local Tours

A wild afternoon at Kumana

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

“Have you guys ever done this before?”

That’s the first thing I should have asked our drivers before we headed into Kumana National Park,  about twenty miles south of Arugam Bay on the east coast of Sri 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 “Aliya, aliya, aliya” (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 from 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. 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 buck’s antlers are still in velvet. Kumana’s huge deer population keeps the park’s leopards fat and happy.

Not that I’m complaining, mind you, because Tyrone and I had the greatest time (you really can’t have a bad day in Kumana). Besides, the drivers are both good guys, and I’ll hire them again without hesitation the next time I’m in Arugam Bay. So what if they were just learning the ropes of the safari business? At least they weren’t learning to 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, it’s Arugam Bay. If you want to be happy here, just let it happen. The person who probably knows this best is Manfred (Fred) Netzband-Miller, guiding spirit of the Arugam Surf Facebook page, who has tapped into this laidback vibe since he arrived here in 1977.

The marsh crocodiles, also known as mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) were bigger and more numerous at Kumana than they were at Yala National Park.

Our drivers outdid themselves when we spotted a leopard sunning itself on a rock. They wrenched open the doors of the jeep and burst out of the vehicle, excitedly yelling “Diviya, diviya” (leopard, leopard). The startled young male sprang to its feet and split, pausing once to look back with a wtf expression.

Sri Lanka has 492 species of birds. Seen here are a painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) and black-headed Ibis, also known as the Oriental White Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus).

Richard Joseph, travel editor at Esquire magazine in the early 1970s, once wrote a feature article about the 400 species of birds at the Kumana Bird Sanctuary.

Birders can correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this is a little green bee eater. We also saw a tree full of flycatchers.

A more recent account mentions 492 bird species in Sri Lanka.

Hunted for sport in colonial times, the buffalo is now protected like the rest of Sri Lanka’s fauna.

We also saw lots of wild buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Tourists often mention how amazing it is to encounter so much wildlife just twenty miles from the surf spots at Arugam Bay.

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Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
The above excursion took place in mid- February, 2012.
In the so-called Off-Season
by David and Tyrone Graham

http://siyambala.com/2012/02/23/a-wild-afternoon-at-kumana/

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WoWasis tours the Pottuvil Lagoon mangroves near Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

WRITTEN BY: HERBRUNBRIDGE  - FEB• 24•12
Poling through Pottuvil’s mangrove lagoon

Arugam Bay in southeast Sri Lanka is fairly well known for surfing and other water sports, but you’ll be missing something extraordinary if you don’t take a nearby mangrove eco-tour in the village of Pottuvil. The tour is by outrigger, polled through the mangrove waters by local people, is managed by the Hidiyapuram Fisheries Cooperative Society, and takes approximately two hours, with two brief stops along the way. Your ticket assists the Society to replenish mangrove flora, caring for wildlife, and assists in the livelihoods of people living adjacent to the lagoon. You can book a tour from any hotel, and a tuk-tuk will arrive to drop you off at the lagoon dock, and take you back.

The only sounds in the lagoon are the sound of the outrigger being pulled through  the water, and the ever-present birdlife. Here, you’ll see four types of kingfishers, cormorants, sea eagles, and spoonbills, among others. Fish-eating snakes and crocodiles live below the water. There are 27 species of mangrove plants here. And you’ll see a number of tiny fishing huts and lean-tos along the way… it’s a working lagoon.

Sunset casts a wonderful glow on the rocks comprising the eastern border of the lagoon

In the afternoon, the setting sun casts a beautiful red glow on the rocks occupying the eastern border of the lagoon. We here atWoWasis recommend the tour as a great getaway from the hubbub of Arugam Bay, especially in high season, and supports local people in their quest to provide for their families in a manner that complements the environment.
http://www.wowasis.com/travelblog/?p=4101

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Earlier, this tab was labeled:
“Old Arugam”
Which has now moved on to a popular Facebook page in its own right; see link below:

“Once upon a Time”

Arugam Bay is now changing very quickly.
Many are concerned. Will history be lost?
Here are our New Nostalgia Pages!
On Arugam.info as well as on Facebook
(“http://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-Arugam/112268483613?v=photos#/pages/Old-Arugam/112268483613“)
Please send your best shots taken BEFORE 2005 to:
ArugamFoto@gmail.com

anno 1953 Arugam Bay Circuit Bungalow

anno 1953 Arugam Bay Circuit Bungalow

anno 1953 at Arugambay

anno 1953 at Arugambay

Some photos added below, showing one of the oldest establishments of the Bay: Siripala’s

Sripala's Hotel

Family at SriPala's

SriPala, Arugam Bay

SriPala and Family. All photos received from Australia, with thanks

SriPala is situated near famous Surf Point

Other photos, below mainly all received from Horst Poos, Germany
Thanks for that, Horst!

12 Responses to “local Tours”

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  • Aravinda de silva
    24/02/2012 at 07:36

    my loving memories is in old arugambay from 1982 year , some thing wrong some where i lost this nice beach,
    what to do……HIKKADO……

  • Munga
    22/02/2012 at 04:50

    Hey everyone, i’m thinking of doing the Peanut thing and if anyone can help out it would be much appreciated, thank-you…just wondering how long it takes to get to Galle from Arugam? I’m meeting friends there anad don’t have much time to spend, only about a week or two. Also wondering how consistant the surf is arounnd march-april? Wouldn’t mind surfing down the south-end aswell so the more prepared i am the better. Any info is welcome, thanks heaps for that!!

    AWOOOOO!!

    Munga

  • Thushara
    19/10/2010 at 05:15

    I was in Arugambay on end of September @ Peanut Farm hotel
    spent our holiday with my friends,really it was the greatest holiday which I’ve spend ever!
    that jungle is adventure,beach is amazing & beautiful !!!

    I’m really happy to be there again in that lovely place!

    best regards
    thushara

  • muzammil
    23/08/2010 at 15:19

    very lovely potos

  • Olga
    13/06/2010 at 01:45

    Hello,
    what is the better and shorter way to Arugam Bay from Colombo?
    Taxi is rather expensive so i wanna find other way which is not very tiresome.
    Thanks in advance.

  • Lance
    20/12/2009 at 13:34

    In 1983, I did it in 48 hours via train to Batticaloa, survived election fights over night, bussed down to Pottuvil and another bus to the Bay, with a Wave Ski.
    The war and curfews over the next 4 months. Finally on the way back to Columbo, a lot of what I witnessed on the way in, had been destroyed.
    There were major developments within A’bay during that time, transforming it very quickly from a fishing village to a holiday town.
    ‘Surfed morning and late arvo every day – about 5 hours a day. As the season was turning off into September, surfwise, one afternoon a slight storm sent 8 footers around the Point for a couple of hours. The boardies couldn’t handle the cross-rip and wind on the face for too long, so I was left to goat-boat it all by myself with about x400 Euro Touros spectating.(15 minutes of glory).
    I had got to know a lot of the locals very well during that time and was shocked with the disaster. Photos coming out showed recognisable landmarks destroyed and old friends lost.

    A word of warning: Please take care not to get the sandfly bites (the locals call them cocoanut flies) and cover any lesions and keep them dry – there is a Malaria-like infection caused by the sandflies, called Leishmaniasis. Very nasty get it treated and get out of there and then get treated at home again.

    A lot happened during that 4 months – a lifetime of memories.

  • Angela Turner
    01/12/2009 at 08:20

    Mark,
    I am sure if you put a V-8 or two in one of those red buses and ran it on empty you could come close to 41/2 hours. My memories of those red beasts are of teeth clenched, horizontal hairdo and fingernails dug into the shoulders of the person sitting in the seat in front of me.

  • dilsiri
    07/09/2009 at 13:36

    my colleage curt did it in 5 and 1/2 hours. in a jeep. you know, now that the roads are being done it would be much easier.

  • Tom
    06/09/2009 at 19:08

    I’ve done it in 5hr. 35min. on a fast motorbike, at night.
    Not recommended – but I had to catch a flight.
    and surfed too long.

  • mark scanlon
    05/09/2009 at 17:53

    has anyone ever driven to aragumbay from colombo in 4 1/2 hours?????
    that would be a scary ride!!!

  • anusar
    19/08/2009 at 14:52

    old vreey nice i love arugam bay pottuvil

  • shana
    13/08/2009 at 18:28

    old is gold………. great.. i really love this pictures & all.dear arugam bay :) ,you have long way to go………….. good luck
    cheers
    chamila

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