My very first visit to Yala was in July 2010. “Armed” with my new Canon 100-400 we headed there with the hope of capturing a good shot or two of the elusive Sri Lankan Leopard. But much, much to our dismay, even after two rounds, we failed to catch even a glimpse of a Leopard! Dusty, tired and so disappointed, we headed back to Colombo. We must have been so upset with Yala, that Wilpattu got our undivided attention thereafter for the next 14 months 🙂

September 2011 came by – the time seemed ripe for “revenge”! 🙂 So one fine afternoon, we headed off to Yala with renewed anticipation.

BUT FIRST, a relaxing evening at the new “hotspot” of Yala – the exciting new BACK OF BEYOND GURUGODA. Ever since seeing Priyanjan’s fantastic pictures, we were dying to experience the place first-hand. We were certainly not disappointed.

As are all BoB retreats, Back of Beyond Gurugoda is beautifully and thoughtfully designed – It is rustic but has ample comfort, with little touches that warms the heart. Priyanjan has captured all the “essentials”, but let me add something that made me smile.

A Deer with a Mission 🙂 Didn’t you always want to hang your clothes on a Deer’s antlers? 🙂 Well, here is your chance 🙂

The roof is beautifully thatched with palm leaves.
The color scheme is lovely, and the furniture has been carefully and artistically chosen.
There is one bedroom that sleeps 3, and two other beds outside.
The linen is crisp, clean and spotless white.
The toilet and washroom are both semi open-air. Lovely to gaze up on starry nights!
The cook and caretaker are very nice chaps and very accommodating.
Located only about 15 minutes away from Yala main entrance and situated before the Governer’s Camp (GC).
Just follow the sign boards to GC, but before that, you will find a “Designer Gate” to the left leading to BoB Gurugoda.
We heard that the latest Designer to add some finish touches was a Wild Elephant  🙂
It might be good to pay a visit to Back of Beyond Gurugoda before more people get to know of this lovely hideout.
You won’t be disappointed.

After a good night’s sleep, we started off to Yala feeling the warmth of the rising sun. The Jeep was hired from Yala Jeep Safaries, and driven by the owner’s son Sumudu, a good driver.
As usual, Yala was beaming with life, and before long, we couldn’t believe our luck when we spotted a Sloth Bear just by the roadside!!
I must have been so excited by my first wild Sloth Bear encounter that I totally forgot a basic rule of photography – always check your shot – only later did I realize that my camera settings were wayyy off, leading to shots so bad that I am ashamed to put them up here…sorry…
But we got to observe the bear for about 15 minutes, and it was a flying start to a great safari.
The first of the BIG THREE, THE BEAR covered! LEOPARD AND TUSKER to go. Fingers-crossed!

Our driver and our tracker were very eager to show us Leopards, and I must say we were so excited at the prospect too, but we did remember to take it a bit slow and enjoy the other beauties of Yala.

A dress that never ceases to impress - Indian Pea Fowl	black-naped hare
An albino Wild Boar

GOT TO REST TOO (A Spotted Dear resting under a Bonsai-like tree)

GOT TO REST TOO (a Grey Langur)

There were also Hornbills, Orange-breasted Pigeons, Serpent Eagles, a family of Jackals, Open-billed Stalks, Egrets, numerous crocs and many other birds. It was a beautiful flock of Painted Stalks that next caught our attention.

Try sitting like that! 🙂

Jumping the line! 🙂

More painted storks

“Am I the prettiest of ‘em all?”

You certainly are beautiful!

Ending a serene interlude, Sumudu’s cell phone rang. It was news of a Leopard!

When we got to the spot, two other Jeeps were already there, so we didn’t get the best view. But there they were, two Leopard cubs hidden well inside the bush. Finally, the dream of seeing a wild Leopard at Yala was coming true! Yippiee! When more Jeeps start arriving, one of them rose up and walked inside the bush, leaving only one, who compensated for her brother’s rude exit by posing for us beautifully.

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A final glimpse through the trees

Two of the “BIG THREE” – THE LEOPARD – Covered! 🙂 Yayyyyyy

Fully satisfied, we returned to BoB Gurugoda for a good lunch. After resting a bit and enjoying the bungalow, we left and headed off to our accommodation inside Yala – the Old Butuwa Bungalow – to leave our bags and provisions before the evening round.

On the way, we had the privilege of spending some time with this Elephant Family – There was just us, which must have put them at ease. They went about enjoying the afternoon and giving us the pleasure of observing some heart-warming moments of Bonding and LOVE…

Trunks of all sizes …they can stroke..	…and wrap around …(Awwww…)
…or hold gently too…Awwwwwww

Seeing them so carefree, I thought, what a sin it is to disrupt their lives by robbing their habitats, or separating them, especially moms and calves, in order to satisfy Man’s personal gain or greed…They belong free in the Jungle…and we need to protect them.

Walking towards an uncertain tomorrow???? So hope not.. Dear God help us keep them safe

Warmed by the “Elephantine” Love, we arrived at the Old Butuwa Bungalow – Probably the best maintained bungalow in Yala, thanks to the caretaker KULE and his staff.

Old Butuwa Bungalow	Old Butuwa Bungalow
Lovely sea view from the bungalow	Fabulous view of the Elephant rock and beach from atop the rocky mountain

Panoramic view of the ocean and sky in various shades of blue

After a nice cup of tea, we started the evening round.

It was always a dream of mine to see a leopard on a tree, and it was about to come true. There he/she was – a very cute cub, lazily napping on a tree, observing the excited humans who were gathering fast to watch him

“Hmm, what a bunch of Nuts!”	“But I am too sleeeeeepy to keep my eyes open..zzzz”
“ok, ok just one pose ok”

After a lovely 20 minutes or so, the place became so congested we decided to leave and head off to a small lake close by, where a fully-grown Leopard had been observed the day before. We parked there, and patiently waited..a bit long..but the wait was finally rewarded by Leopard No. 4 for the day!

It suddenly appeared from behind a tree giving us a start!	After observing us for awhile, he decided to come out into the open Yes! We were delighted!
One SCARY Dude!!!!

He soon vanished off into the jungle, but we were happy to be the first to see him. Another jeep arrived as he went in. Don’t think they could see much..

It was getting somewhat dark and we decided to head towards the bungalow…on the way, we came across a fleet of vehicles. Two cubs and a mom! Leopards, 5, 6, 7 to complete the day. Mom was too hidden to photograph, but the two cubs were visible over the grass.

Could it be a boy and a girl?

Saying the Bedtime Prayers? 🙂

Sweet!

It was time for us to retire too.
We headed to the bungalow. When we arrived, we were a bit disappointed to hear that Gamini, the Tusker had just been there looking for food…come to think of it, we did hear some crackers – Kule and crew had used crackers to chase him away. We had missed a Tusker by a mere few minutes! 🙁

A good wash and a delicious dinner brightened our spirits, and we dozed off happily on the beds in the verandah, bathed in moonlight, to the lullaby of the sea.

The next morning, we were told to go to Rukvila as early as possible since the famous Rukvila cubs come there early morning to drink from it. When we got there, we could see fresh pug marks, but no cubs in sight. We drove towards the rocks, and as we took the bend, there was a leopard lying on a rock by the side of the road! Our driver for the day was a very young chap (Sumudu had a previous booking). Neither our tracker nor driver spotted it, and when my cousin who spotted it first said “Leopard”, our driver suddenly braked and stopped the Jeep right in front of the leopard! It looked at us for a couple of seconds (I thought he looked quite annoyed!), quickly got up, crossed the road and went up the rock. There was hardly anytime to get the cameras out… Lesson learnt : when a leopard is spotted suddenly, if you can’t give the Leopard a good distance, slowly drive by past it, turn and come back slowly. Give the leopard space so as not to bother or startle it. This will also give you good shutter chances than stopping abruptly in front.

We waited at the spot, being the only Jeep there. And a few minutes later the Rukvila Cubs appeared, Leopards 8,9 and 10.

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I may look sweet

but I can be scary too

climbing up the steep rock together

.	A beautiful finale

The last and final Leopard No. 11 was a very sleepy cub napping on a far-away rock near the fishing village.

I really wished I had a longer lens!

Afternoon round was nearing the end, and we had almost given up hopes of a Tusker, when we spotted an Elephant Family drinking water in a small pond. We stopped by to observe and the babies started playing in the mud! It was so sweet!

“Little Bro, I am gonna push you!”

Mission accomplished! See the small one on all fours? He had a time getting up!  But he sure was enjoying himself!

Then they came out and started playing again

Trunk Sumo? 🙂

A close up – Wait a minute! Could that be a small tusk on the little one in the right?

Have we completed the BIG THREE???
It seems like a Baby Tusker to ME 🙂
Well, I will leave it to you to decide 🙂

Thank you very much for reading!
Hope you enjoyed it.