Gal Oya is the most untouched and least visited of all of Sri Lanka’s national parks. It was established in 1954 but having been off-limits during the civil war it is only now being re-discovered. On the day we did a jeep safari in the park we seemed to have it to ourselves.
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I wasn’t always happy about the way animals are treated in Sri Lanka (we were taken to one elephant facility that I felt was well below the standards I have seen elsewhere). But you can’t fault their extensive national parks system and the habitats they provide for wildlife.
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The bull elephant seemed to glower at us from just a short distance away. Reginald eased the jeep door open a few inches, not for the first time. The elephant stomped his feet and advanced a little, and Reginald hurriedly shut the door again. Clearly the elephant was not going to let him out of the vehicle without charging. Sitting in the back seat Chris and I looked at each other nervously. Would the first day of our first ever safari end in disaster?
