Hambantota, Sri Lanka

This was a huge port that opened 2 years ago with the thought of expansion in Sri Lanka. We learned that we were only the 2nd cruise ship to have docked there since it opened. There is not much of a town here so we used it primarily to go out into the other areas of Sri Lanka that had a little more to offer.
We took a safari into Yala National Park with the hope of seeing some wild animals.
After visiting many large cities the past couple of weeks, we were especially appreciative of being out in a natural setting. We didn’t realize how much we had missed birdsong until we stopped bouncing along in our safari jeep and listened to the glorious sounds of nature. This is one park that you can be just about 10’ away from a small herd of water buffalo lounging in a pond and grunting, and they barely notice you.
We saw 4 elephants - Sri Lankan elephants are smaller in overall size than African elephants and have smaller ears. Also, most of them do not have tusks. We saw many different types of birds, including a painted stork, as well as wild boar, jackals, spotted deer and a relatively rare siting of a leopard. The leopard was lying in a tree yawning the afternoon away as we excitedly took dozens of photos.
The bus ride home was lots of chattering about the great things everyone had seen. All in all, a fabulous day.
The photos are of some of the things we saw in Yala National Park.Les mer