Here are some pictures on Picasa of the whole trip:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111243362282378595282/SriLanka

We went to Yala National Park on safari today. We shared a jeep with a German woman. We took off at around 13.00 and drove down the coast to Kumana National Park - or what was previously known as East Yala National Park. According to our guide book it was recently re-opened after the civil war.

After a good hour we arrived to the entry gate to the park. We had to get out and pay the entry fee and a ranger came into the jeep with us. He acted as a guide and was very knowledgeable about the animals. We first came through an arid dry bush landscape. This season is apparently the dry season and most of the tanks (the water reservoirs that get filled up during the wet season in November-January) are dried out. What struck us was the high animal density. We constantly saw animals - Water Buffaloes, Iguanas, Deer, big predator birds, crocodiles (as many as 20 in a small water hole).

We came across elephants several places, lone male specimen. One of them took an interest in our vehicle and came up really close. It was quite exciting!

We then came to a larger tank where the jungle was incredibly lush. The area was a bird sanctuary and we went up into an observation tower. The view was fantastic! Later we continued to a place close to the tank, where we met some very cute monkeys that we could hand feed.

It was late when we came back to our place. Another great barbecue was waiting for us with grilled King Mackerel (Seer) and BIG crabs from the lagoon. It was perfect.