Dreaming at the Kala Oya Estuary Hugging the Nature – Gange Wadiya

I’m a big fan of the Beach Traveler and don’t miss out watching the program on Sat at 7.30pm on Rupavahini unless I’m away on one of my own adventures writing fairy tales. So it was one of those days that I came across Gange Wadiya where the presenter, Nishanta Kahawita, visited the place and met with Sunimal, the caretaker, and enjoyed a boat ride and a night camping with BBQ.

My mind didn’t need a second invitation to start imagining about this place and its beauty surrounded by the Kalpitiya Peninsula, the Lagoon and sexy Kala Oya. My mind kept wandering from Colombo to Gange Wadiya every now and then making me crave for a feeling of the place.

After a couple of strenuous hikes which made me whine with pain, a nice, relaxing and cozy journey was just what the doctor ordered. I couldn’t think of a better place than Gange Wadiya. So thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and his thinking skills, I could send out an open invitation to my Lakdasun gang who usually join me on adventures.

The responses were a mixed one with a handful of yes’s and no’s and a few irritating maybe’s. It went right down to the wire as we had to confirm our booking to Sunimal and finally we were left with Ageless Tony, Ever-getting Young Athula, Professional Photographer Dhana, Workaholic Wumi and Getting-old me. Dana came up with a solution to our transport problem and managed to get hold of a van and a driver whose rates were very reasonable.

So everything was set for 12 and 13 October and I was getting anxious to make the journey. I called Sunimal and made arrangements to do the camping and boat ride. Finally, we were ready and Dana left Kottawa at 04.00am and soon everybody was on board and on our way. From the very beginning, the topic was on food, no matter however much I tried to steer them away to something half decent.

Tour Highlights:

1. Anawilundawa
2. Wind Mills of Puttalam
3. Salt Pan – Puttalam
4. Malwila Ruins
5. Gange Wadiya
6. Kala Oya Estuary
7. Elephant Tree
8. Limestone Quarry at Aruwakkalu
9. Nawadankulama
10. Sunset at Kochchikade
11. Collection of Panoramas

We made good time and Tony sang with the help of Dana and Wumi used his all 10 fingers playing the bongo. It was like going back to the 70s and 80s with Haroon Lantra, Jothi, Clarence, Milton and many others were brought back on stage. Hari and I discovered the singer in Tony at Makandawa while camping and he didn’t disappoint us this time either. For some reason or other, Wumi always wanted sad songs and kept humming classical tunes all the time.

Amid all the music and singing, we eventually reached Anawilundawa junction around 07.00am. We took a left and crossed the Puttalam railway line passing Anawilundawa station towards the one of six Ramsar wetlands in Sri Lanka.

Anawilundawa

We soon entered into the wetland and the sanctuary and saw the map displayed.

“Facts of Anawilundawa:”

“This was declared as the 1078th wetland on 03 August 2001. This is comprised of 1397 hectares and boasts 6 man-made fresh water tanks. Anawilundawa harbors quite a few species of threatened fish, amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles. This serves as an important refuge for migratory birds and also supports half the country’s freshwater fish species, including at least three endemic species.”

The morning sun tried very hard to pierce through the cloud cover and birds were up and about trying to get some breakfast. Meanwhile Dhana set up his camera equipment and was on his way looking for some rare birds.

I wonder how he manages to keep track of all those birds coz there’s virtually no bird he doesn’t know by the name. Throughout the journey, there was only one he couldn’t identify and he must’ve told hundreds of names which sounded like Greek to us, especially Tony with his limited knowledge about birds.

The farmers on the other side of the tank bund were milking their cows and that was a very rare and grand sight to us all. We kept walking along the bund and found so many wood apple trees full of fruits. Tony, being the youngest of all, wanted some of them and Dana duly obliged. Wood apple on an empty stomach can’t have been the best of the things to have but I was happy to get rid of the topic on food at least for a while.

There were plenty of birds at large and Wuminda kept complaining not having a long zoom camera and as usual vowed not to venture into the woods without one in future. Athula reminded that he’d apparently done so quite a few occasions before. However, everybody wouldn’t bother too much about not having state-of-the-art equipment and was happily shooting around.

After about 2hrs of hovering about, we bid farewell to Anawilundawa and soon were on the way towards Puttalam. They were chanting like hungry ghosts and had to stop well before to have breakfast. We were actually planning to visit Nawadankulama but decided to do it the following evening as the time didn’t seem appropriate.

Anawilundawa station

The notice

Here’s the map

Adhere to these

It says it all

6 Tanks

Heart shaped

Good Morning!

Diya Kawa, the only known bird to me

Dhana can remember all these names

Alu Koka

Ready to serve

Starting our journey

Tony showing his climbing skills

“Where are all these fish?”

There were plenty of cattle nearby

“My back’s itching”

The sun trying to penetrate

“I’m hungry mum, just stay still for a sec, will ya?”

Posing for a group pic

They are being led back into the pen

Rare seen to capture

“He’s milked you to the limit mama, there’s nothing for me”

Hundreds of unattended wood apples

“Hold it tight Dana, it’s close”

Gigantic trees bordering the tank

The road is isolated

Busy at work in the morning

Lotus in the morning

Sun rays making patterns

Colorful path

Everywhere is picturesque

Gang of birds

Kaha Kurulla, another known one

Very common flower in the water

Not sure what these are but very pretty

Like a dream

“Hey, found anything yet?”

“Just missed the fella”

Where we stopped for a breather

Brahmina Kite, if I’m not mistaken

3 Musketeers

Tried to eat but not ripe enough

Another eagle waiting for a prey

Time to say good-bye Anawilundawa

Wind Mills & Salt Pan at Puttalam

We reached Puttalam around 10.30am and saw this absolutely wonderful Buddha Statue with the lagoon in the background. The sky was blue, the lagoon is grey and the statue is pristine white. I immediately wanted to stop and we all filed out of the van shooting away. It was a magnificent view and I felt very calm looking at the serene looking Lord Buddha.

We saw one of the recent huge failures lurking in the distance, the white-elephant Norochcholai Charcoal power plant. The windmills of Kalpitiya lagoon and Puttalam were looking superb. I wanted to stop by and we all went towards Puttalam to buy the provisions and 5-litre cans of water before that. We had a nightmare trying to find sliced bread in Puttalam as none of the shops had any. Whatever they had was expired and some shops only had one or two small packets.

Surprisingly, Puttalam town doesn’t have branches of these fast moving supermarket chains. So better be prepared for this eventuality if you’re planning to travel via Puttalam. We finally managed to find a bakery after going in circles for some time and bought 4 loaves of bread along with some chicken for our barbecue. Having stocked our rations, we headed towards Wind Mills and Salt Pan. The road towards the Wind Mills and Salt Pan is about 1-1.5km away from the town to your left.

The gravel path was dusty but there was hardly any traffic. So we made it through the salt evaporation pans towards the edge of the lagoon where 25 wind mills located. The view took us by surprise and the scorching heat was taken away by the gusting winds from the lagoon. It was amazing how you feel underneath that towering wind mill which is well over 100ft. We all felt dwarfed by those mammoth architectural marvels. I wonder why not have many wind mills instead of destroying the Mother Nature by those crappy mini-hydro power plants.

We simply had to drag Dana away and reached salt pans. There are hundreds of huts built all around and they are used to storing the salt. I got into a chat with one of the workers and found some interesting things.

“Life of Salt Pan and Workers”

 “It takes 15 days from storing sea water to harvesting salt. The salt is collected and piled along the bank of the pan in huge piles and then taken by the workers in bags on their back to the nearby huts. One pile typically has about 12-15 bagful of salt which is about 480-600kg. They’re paid Rs. 500/- for clearing each pile and the one I spoke to said they (5 of them together) usually clear about 20 piles a day so that they earn around Rs. 2000/- each a day.

 This salt is then taken and iodine added and packs them into different sizes depending on the weight and distributed around. A 50-kg bag is usually sold around Rs. 200/- during the season and it goes up to Rs. 500/- during the off season. The harvesting season begins in July and goes on till late October. The workers were all living very close to the Puttalam town and it too is like fishing which has off season as well.”

 

Simply majestic

Serene looking Lord Buddha, makes me feel very calm

The longest lagoon, Puttalam

25 Windmills in Puttalam

Towards Kalpitiya peninsula

What a waste? Norochcholai failure

Oh ho, finally a group pic

Salt pans, couldn’t cross due to the channel

Piles of salt ready to be taken and stored

Finally found the path and reached the windmills

Making an art of their own

That’s the company’s name and logo

Gigantic

Not used any more for salt production

Every angle is picturesque

Abandoned?

Lone boat waiting for its owner

The trio tied near the beach

Trying to be a professional

No green left, must be due to saltiness and scorching sun

We didn’t loiter around

See the size of the pillar?

There seems to be a door

Finally got to the fields of salt

They’re so much used to the sun

Busy at work

Single pile of salt, which has about 400-600kg of salt

Vaporizing pans

Making a living

This is where the salt is stored for distribution during off season

Salt pans and windmills waving at us

Malwila Ruins

Having exposed too much to the sun we left for Eluwankulam and I decided to visit Malwila Ruins on the way. The Puttalama-Mannar A-32 road is being renovated and currently it’s full of dust but hopefully it’ll soon be completed. Malwila ruins are located in front of Kasamadu Estate of Chilaw Plantations and a sign from the archaeological department is also displayed on the right hand side. It’s about 3km from the main road and be sure to check ask for the directions as well.

The first half of the road is very well paved with concrete and the rest is just a gravel road. They apparently haven’t done a full investigation of the place yet. There was a soldier from the Civil Defense Force, who’s there guarding the premises from treasure hunters, helped us with some information. According to him this place goes back towards the era of Saliya-Ashokamala and yet to do a proper excavation. It could even be related to Kuweni’s era as there’s a similar place inside Wilpattue. We saw plenty of stone pillars around and remains of a Stupa as well.

He said that there are many more hidden in the jungle (This is deep inside Wilpattu) and can’t be reached as yet. Hopefully the powers-that-be will clear these as soon as possible revealing more hidden information of our history. After about an hour, we decided to head back and about 500m away from the site there’s a temple but no monks staying there. The same soldier said that monks don’t stay there for long and even if they did, the poor 20 odd families will find it difficult to look after them.

 

Turning point

Being invaded by the forest

So many more to be discovered

Needs protection

Being cleared and dug out

Looks like a complex of buildings

Broken pieces of major structures

There must’ve been an entrance through here

The hut is where the CDF soldiers stay 24/7 protecting this place

Ruins of the Stupa

Gange Wadiya and Kala Oya Estuary

We reached Eluwankulama around 1.00pm and took a left from the junction. There’s a huge Holcim board and you can’t miss that. Go about 2km before you reach a Y junction where the left hand road takes you to Holcim Aruwakkalu Quarry Site where they excavate limestone for manufacturing cement in their factory at Puttalam.

We took the right and after about 500m you’ll meet a railway line (in fact it ends there with no clear indication) and turn right. The path is running in parallel with the Lunu Ela where it joins Kala Oya close to Gange Wadiya village. The view was simply breath taking and the earth is scorched by the searing heat and you can see the Wilpattu Jungle on the other side of the river.

Sunimal was waiting for us; the Navy Rapid Action Boat Squadron (RABS) has a camp of theirs behind the fisheries village. The boat was laden with the stuff we need for the journey but Atha and I wanted to charge our camera batteries and decided to stay about half hour waiting. The smell of crab and prawns were tempting and we couldn’t wait any more. This village had been attacked many times in the past by the LTTE killing many and injuring even more. We saw remains of huge limestone boulders which had piled in front of houses like bunkers.

Sunimal is a Civil Defense Force soldier who had fought to keep his people and village safe from the terrorists with many other villagers. The terrorists on many occasions had crossed the river trying to attack the village without success. SL Navy had then deployed one of their elite commando units into the place in the form of RABS with fast moving arrow boats. It must have been very scary for those people living in fear of their lives.

Having heard all those brutal activities of the LTTE, we decided to leave for our camping site around 2.30pm. We left the village with Sunimal and his friend Shantha and went upstream along Lunu Ela and turned onto Kala Oya.

The water levels were low due to less rain but Sunimal said the rains are on the way and will soon be with them. We saw quite a lot of tiny boats (Theppam) coming down the river carrying numerous containers of water. This is due to the saltiness of the water near the village and they have to travel further upstream to bathe and bring in drinking water. If not, you have to go all the way to Eluwankulama in a vehicle to bring in water for drinking and cooking.

It was a tedious task to paddle with a long stick and we saw most of the times it was women who did the peddling. Sunimal said when it‘s raining the river is not easy to maneuver around but the water gets better close to the village cutting down the distance to get drinking water. They carry all their dirty linen and go upstream in the morning, then wash them and bathe and come in the afternoon carrying water for the rest of the day. Every day they have to do this like a ritual.

After some time the river got narrower and very shallow making Shantha get down to the river bed and push the boat along with him as using the motor was not possible. There were many people, mostly the villagers, already bathing, waiting and having meals or simply getting drunk. The surrounding was sadly was littered with beer cans, plastic bottles and polythene bags. Sunimal said the rains will send all these to the lagoon and then onto the sea with the flooding river.

We soon reached a place where the getting was very difficult and the boat was simply impassable. We decided to take a break and have lunch and try after that. The lunch was superb with Crab, Prawns, Beans, Gotukola Sambol and Yellow Rice. We simply wolfed down the generous helpings by Shantha and Sunimal. Tony was simply unstoppable and Dana wouldn’t simply eat sea food as he was allergic to them which he piled onto Wumi and Tony’s plates.

Thank goodness we took three 5-litre bottles as the water was simply not up to our taste. After that it was time to check the stamina of our boys and they did live up to it. Everybody except me (who had to get that on record) got into water and started pushing the boat with all the energy they could muster. We soon crossed a sand bank into the water and padded along searching a better place.

There was a family camping on the river bank and we went further upstream and found this beautiful sandy spot with plenty of shade. We anchored down and took our stuff and set up the tent and laid the mats. Sunimal had even brought 3 plastic chairs which Atha, Tony and Dana soon lowered them into with a grunt. The place was tailor made for a relaxing journey and we soon unpacked and got into the water.

After a tiring day, the water felt great on our body but Wumi kept sniffing it feeling a bit doubtful. We stayed in about an hour and the sun was ready to go down. Shantha treated us with a cup of ripe Maa Dan (berries) and they were delicious. Having changed into some comfy shorts, we decided to take a short walk into the jungle and Sunimal advised not to venture deep into the jungle as elephants are very common there.

We found a jeep track where it leads to a village near Eluwankulam and found some other villagers camping further up and they had come in their motor bikes. We saw a roof over the top of trees and decided to take a peek at it. There was this almost dead but very much alive prickly bush with vicious thorns and it was a nightmare avoiding them.

There were remains of a house and a disused well surrounded by hundreds of elephant dung. We later found out that it used to be a forest department bungalow abandoned due to LTTE activities in the Wilpattu jungle. After a recce in the jungle we came back to the camp site to find Sunimal and Shantha busily arranging the campfire collecting firewood and fixing the BBQ place as well. To our great amazement, there was this green hammock tied between two trees and I immediately jumped onto it. It was like floating on a pool and felt very much heavenly

It was time to relax and that’s exactly what we did.

After some time, Sunimal and Shantha started cutting and washing fish and chicken for our BBQ. It was one of those days that we played guest and them host. There was nothing for us to do except wait and relax. We had our torches and Sunimal had even brought a lamp which he traditionally hung on a stick. The BBQ got underway by Sunimal and Shantha while two of his friends brought provisions for our breakfast and tea. They too helped with making the dinner.

Sunimal informed us that we were the first group to arrive without any liquor. Everybody who went on camping took loads of them and got drunk on the way let alone enjoying the view but we were a completely different matter. Sunimal and Shantha were very surprised to hear that and in the end they too were pleased not having to look after a bunch of drunks.

After a while, a plate laden with cooked fish and chicken was brought to us and we all dug into it like a pack of wolves. The food was tasty and we soon emptied the whole plate and Sunimal had a lot in his hand trying to keep up with our demanding tummies. The second helping didn’t last long either and was soon followed by the third and the last along with some left over crab which had no mercy from Tony.

After a bellyful dinner, we got ready to tuck in for the night, but not before another short musical show by Tony and Wumi. That combination worked like a dream throughout the day. The moon was out in full force and the river and trees were illuminated by that soothing golden brown light. The sky was cloudless and many millions of stars were on display as if trying to welcome us. We saw many shooting stars and satellites but not sure if the Supreme Sat did a fly over.

The tent was a tight fit for the 6 of us but not having any of gigantic members, we all squeezed in. it was hot inside but nobody volunteered to sleep on the sand. After a little conversation, we were dead to the world. I was soon awoken by the opening of the tent and saw Tony getting out. I feared he might be sleep walking and followed him to find it was just a comfy break. It was very cool outside and Wumi too followed us out and wanted to sleep on the mat outside.

Tony decided to bunk down on one of the comfy chairs but I went in to get my head down. I could hear Wumi and Tony having a long conversation about stars. Wumi was giving him a long lesson in astronomy when I fell asleep for the second time of the night. All of a sudden I heard Tony’s voice urging us banging on the tent and I got the shock of the life. We all got up to see that a pack of elephants had crossed the river about 100ft away from the tent and about 20ft away from the camp fire where Sunimal and Shatha were sleeping.

Tony had apparently seen a black oval shape moving but Shantha and Sunimal had seen the elephants clearly. They however decided not to bother us even though we heard those elephants breaking branches of the trees nearby probably having a late night snack. Since then, nobody fell asleep, even Dana, who had been dreaming of animals, was up. Suddenly he shouted saying that a frog jumped into the campfire committing suicide. It was the first time I ever heard something like that and that poor frog had sacrificed his life for what reason, we didn’t know.

It was soon the morning and we all started crawling out of the tent and Shantha was already busy with making tea. The morning sun brought the birds out who started flying around and the water level of the river had risen a bit making our journey downhill easier.

After tea we decided to try to venture into a Villu where we can observe elephants and Sunimal led the way in. The undergrowth was too thick with prickly bushes and we had to tread very carefully. We found plenty of trees of berries which we munched hungrily and the ripe fruits kept us plucking more and more of the unending supply. The forest was full of them and all of a sudden, Dana came running towards us and everybody up front started running after him.

Even Sunimal came back hurriedly having heard a sound and thought it was an elephant. It was so hilarious to see everyone was so banged up but there was no elephant but a bunch of monkeys. We ate more berries to chase our fears and were got on track. However, after about a km or so, we found the path is so over grown with thorn bushes and decided to take a turn back. Sunimal then informed that the LTTE had frequently roamed the jungle targeting civilians who come to collect drinking water, what brutes they had been.

After this everyone wanted a cool dip in the river. This might have been the result of being scared to death in the jungle and they were feeling hungry too.

Soon the breakfast was ready with fried eggs and buttered bread; unfortunately a whole bread was full of ants who had decided to feed on our expense. We had no option other than giving it to the fish that were early waiting.

In about half an hour, we packed our stuff back onto the boat and were on the way with a half empty tummy, but the going was easy this time due to the rise of water levels.

 

After the Eluwankulama, the Y junction, turn right to Gange Wadiya, left is Aruwakkalu Quarry

End of the railway line, good signage

The road towards Gange Wadiya

This is the Lunu Ela

The electricity is there at the village thanks to the Navy Camp and the Cement Factory

Sunimal’s boat service

Would’ve been grand if these were big enough

Is this legal?

He was wondering who these fellows are

The view from the boat yard

Majestic Kala Oya separating the village and Wilpattu…

The LTTE had crossed this river to attack the village

Theppama resting

Plenty of hawks hovering above

The team ready to go in

Laden with food and our baggage

Oh yeah, push it

Shantha the navigator at the front

Right is the Lunu Ela, to the left is Kala Oya

We took the left

Difficulty of carrying water from upstream

Diya kawa waiting for us to pass

Water is too shallow for the engine so Shantha got down to pull it

Coming down with full containers

The area is beginning to look like a heaven for campers

Maneuvering was a nightmare at places

Gigantic Kumbuk Trees providing the shade

Having a bath before going back with water

Sunimal too had to pull us with the boat

Kingfisher waiting for something

An ideal place for camping but there were already a few drunks

Couldn’t go any more coz feeling ravenous

Salivating

Mine…

After a hearty meal, look at the contended looks, Wumi’s rubbing his near bursting tummy

“What shall we do today?”

Athula is asking: “Kohomada Kema?”, Tony replies: “Athi Wishishtai Machan”

Ok, enough resting, let’s go find a place to camp

Hardly any water for the boat to cross

No option, but to drag it along the sandy bank

Ara Soysa!!!

I chose to venture into the woods

A Theppama full of containers idling

Commandos after a mission accomplished

No idea what this weapon is

Willus of Wilpattu

“That place is good for us”, shouted Dana

I was all about going along the banks

There had been people before too

Finally the tired boat got a much deserved rest

Tent is ready and our towels getting dried up

Yum Yum Yum!!!

Shantha was laboring with the heavy work

We’re ready to explore a bit

Gigantic but looks abandoned

Fully shaded

We found this path that leads to a village on the other side

Extremely prickly and hurting

“Dude, somebody’s coming”

“Sweet heart, don’t look, we’ve got strangers looking at us”

Abandoned tourist bungalow

This must’ve been the well that fed the bungalow

Along the path, found this

“Hiya, anybody home?”

Getting dark and thought of turning around

What a surprise

I’m in heaven baby…

Tony playing the nanny

Half-moon ready to lighten the night

More wood for the campfire

Moon is finally ready

Our tent and the light hanging on a pole, surrounded by thousands of insects

Elephants are on the other side

Recalling the days’ events and Dana like a huge beetle with a flashlight

With flash, the hammock

Kumbuk trees making the environment artistic

Ready for the BBQ. Tony’s asking Shantha, “How long will it take?”

Fire is ready with the grill

Fish and the Chicken we brought

There it goes

The first plateful with BBQed fish and chicken

“Malli Wena Nedda?”

After an eventful night, the dawn arrives

Shantha is making tea

Tea’s ready…

Ready to do more adventures and Sunimal leading the way

Juicy berries kept us busy all the time

Never ending supply

“Anna Atha Kurullek, penawada?”

A stranger

“Kollane, me wayasaka matath tikak thiyapalla bolavu”

Grapes???

Being very cautious

Trying to avoid treading on Elephant dung

Dead end, not a hope of crossing this thorny bushes, you need an Elephant’s rough skin

Heading back

Off to a flying start

River bathing is always fun

“Hiya matey”

Eggs are being cooked

Almost done

Loosing one whole bread made us go half hungry

Let’s go

Still water is too shallow

“See you folks”

Coming for the daily collection of water

This area is very wide

Back at the village

Elephant Tree and Aruwakkalu Quarry

We reached the village around 10.00am and unloaded everything and set off yet again towards the lagoon looking for the Elephant tree. We reached the lagoon at a ferocious speed and the journey along the lagoon was a roller coaster ride, the boat bumping up and down and swaying left and right. The water splashed all over us making Wumi duck underneath the front of the boat and Tony very kindly offered him his comfy seat. We turned into Kumburawa River which runs right through the Wilpattu jungle and went along about 2km till we saw the top of Elephant tree.

It was actually a huge Baobab tree with a circumference of well over 40ft (measured by Nishanta and Sunimal during their journey) being second only to the giant in Mannar which is more than 60ft. We anchored the boat and got onto the land and the tree felt huge compared to others. We’d have needed more than a dozen people to surround it completely. The skin was so thick just like an elephant’s.

Sunimal pointed that the age of the tree is about 750 years, calculated by some people who knows what they’re doing. There was a small baobab tree too about 100m into the jungle which is about 12-15ft. It was super cool watching this giant from up close and we had to very sadly go back.

We saw the communication towers at Kalpitiya and the peninsula was visible as if they were very close to us. Fishermen from Gange Wadiya usually go to Kalpitiya by sea and it’s about 12km to the town and according to Suniaml it takes about half hour to get there. If you, on the other hand wanna visit Kalpitiya, you need to go back to Puttalam and take the road along the peninsula which is more than 70km away.

I wish we could build a bridge along the lagoon to the peninsula making it easy to travel between. There were a lot of islands such as Uchchimunai, Illippantivu, Periya and Sinna Arichchalai, etc. You can go to Baththalangunduwa too from here which is a long way from Kalpitiya. We came back to the village and got everything loaded onto the van and got ready for the next in line of our agenda which is visiting Limestone Quarry at Aruwakkalu.

As I mentioned in Notes, you need to get permission at least 2 days prior to your journey from the Colombo Head Office. Having bid farewell to Gange Wadiya, we left with contented hearts.We left for Aruwakkalu Quarry took the left turn from the Y junction and went on a dusty but ramrod straight road to the factory. We were met by the supervisor and took us along the quarry to the top where we got a panoramic view of the site.

It was like an Australian Gold Mine, spreading in a vast area and huge monstrous vehicles busy at work. We saw the Kalpitiya very close across the lagoon and the supervisor told us a very mysterious tale. A tunnel which had apparently been done by the Portugese, had been found about a decade ago dug between Kalpitiya Fort and Jaffna Fort. It’s said that a white couple had got in and vanished without a trace. It was later closed down burying centuries of history with it.

The earth looks similar to what you find in Ussangoda, very reddish and full of minerals. This jungle is where you find plenty of Camellias and Dana badly wanted to picture of them. It was one of the few that is missing from his collection. There is a railway track running from here to Puttalam Cement Factory carrying dug limestone back and forth.

We left the quarry and came back to the Eluwankulama and bid farewell to Sunimal.

 

Dana and Tony got the comfy seats

Have to go straight and then turn left beyond those trees

At full throttle

Trying to catch some

After a bumpy ride at the lagoon we turned onto Kumburawa

Can see a structure at the right hand corner… there are plans to build a hotel here

Along Kumburawa towards the Elephant’s tree

The top bit is seen from here

Endless supply of landscapes

There it is

Ready to jump

Looks like two separate ones but it’s the same

Not many leaves

Huge at the base

Skin like an Elephant’s

The small one

Not so small up close

Well, time to go heavies

Back to the bumpy ride

Finally at the village

The Y junction and the Quarry is 4km away

Straight like an arrow

Just arrived at the gate

Getting in

Piles of limestone in the distance

Those tires are as high as our van

Ready to send to Puttalam

The mammoth quarry, just like a gold mine in Aussie

Towards Kalpitiya, pretty close

Busy at work

Drilling the limestone rocks

Look at the earth, very reddish

Never seen one like this in real life before

We’re going

What’s that?

Oh! An eagle’s nest

Nawadankulama and Sunset at Kochchikade

We followed the Puttalam road and stopped about 10km passing Puttalam town for lunch. Everybody was might hungry and gobbled up every morsel they could get their hands on. That’s when Tony showed me a specially made tri-wheeler and its owner was a handicapped lottery vendor. There was this saying written behind his vehicle. Its English meaning is something like “I don’t give a damn about ships when I don’t even have a paddle”.

Having had a hearty meal, we came to Nawadankulama junction where we took a left and the tank was 4km away. Dana had visited the place before and told us there were two other tiny tanks before it. By the time we reached those, the drought had made sure no water was remaining and it was nothing but a ground where you can play Elle or Cricket.

We had our doubts about Nawadankulama but she had kept some water despite the unforgiving sun. There were birds and the landscapes were absolutely wonderful and we simply savored every second of it. Dana claimed he’d never seen so many stunning landscapes and his landscape lens was doing overtime right throughout the journey.

Sometime later, we left Nawadankulama and headed back towards Colombo when I wanted to see the sunset sometime close to Mundala but we were too early. Then Dana asked if we could see those primitive yachts at Kochchikade with the setting sun and we headed towards there. However, the traffic was becoming a nightmare and we were held off quite a long time and by the time we reached Kochchikade beach, the sun had already gone down but the sky was still full of vivid colors.

We jumped out of the van as if the end of the world had come and ran to the beach shooting like Blackhawk-debussed US Marines. It was simply spectacular view, the whole sky was painted with different shades of Red, Orange, Blue and Grey and they had to drag me out of the beach. What an end to a majestic journey, couldn’t have been better.

Unlike other journeys, we reached Colombo at a more humanly acceptable hour and reached our homes by 08.00–09.00pm. Everything fell into place like a nicely done jigsaw puzzle and it was a very welcome leisurely journey for our battered bodies and minds.

Well folks, that’s the end of another of my fairy tales, hope you enjoyed it and planning to do more but wanna do something different.

Take care

Sri

 

We saw this on our way too and he was waiting where we had lunch

Not far to go

Having passed two empty tanks, this was a relief

From the professional to the amateur

Splitting but it was such artistic after all

There’s hardly anything for them to eat

“Where have they all gone?”

Herd of Goats being taken back home

“Hey, don’t photograph me, ok?”

“Hamine, moke koranne?”

Wow	Gotcha buddy

What a combination!

Just got off, the sun had gone but still grand enough

Sky is on fire

From left: Dana, me, Tony and Wumi

Trying everything

“Let’s go to heaven”

An airliner off from Katunayake

Time to go

The Collection of Panoramas during the whole journey will be an ideal summary.

Pano 1

Pano 2

Pano 3

Pano 4

Pano 5

Pano 6

Pano 7

Pano 8

Pano 9

Pano 10

Pano 11

Pano 12

 

Pano 13

Pano 14