One one things

The second day of the sessions ended a bit earlier than the first, and was thoroughly satisfying. It was heartening to see such dedicated, knowledgable and committed individuals working under the most trying conditions. We always complain about the boys and girls who work for the government, but there are certainly a fair few who keep the flag flying. After clearing things up and post session networking, we finally got a chance to get out of the Village around 6.30. A quick call to Chanaka and they were at the gate in the Defender, we were all cocky after the previous nights bounty, and having boasted to those who didn’t show up we were hoping for and expecting even more elephants. The jeep set off into the night, we were standing again gripping the frame of the uncovered roof for support whenever we swerved out of the way of a bus or lorry.

The night started well, Chanaka spotted a pair of Jackal even before we entered the forest. They were scampering alongside the main road and glared back at the jeep’s lights with confused green eyes. As we entered the forest from yet another new dirt road Chanaka said not to expect too many elephants bc of the light drizzle that had been going on since evening. The roads had become quite muddy as well, and it wasn’t long before we got stuck while trying to cross a small stream. Chanaka flashed his light all around to make sure we were alone and stepped out to inspect the problem. Mahinda revved, the Defender chugged, we strained and pushed but the mud was winning. Eventually all the forces clicked in our favour and the jeep jarred out of the ditch to the chorus of our whoops. As Chanaka predicted we didn’t see too much for the first hour or so. I got a strong odour of animals and felt quietly confident that we were near a big herd. And we were, but it was a herd of buffalo masquarading as elephants, much to our disappointment.

We tried a different track and Mahinda as usual yelled to the bunker over the din of the engine. The soldiers came out and said something which none of the could quite decipher, but it didn’t sound too important so we carried on with a wave. About 5 mins down the road (not a great distance given the quality of the road) I noticed a fair number of insects being attracted to Chanaka’s flashlight. This was out of the ordinary but again not really significant so it was ignored. As we scanned the surroundings following the light, Mahinda slowed down to a halt, I looked all around but saw nothing and began to ask Mahinda why he stopped when I saw a large object on fire, bang in the middle of the road. And then it came. The stench. I closed my mouth with one hand and felt my stomach muscles tighten as hard as they could to prevent the urge to retch. The insects were flies, and they were all over. I doubled up and struggled with my free hand to swat away the flies that swarmed around my face. “Ammata hudu marichcha aliyek” yelled Mahinda and he grappled with the steering wheel to reverse the jeep through the potholes and shrubs. M produced some kind of aromatherapy liquid which was passed around and provided some respite. As we recovered slowly and Mahinda managed to reverse the vehicle to safety, Chanaka suggested that the elephant would have stumbled upon the bunker in the night and the army boys would have shot him admist the chaos. This story was confirmed by them as we reached the bunker, we were all angry at them for killing the elephant but anyone would have done the same in that situation.

We saw a couple more smallish herds that night but nothing really to write home about, I guess we were spoilt by the night before. It was nonetheless an extremely pleasant couple of hours despite the depressing encounter with the dead elephant. Before heading back we stepped out of the vehicle at a large rock, and spent a few mins stretching our legs and star gazing lying down on the rock. I was exhausted by the end of the day, and after a couple of hours relaxing on one of the tree houses I called it a night. The next day would be the last session so it was to be an early start.

I had decided to stay over an extra night bc I was keen on doing an evening round in Minneriya before it got too dark, and this would only have been possible on the third day bc it was a half day session. The work finished on a very satisfactory note, more excellent deliberations completed the 2 and a half days and I was very happy with all the work done. The entire time in Habarana was excellent bc we worked hard and played hard, and that’s how life should be lived. Soon after lunch most of my colleagues left, so it was only myself, M and her family remaining (and half of Colombo who had descended for the long weekend). Chanaka was due to show up at 3.45 so we had a couple of hours to kill. The plan was to drive up to Ritigala, and unfortunately I took the wrong turn off and headed down Colombo road instead of driving towards A’pura road. After losing about 45mins we didn’t have a realistic chance of climbing Ritigala at all but we thought we’d just drive along in any case bc the roads were empty and it was nice to be driving around instead of being cooped up in the hotel. We then stumbled upon the most fantastic piece of luck. One of the reasons I don’t venture much towards the Habarana Sigiriya area is the lack of places to stay (I’m not a fan of 5* hotels, I prefer smaller homely places like the Zimmer in Unawatuna, places that feel like a home away from home and where you don’t feel like a visitor). And just there was a place that seemed to fit exactly my requirements. A couple of tree houses, a Yala style bungalow and a main house with a total of 7 rooms housing a maximum of 20 ppl, run by a lovely retired couple. M and I stepped out of the car like kids into a candy shop, I could barely contain my excitement, and speaking to Chris made it all the more exciting. He said elephants walk into the property in the evening, and that they also organize camping stints into the forest. I’m not going to say anything further bc I got the impression that the two owners are happier keeping it a low profile place just for friends, family and the like. We spent close to half an hour there chatting with the owners and promising to be there in March.

We drove back towards the hotel to meet Chanaka bc it was closing in on 3.45. But as soon as we got back we found out that Minneriya was barren (of elephants) these days due to the first signs of the rainy season. So we hopped a ride with another safari and did an evening round in the same places where we did the night safaris. It was a completely different experience bc all along we had been driving around blind to the outside world, with sight limited to the range of the flashlight. We saw a couple of large herds and spent a long time watching them move around, but the thrill of the night safari was missing. The tracker spotted a lovely crested hawk eagle perched upon a dead tree, it was stunning against the backdrop of the clear blue sky. The evening was rounded off by climbing the now crowded palugaswela gala, resting for a short while and heading back to the hotel in time to meet Chanaka for a final night safari.

Mahinda was not around this time, he was apparently tired after his afternoon work, so it was Chanaka, a new driver called Tenne (short for Tennekoon) and a new jeep. Despite it being the fourth night of elephant hunting I felt the same excitement and enthusiasm as the first night. And justifiably so, Habarana had clearly saved the best for last. We saw more elephants on the last night than both previous nights put together. As soon as we entered the forest we saw a really large herd within about 10m of the vehicle. Tenne cut the engine and we spent ages with them, listening to the crunching of vegetation, the mumbles and squeaks they use to communicate, all with half an eye on the matriarch whose own eyes never left us. Moving on we stopped at a bunker where one of the STF guys approached us. “meh hariye mada pipichcha thani aliyek innawa, athulata yanna epa” he warned. M asked me what was going on and I explained that there’s a lone elephant in musk so we need to be careful. Chanaka looked at me as if to ask whether its ok to proceed, I gave the usual sideways nod, he grinned and tapped the side of the jeep, and Tenne sped into the forest. We were on edge as we drove along, specially as Chanaka said “mada pipichcha aliyekge suwanda enawa.” We soon stumbled upon a small herd feeding by the dirt track. Tenne cut the engine but both he and Chanaka were staring hard at one of the elephants who glared back at us. “Machan balanna ouge kaney hilak thiyanawada kiyala” Tenne said, and we all strained hard but couldn’t see his ear completely. M asked Chanaka why we’re looking for a hole in the ear, it seems there’s one elephant in the area which has a track record of attacking vehicles, and he has a hole in his ear. The elephant then turned around, and we all held our breaths as the ear came into full view, and to our relief it was un-damaged. We moved along back towards Trinco road and relaxed a bit and chatted with Chanaka about life in Habarana. M and I complained that Colombo is full of concrete and that we love to come out of town as often as possible, Chanaka laughed and said that he’s one wish is to come and work in Colombo and asked us to try find him a job. “Mama igena gaththe nah mahaththaya, eheth mata driving license ekak thiyanawa, rassawak hoyala dennako colambadi”. I suggested he work as a tour guide with one of the private operators in Yala or some place, but he wasn’t keen on that field. Anyhow we promised to get in touch with him if we did find anything of interest. And then out of nowhere there was a rustle behind the bushes and an elephant charged onto the road behind us. Tenne braked hard and we screached to a halt. The elephant’s ears flared out and his trunk raised in anger as his head swayed from side to side. I looked at his forehead but didn’t see the tell tale liquid pouring down the side. I told Tenne to reverse towards him, and we slowly did, but he had clearly had enough and retreated into the forest.

On the way back to the hotel we saw several more herds feeding on the ample grass on the side of the road. We followed one herd into the forest and watched them eat, unperturbed by our silent presence. Thoroughly satisfied we headed back to the hotel, and due to the extensive stopping we were too late for dinner. Thankfully there was a kottu shop down the road so we had a fantastic chicken kottu topped up with freshly fried lake fish, all washed down by chilled ginger beer. I couldn’t have come up with a better script for three days in Habarana; hard work, great results, night safaris with elephants, wonderful company, all in a quite fantastic part of the world.

The open hooded Defender arrived on time, and two chaps got out, one a young kid who looked younger than me with a baseball cap and stubble and the other in probably his mid 40s in a sarong, shirt and mousthache. The younger walked up to us, grinned and said “hello sir mama chanaka” and pointed at the other guy and introduced him as Mahinda. N asked him where we are going, and Chanaka replied that we’ll go towards Trinco and that there are some dirt tracks that head towards the jungles bordering the road. It sounded good enough so we hurriedly bundled ourselves into the jeep. It was dark by now so we all stood up in the back with Mr. D sitting in front, the cool wind in our hair and feeling on top of the world. After passing Habarana town things became really quiet, the few shops that lined the road became more sparce and few dared walk around in the night with elephants wandering so close to the road. The NCP dry zone is one of the key battlegrounds in the elephant man conflict, and it wasn’t long ago that 3 elephants were killed just by the Habarana rail track, a pregnant mother with her other calf knocked down by a train. We saw an elephant early on munching on some corn left outside by villagers as a sort of appeasement.

Once we passed the villages everyone tensed up in anticipation as we slowed down and Chanaka flashed his searchlight intermitently in the areas where he’d expect to see elephants. The vegetation in the area consists mainly of very tall grass studded with medium size trees bordering the road, and beyond that thick and lush forest, quite unlike the Southern dry zone. Mahinda slowed down near a bunker, and he approached it very slowly. The bunker looked asleep, and then two torches flashed from the gap, followed by a STF officer and a couple of homeguards. Mahinda yelled “Api athulata yanawa, auwulak nah ne?” The soldiers nodded, and one of them yawned. I whispered to Chanaka asking him what’s going on. He explained that whenever we go into the jungle we need to inform the nearest bunker to warn any patrols that we’re in there, if an unidentified vehicle is spotted it will more than likely be shot at. M shuddered and off we went. Whenever I go into the jungle it feels like it’s been too long since I last went, I love the sounds of the insects and birds, the smell of foliage and the solitude. Night safaris are a special thrill. The fact that there’s a world awake around you, that your senses are compromised and that you’re not the boss make it all the more exciting.

Chanaka is an amazing tracker. Within a few minutes of venturing down the dirt track he hurriedly tapped the side of the jeep frame thrice with his ring and Mahinda ground to a halt. No words were said, the five of us looked around wide eyed at the black surroundings, straining to spot that grey mound. Chanaka flashed his light and there they were, 3 or 4 adults with a couple of calves munching away. They were startled by the light, and tensed up immediately. The adults quickly formed a fortress around the calves, surrounding them in a protective embrace. We didn’t want to bother them too much so we headed off, thrilled with the first sighting. We completed the circle of the first dirt track and returned to Trinco road, informed the bunker that we were out and headed north west again. By now the sky was like a canvas, cloudless, unpolluted and dotted with the widest array of stars.

The second dirt road was a bit further up, and again we stopped near a bunker and Chanaka warned Mahinda to approach slowly so as not to scare them. Mahinda again told the soldiers that we’re going into the forest and a voice from inside the bunker yelled “aayeth enawa neda?” Mahinda laughed and said “ow ow”. Chanaka asked one of the homeguards whether there were any elephants around this evening, the guard replied that there were some about half an hour ago and pointed us in the direction where they headed off to. We thanked him and were touched by the friendliness of the military guys in these parts and how helpful they are. They smiled and waved goodbye as we headed off. Mahinda took us into the forest on what was a dirt road in only the very loosest sense of the word. M being an ex-ballerina suggested we all stand on tip-toes and brace as we weaved between potholes, Mr D wasn’t impressed and just groaned about his back. We stumbled upon a larger herd than the first sighting, this time a calf was suckling on its mother/aunt, unperturbed by our collective awww’s. We drove around some more and ended up seeing about 80 elephants that night, other highlights were seeing two elephants kiss one another good night, they embraced one another’s trunks and raised them into an arch before heading off into the night in opposite directions. Our last sighting for the night was on Trinco road where a truck overtook us horning, followed by a loud trumpet. A lone bull elephant was eating on the side of the road and was clearly distressed by the noise. It raised its trunk and trumpeted again before retreating into the forest, we knew it was time to leave. We got back to the Village, had another top dinner and ended the night with some 304 and another lakeside chat.

So I just finished two things for work which have taken up all my time for the last couple months. I cursed and cursed from the time I was assigned bc it really isn’t my thing, but now that it’s over I can’t help feeling a bit sad. The only thing that kept me looking forward to this was the fact that it was to take me out of town, first to Habarana which is a place I haven’t been to in ages and then to Galle, where I go all the time but I’d never shy away from some unawatuna fun.

There was some vehicle going from office but I wanted to take my own car bc that way I could run off and see elephants in the evenings after work, N brought his car along for the same reason. I’ve never driven as far as Habarana before so M insisted she join me to keep me awake. Despite leaving at the ungodly hour of 1pm it was a really really nice drive. Kandy road traffic was a bitch bc there was some significant funeral going on, but once we took the Kurunegala turn off things improved significantly. Whenever I go towards the Dambulla/Habarana/Sigiriya area I really get into the mood when we reach the first of two long shady stretches where vendors sell corn. A long time back when we went on a school trip to Sigiriya the driver of the bus knocked down a chap around there and didn’t stop. We were promptly chased down by the cops and spent the best part of the day at the cop shed where we decided to play some cricket in the garden followed by having some of the dodgiest fish curry I’ve ever eaten. It had me puking the next day while climbing some rock and giving the false impression that I was an underage drinker (shock horror). So anyway M and I stopped to have some corn in one of the little shops, sitting on a bench and marvelling at how fresh and succulent the stuff was compared to what you get in Colombo. I can’t think of any better way to get over driving fatigue, the place is so peaceful and cool because of all the trees, it even smells fresh, and the people are so nice and welcoming as well. Two cobs set us back 20 bucks, which is criminally cheap so we gave them a bit extra whilst trying not to be patronizing.

We chatted away for the entire duration of the journey and only kept quiet when we passed Dambulla town and hit the Dambulla-Habarana road around 5pm, which meant it was elephant spotting time. It doesn’t get much better than cruising on an empty road, shutters down and looking for elephants. Unfortunately we didn’t see any, but there would be plenty more time for that. We finally got to Habarana around 5.30 and soon after the lovely ambarella juice welcome drink, we set about sorting stuff out for the next morning. We had a team of 3 support staff and a couple of researchers along with myself so we got things done pretty efficiently. N suggested we take the cars and go for a spin in the night after dinner to try our luck with roadside pachyderms. Dinner was super at the Village, they did some really nice local vegetables, and with red rice and lake fish you really don’t need anything else. I was quite tired by this time but the thought of driving down Trinco road in search of elephants felt like a shot of espresso, so we were off without a second thought. We were initially due to do this gig in October last year, but with the Habarana bomb blast we had to postpone, and I still remember boss asking me if Habarana would be safe, and my answer was “yeah certainly, as long as you don’t go too far down Trinco road it’ll be fine”..and here I was at 10.30pm driving down Trinco road with 3 colleagues.

My memories of the North Central Province have always been of aridity, heat and bright bright sun. So the night drive towards Trinco was a bit of a pleasant surprise. The air was slightly chilly, crisp and everything felt so fresh. We didn’t have great fortune spotting elephants however, just one fellow on the roadside just past the Habarana railway station. About 25km down the road we decided to turn back, the frequency of bunkers was increasing a bit too fast for our liking. We couldn’t tell if the bunkers were manned or unmanned, but we didn’t want to slow down and find out. It wasn’t late as such so we thought we’d try our luck down Polonnaruwa road after going back towards Habarana town. A short way down the road both cars were flagged down by an army checkpoint. I rolled my shutter down;

Soldier - Mahaththayala kohede yanne?
Me - Api ali balanna yanawa aiye
Soldier - Ali?? meh welawata?
Me - Ow, ada tikak parakku wuna (winning smile)
Soldier - (looking thoroughly confused) ah hari hari, eheth poddak mehey hitiyoth ali methanatath enawa.

M looked at me as if to say let’s stay let’s stay..the soldier’s voice seemed to want us to stay as well. But there were another two people in my car, and 3 in N’s car, and it was a bit too much of a risk, and more responsibility than I wanted to bear in case there was some issue. So I dejectedly told him that we’ll go up the road and come back, the soldier waved us off, and as I looked in the mirror he was watching us go, I felt sad. These are the boys who go first, they’re scared, lonely and would like nothing more than normalcy, they’re as human as any of us, but they are reduced to numbers in the newspapers, reduced to propaganda. We didn’t see any more elephants that night, but the drive was incredibly pleasant. The 4 of us giggled all the way and then turned back when I started to feel the pinch of sleeplessness. We waved at the checkpoint on the way back and they waved back with a grin. We got back to the hotel around midnight, and after a short chat by the lake we decided to call it a night.

The next morning work began, and things went pretty well, except that I was a tad overdressed (!!) so much so that a Mayor called me sir thinking i’m some big fish. I quickly said good morning your Worship, to which he looked even more confused, so I ran off before doing any further damage. It was a long day, and we finished up only around 6.30pm. Evening safari was clearly ruled out, but luckily Mr. D had run into some boys on his dawn walk who had promised a jeep at any time of the night to go see elephants. “Flash light okkomo thiyanawa sir” they enthusiastically assured him, and for Rs. 1750, it sounded like a plan. They were due to meet us at half 7, we had no idea where we were going, but we were all excited and looking forward to some unique fun.