We set off before the sun had risen after a milky cuppa (a Sri Lankan favourite) in a jeep with a family of four from France. The jeep was a homemade safari jeep, with comfy seats welded into the back of a pick up, none the less it did the job. We weren't inside the park two minutes when we came across a solitary male elephant grazing as the sun rose behind him. However as it was just inside the entrance about five jeeps had all stopped to observe. Our driver headed off away from the crowd and within a few minutes it felt like we had the park to ourselves. We drove around slowly along mud tracks and through rivers spotting a multitude of birds & other wildlife including; Mongoose, Peacock, Hornbill, Painted Stock, Purple heron, Parrot, Pelican, hawk eagle, Kite, Iguana, Little bee eater, Kingfisher, Water buffalo, crocodile, junglefowl (National bird of Sri Lanka) & Camillion. But the main attraction was the huge elephants plodding about. We came across countless males seemingly unbothered by us as we sat watching them delicately pull the freshest grass from the ground and carefully shake all the dirt out before munching it. It was fascinating to be in such close proximity to these majestic mammals. They used their trucks for everything, breaking branches, pulling grass, cooling themselves off with water and dust or even just a simple scratch. For such large animals they walked carefully, each footstep gently measured to hardly make a sound. But the cherry on the top was to observe a small herd of females by the lakeside, some heavily pregnant and others with their young by their side. It was a truly unforgettable experience!