We arrived to Max Safari Villa near Udawalawe National Park on March 3 for a 3 night stay. A wonderful place with a new swimming pool, cost of $114 including breakfasts. Only 5 rooms, we got one with a sitting room separate from the large bedroom. Our host, Max sat us down & proceeded to explain the many options of safaris that he provides, since it would be our last in Sri Lanka we opted for a full 10 hour day. Business out of the way he sent us off to relax so we lounged in the nice warm pool for the afternoon.
 |
| We saw an elephant before we even arrived |
We finally got around to booking hotels for the remainder of our days in Sri Lanka, glad to have it sorted!
We had supper at the Homestay as we weren’t sure what was around us (not much), good but not great.
After breakfast the next morning we walked to the Elephant Transit Home, a rehabilitation place for orphaned elephants. They are cared for until they are around 6 years of age before they are released into a National Park. They offer viewing of feeding times daily, the cost goes to help buy milk supplements & it was great fun to watch. The elephants seem to know when to gather outside the gate, then they let in 4 or 5 who rush to the “bottle” feeding station - hoses attached to funnels, slurp up their allotment then head over to the cornstalks & grain. And the process repeated over a dozen times. Some very small babies, others pretty big already but not yet old enough to go it alone. They also had an interesting museum to wander through.
 |
| Breakfast, including Sri Lankan egg hoppers |
 |
| Milk feeding station |
 |
| Running in once the gate opened |
On our way back we stopped so Robin could get a haircut, but the guy didn’t speak enough English, so it ended up awfully short!
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
Later in the day, after more pool time, we took a tuk tuk to see more huge bats along a river.
 |
| Bats |
We found a small local place to eat called the Luxury Cafe & enjoyed kottu & noodles. Our host laughed as he explained about kottu- basically whatever is left in display cabinets in food carts & restaurants at the end of the day is chopped up & fried, he called it “garbage food” but I still enjoy it. By definition it is chopped up roti (flatbread) stir fried with veggies, eggs, spices & meat or fish.
 |
| Noodles |
 |
| Kottu |
Because we had chosen a 10 hour safari we didn’t need to get up before the crack of dawn - we had a nice breakfast then headed out at 7:30 in our own jeep for the day. The cost for the safari including our driver/guide with meals & drinks for the day was $150 plus a $100 park entrance fee. We saw our first elephant before we even entered the park & the day just kept getting better! From wild water buffalo lounging in a lake, an amazing stop at a water body with literally dozens of bird species to a magical time watching an elephant family bathe, the day was wonderful! The park was not as crowded as previous safaris & having the whole day allowed us to venture further into the park where we were usually the only jeep. Robin tried to keep track of all that we saw, our driver was very helpful in identifying all the birds & showing us their names on a bird app so we could spell them correctly. The count topped out at 52 different animals & birds! A few birds were too quick for photos or we just couldn’t focus on them but we saw them. I promise that they are not all included in this blog! But lots are! Unfortunately I can’t add videos to the blog, watching the elephants scrape at the grass to uproot it, then swishing it around with the trunk to get rid of dirt before eating it was unbelievable. And watching the elephants submerge & roll around in the lake was pretty cool. And of course monkeys being monkeys is always a hoot to watch. But here are way too many photos!
 |
| Wild water buffalo |
 |
| Blue tailed bee eater |
 |
| Spoonbill |
 |
| Great egret |
 |
| Painted stork |
 |
| Spot billed Pelican |
 |
| Chestnut headed bee eater |
 |
| Female & male behind |
 |
| Bath time |
 |
| Jackal |
 |
| Scaly breast munia |
 |
| Mongoose |
 |
| Open billed stork |
We were ready to leave the next morning, going south to the coast means our time in Sri Lanka is coming to an end & flying home is getting closer. We realized a while ago that this year’s trip is way, way too long & we are kind of “done”. We look forward to being home, seeing our family & getting back into a more normal routine. But still 41 days to go. Still Living the Dream, on to the next adventure at the beach.
 |
| Crocodiles on the safari |
 |
| Spotted deer |
 |
| More peacocks in trees |
 |
| Even some wild pigs |
 |
| Malabar pied hornbill |
