Today required an early morning start as we were to return to the Safari Park. When we had done this two years ago, we were further out from the park and required a longer drive to it. Here it was much shorter, and while in Yala, there was a huge queue of vehicles to enter, the wait here was far quicker.
We entered the park soon after dawn and saw peacocks and hens in trees, which was surprising as I had assumed that they could not fly. We also saw some buffalo, some more deer and the jungle fowl, the national bird of Sri Lanka. And then our driver was told about a leopard sighting. Sadly there was no leopard, and we stopped by one of the parks many lakes for lunch. My wife did not feel too confident getting out of our vehicle, not being as sure footed as our children who love to climb at every opportunity. So she and my son stayed on board and as I went to attend a call of nature, they started on lunch.
As this was the place in the park where tourists could get down and walk about, there were numerous monkeys about, waiting to be fed. My wife warned the children not to feed the monkeys as she knew that this would just attract more. But one decided to attack my son. As it charged him, murder in its eyes, he threw the only weapon he had at it. A banana. The monkey stoped in its tracks, obviously fearful of the wrath of my son, and instead took the banana. But his meant, that for some strange reason, that the other monkeys felt that they would be fed as well!
I returned to find them under siege. Fortunately the monkeys listened to me telling them off. Well most did. One youngster kept jumping onto the roof and even got into the interior on one occasion. But while I had no chance of catching it, it did not was to tangle with me and instead fled each time it tried to steal food. Two mothers also considered jumping onto the vehicle but thought better of it after I told them off.
Later, once the food was put away, my daughter and I went down to the lake and I tried to climb a tree, but did not do that much. While my daughter called me a coward for not going further, I did more than she did!
The journey back to our tent was serene as we went past more beautiful sights, but then we were lucky to see a leopard walking along the dirt track we were using. Quickly, there was a queue of vehicles trying to get pictures and the leopard was kind enough to stop and pose for us. This was closer than we had been before and we had a much better view. And while we also saw a warthog, which we had not seen on the island before this was the reason that we had come.
Afterwards, we returned to our tent and set off for Kandy where are to rest for a few nights. The hotel here is amazing and the room fantastic. They were kind enough to upgrade us, just as had happened when we went to the camp.
Dinner was a Christmas buffet, with non-Christmas items also available. My daughter, being tired, retired early with my wife who escorted her, while my son, who wanted to know the outcome of the raffle, and I stayed. First there was a prize raffle for the best table. But by the time this was carried out, many people had retired to bed, for the tables had been abducted by aliens (I preferred this explanation). But the prize raffle was drawn later and we were excited when the first two numbers matched our room, only for the last one to be two numbers down the corridor from where we are staying!
Any, time for bed and the last sleep before Christmas!