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Minneriya National Park

19/7/2014

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The Sri Lankan Elephant is one of the unofficial national symbols of Sri Lanka.  It is an endangered species and killing a Sri Lankan Elephant carries the death penalty!
On our Secrets of Sri Lanka tour with Intrepid we visited Minneriya National Park.  
The first exciting part of the tour was the transport- a proper jeep! We were going on Safari! 
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While that might be excitement enough for one day, there were elephants to see! We set off with our driver, cameras and binoculars at the ready, hoping to see a few elephants......I really had not read up on Minneriya National Park.
We hit off in our safari jeeps into the 8890 hectare park.  We drove through lots of bushes and trees all the while frantically trying to spot an elephant.  Finally we saw one in the distance. We really should have researched more!
After a while we came to vast open plain.  Then we witnessed what is known as The Gathering. 
In the 3rd century King Mahasen built the Minneriya Reservoir (Minneriya Tank).  It covers 8900 Hectares and fills up during the monsoon season.  Naturally it starts to dry up in the dry season but never fully runs dry.  As the water recedes, it leaves behind fertile , moist soil where lush grass quickly sprouts (wildlifeextra.com). Who loves the lush grass? Elephants of course!
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    Primary teacher, frequent traveler, lover of exotic food and culture.

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