugs, teapots. salt and pepper shakers, jewelry and mudscrapers.
We don't know how many of these friendly pachyderms occupied our home. When young kids would alert us that there were elephants in our house, we would ask them to count them for us. It was a fun game, but they usually stopped at around 100.
It is no wonder that we dreamed that one day we would see them for real -- not just as a circus act.
So here we were, finally bouncing around in a 4-wheel drive on a bumpy dirt road in a remote Sri Lanka national park in our first elephant safari.
The "jeep," as they call it, was designed for tourists with seating for about eight behind the cab. Cintra and I were the only passengers on the back, accompanied by Prasan our safari guide. In the cab was the driver and Surath, our vacation guide.
We didn't know what to expect. What if there weren't any elephants? If I were an elephant, would I want to be gawked at and photographed by curious tourists on this blazing hot day? And then our first sighting -- an anteater or a "dry monitor," as Prasan called it. So we pulled out our cameras and the driver stopped. Then a large beast. As if I were a gunfighter in a movie, I reached for my camera. And there he was -- a water buffalo.
Apparently some years ago, a farmer donated a huge herd of buffaloes to the park to mix with the wild variety. Little did he know the false hope he would create for many of us elephant searchers.
Our next discovery was a Kingfisher, perched on a branch, with his back to us. That is quite a sight to visitors. And then a peacock, an another and another.
This was beginning to feel weird. Were these other animals staged to keep us in suspense?
Finally, about 20 m away, behind some bushes, our prize. Our shutters started to click away. About a couple of minutes later, another male elephant, and the excitement start to grow. It is not surprising to see males alone while females generally move in groups.
Now we are in business. The first 10 or so were on Cintra's side of the jeep. I was rewarded in the meantime with water buffaloes and peacocks.
Then Prasan pointed out a large male on my side. I shot him, so to speak.
The safari was humming. We were taken on a dam at a lake that was full of bathing water buffaloes and two happy elephants, splashing themselves in the early afternoon heat.
Another jeep was taking much too long on the dam, blocking our way, so we turned around, and explored some new bumpy trails.
We were fortunate to see one, then two, then one and so on. Secretly, we were waiting for the thrill of seeing maybe four, or six or more all at one time. And then as if on cue, there they were -- a herd, right in front of us.
We couldn't be happier. After that, we were treated to assorted other animals, including jackals, crested serpent eagles, hawk eagle, grey heron, crocodiles (I missed them), grey langur monkeys and a tortoise.
And around another bend was a herd of females and baby elephants. If you know the story of how special elephants are for the bonding between mother and baby you would understand why this scene was the highlight for us.
It was so good that the driver always took care to wait as long as we wanted to absorb these scenes and shoot as many photos as we wanted.
It was beautiful at one spot watching a small herd at the water's edge just siphoning the water and splashing themselves.
The clouds were beginning to cover the bright sky and the strong breeze from atop the jeep, combined with slightly cooler weather, made this an ideal afternoon.
We were fully entertained, not just by seeing all these elephants, but to watch them in their natural environment. They wandered freely and had no concerns about bouncing, roaring jeeps or excited tourists.
We finally exited the park feeling we achieved something we dreamed of. It was a thrill a few days earlier to see the elephants in the orphanage, and on another day, to ride one, but this was a most remarkable and memorable day in our tour of Sri Lanka.
The following morning, Sarath told us about the nearby Elephant Transit Home where orphaned and injured baby elephants are cared for and where milk feeding takes place daily at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. There was already a small group of visitors waiting for this display.
This was an unplanned treat and well worth it. There were close to 40 babies, the size of an SUV, waiting to be nursed. The hungry youngsters waited in a line a safe distance away while sthe staff fed groups of four at a time. Each was given about a litre of milk through a funnel and a feeding tube.
Once fed, they were ushered to a waiting area where they munched on leaves that were scattered on the ground until all were fed.
Now we get to return to Colombo and spend some time with our friend Upali and his family and to take in some gentler adventures before heading to Kerala, India.
Thanks for taking the time to join us and stay tuned.
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