Your alarm goes at 4 AM. It’s still dark in Ella.Your driver is already outside. You load your bags, take the coffee your guesthouse left out, and head south.By the time the sun comes up you’re past Wellawaya, the landscape has flattened, and the air is warm and dry. Your driver knows this road well. He talks about the park while he drives — which zones are active, what was spotted yesterday, where the resident leopard has been.At Yala the jeep is waiting. You transfer in, leave your bags locked in the car, and enter as the gates open.Twenty minutes in, your guide cuts the engine. On a rock twenty metres away, a leopard is watching the road. It doesn’t move for four minutes. You don’t either.By 1:30 PM you’re on the Mirissa beachfront. The Indian Ocean is right there. You’ve had a full safari, covered 200km, and still have the whole afternoon.
