Monthly Archive for February, 2012

A wild afternoon at Kumana

Published on 25/02/2012 in Blogs, From our own Correspondent, front page, people, press coverage, Traveler's Reports and wild life. 0 Comments

A wild afternoon at Kumana

This leoparda??s expression reminded me of that famous line from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: a??Jesus, who are those guys?a?? (Our drivers scared the daylights out of this young male as he was sunning himself on aA?rock).

a??Have you guys ever done this before?a??

Thata??s the first thing I should have asked our drivers before we headed into Kumana National Park, A?about twenty miles south ofA?Arugam Bay on the east coast of SriA?Lanka.

I know how Robert Capa must have felt after seeing prints of the pictures he took on Omaha Beach on D-Day (June 6, 1944) in Normandy. We had happened upon a small herd of elephants when our drivers lost it and started excitedly yelling a??Aliya, aliya, aliyaa?? (the Sinhala word for elephant). The animals bolted, trumpeting indignantly (they were protecting at least two baby elephants). I just had enough time to capture a few blurred images before they disappeared into the jungle.

And yes, we had two drivers: the first guy was the one who drove us fromA?Arugam Bay to Panama in his three-wheeler scooter taxi, and the second guy was the one who drove us from Panama to Okande and Kumana in his jeep.A?They both sat upfront in the cab (Tyrone and I and the guide from the wildlife department were in back) and between them they managed to startle a leopard and spook a small herd of elephants.

The young bucka??s antlers are still in velvet. Kumanaa??s huge deer population keeps the parka??s leopards fat andA?happy.

Not that Ia??m complaining, mind you, because Tyrone and I had the greatest time (you really cana??t have a bad day in Kumana). Besides, the drivers are both good guys, and Ia??ll hire them again without hesitation the next timeA?Ia??m in Arugam Bay. So what if they were just learning the ropes of the safari business? At least they werena??t learning toA?drive.

Sir Samuel Baker hunted sambhur (Cervus unicolor) with hounds in Ceylon in the 1840s. Sambhur, often mistakenly called elk by 19th Century British sportsmen, are not as numerous as the spotted deer in Kumana.

Hey, ita??s Arugam Bay. If you want to be happy here, just let it happen.

Copyright A? David Graham
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Siyambala

Published on 23/02/2012 in Blogs, books, Culture, From our own Correspondent, front page, Historical sites, people, press coverage, Traveler's Reports and wild life. 1 Comment

“Places to go and things to do”

Where to buy flonase

Kudumbigala cave Monastery & its wild life

Brothers David & Tyrone Graham returned to Arugam Bay after many years.
“Siyambala” is their web site and blog which A?gives unique and detailed insights into our island’s hidden treasures and culture.
We hope to cover more of their amazing observations on this page soon!

Take a look at their work: Order pamelor 25mg

http://siyambala.com/