On Thursday morning we set off for Yala National Park. There are several entrances there. Block 1 and 2 are among the most popular, since that’s where most leopard sightings occur. (A sighting might mean that the leopard is lying 100 meters away in the treetops and is virtually impossible to see without binoculars.) Still, many people hope to spot one. But that also means 200 jeeps per day. It should be clear by now that we’re not fans of that. That’s why we drove to Block 5, where the chances of seeing a leopard are a lot lower, but there are only a handful of jeeps in that area of the park.
After our safari driver picked us up, we set out on the nearly impossible search for the leopard. We went over hill and dale. We searched every conceivable path. Until we came to a lake and our driver drove almost right up to the water’s edge. Suddenly, the tires spun out. We were stuck. There was no help in sight, and we had no cell service. We thought our driver would at least have sand boards we could place under the tires. Not a chance! So he pulled out the winch. But it wasn’t very long either. The nearest tree was way too far away. All we had was a prehistoric looking tree stump that looked like it was about to snap off! It was a blessing in disguise. The stump held, and the winch slowly but surely pulled us out of the mud. What an adventure!
We weren’t exactly thrilled, though. Since this little adventure had easily taken us 30 minutes, we ended up short on time for searching for that one leopard and the other animals.
At 6:00 p.m., we had to leave the park. We hadn’t seen a leopard. Instead, we saw plenty of monkeys, birds like peacocks and kingfishers, and water buffalo, which had been glaring at us the whole time.
Somewhat disappointed, we passed through the entrance gate. But instead of driving straight to the parking lot, our safari driver turned left and drove down the main road. Sandun explained that another Jeep had spotted a leopard from the road. We drove over to that Jeep, but the leopard was nowhere to be seen. However, the monkeys were squawking loudly in the trees, so it must have been pretty close by. We were cautiously optimistic, but not entirely sure yet. After driving back and forth a bit, our Jeep abruptly turned around and drove about 100 meters back toward the park entrance. Sandun gestured animatedly toward the roadside—we could hardly believe our eyes: Just below the road was a small waterhole. And there, clearly visible, perhaps 5 meters away, it lay drinking. What a privilege! We were able to watch the big cat drink for several minutes and then relax in the bush. She wasn’t bothered by us in the slightest.
On the road, there wasn’t much sign of tranquility—by then, several safari jeeps had practically blocked the road, which didn’t go over well with the other drivers (buses and trucks). Even when we pointed out the leopard to them, they just shrugged or showed no interest. Apparently, the local population didn’t share our interest in the big cat in the slightest. On the way to the parking lot, we came across another elephant, who was happily enjoying his dinner by the side of the road. What a way to end this safari. You really couldn’t have written a better script for this afternoon.
