Jungle adventure camping at Hendikema

By CG Uragoda

(Continued from last week)

We camped under the trees about 100 yards from the water-hole at Hendikema. We slept in hammocks, while our baggage was stored in a small tent erected by the side. Deer and jungle fowl were occasionally seen from the camp. Thanks to the shooting abilities of my friends, all our meals had a share of venison or jungle fowl. The latter was, incidentally, a tough meat. Jungle fowl were always on the run or flapping in the air, and this constant exercise would make their muscles strong and tough when compared to the domestic birds.

We spent nearly a week at Hendikema, and during this period the only other human beings we saw were a party in a jeep that went past our camp. A short time later, the vehicle returned the same way. The man in the vehicle, who was armed with a gun, was recognized as the Chief Magistrate of Colombo, who was very likely camping off Galge. The absence of any other human beings during the whole week spoke of the utter seclusion of our campsite.

Water supply

It is important that a campsite should have a regular source of water. Our original plan to camp at Veddange Vadiya was partly determined by this requirement. The camp would have been erected by the Menik Ganga, which would have supplied water to the camp, as well as provided facilities for bathing. Another reason was the concentration of animals around the water when they came to drink. Heavy rain, however, had negated this expectation, for plenty of water was now available everywhere and animals would not necessarily come to the river to quench their thirst.

The campsite at Hendikema had access to two sources of water. Water for camp use, such as cooking, drinking and making tea and coffee, came from the small water-hole. It was obtained with the help of the ever-present coconut shell ladle, one shellful at a time. It took a pretty long time for a vessel to be filled. It was not possible to have a bath with such a slow supply of water. Fortunately for campers, there was a large natural water-hole a couple of hundred yards away in the thick jungle, off the Buttala-Kataragama track.

Water was easily accessible at this water-hole, which was situated in a large depression in the rock, bordered by overhanging boulders. Almost daily all of us used to walk there together, with a bucket in hand, and thoroughly enjoy a bath.

There were animal droppings on the rock around the water-hole, indicating that wild beasts, including elephant, bear and leopard, had visited the place. At the height of the drought, when the surrounding jungle was parched and the river was quite a distance away, this site would have provided the last haven for water for miles around.

Leopard

The objective of the entire trip was to shoot a leopard. It was to be achieved by providing bait in the form of a deer’s carcass. HD and the other two members of the party went out during the first two or three days and nights and shot some deer in accordance with the permit issued to them by the Department of Wildlife. It was hoped that these carcasses would attract leopard. The bodies were kept at strategic points, so that any leopard which was feeding on one of them could be shot by a person in hiding at a convenient spot.

Every day the three members of the party, either singly or in combination, and accompanied by the tracker, used to visit each of the carcasses. Only one was partly eaten by a leopard, but sitting over it that evening proved abortive. Ultimately, at the end of the trip they did not get a single leopard, and we made an uneventful return to Colombo.

Subsequent developments

In later years, Kataragama itself and the track to Buttala have undergone intensive changes. The suspension bridge across Menik Ganga at Kataragama was replaced by a permanent bridge. The earlier bridge used to swing to and fro when people walked on it in a similar way to the one across Mahaweli Ganga at the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. At times the footing of the bridge, which was made of wooden planks, had gaps here and there, caused by these pieces falling due to wear and tear over the years.

Now no vehicles are allowed to drive across Menik Ganga at Kataragama. Built-up structures prevent their entry to the banks of the river. Commercial establishments are not allowed on the Uva side of the river where we had our memorable breakfast of hoppers and sambol. Instead, all shops, hotels and the like are situated on the opposite side of the river where there is a vehicle park.

In place of the cart or jeep track, there is now a fine highway from Buttala to Kataragama. This road is broad and well-carpeted, and the entire distance takes only 20 to 30 minutes by car. This is quite a contrast to the condition of the track prevailing at the time of our trip, when we took several hours travelling from Kataragama to Hendikema, a distance of about six miles.

Rediscovery of Hendikema

The new road did not exactly follow the old track we originally took. The two deviated a few hundred yards here and there, but both roads passed through Galge. On traveling along the new road, I tried to locate Hendikema several times for nostalgic reasons. On all these trips, I was accompanied by Dr Walter R Gooneratne, who himself had been to Hendikema in the days gone by. Once we stopped the vehicle and walked into the jungle, but the place eluded us.

In 1996, when we were staying at Dambakotte near Galge, we made another attempt, though trackers of the Department of Wildlife Conservation had not heard of Hendikema. Walter and I again went looking for the place. He identified a turn-off to Muduntalawa, which he remembered was close to Hendikema. He ultimately discovered the place, which was about a hundred yards from the main road. What faced us was a pitiable sight. Treasure hunters had apparently blasted the rock, and the water of the kema, which at the time was shut off from view, was now visible in its entirety. The tiny hole through which water was withdrawn with the help of a coconut shell ladle has been destroyed. There were pieces of blasted rock fallen all over the place.

We later heard that a tracker had discovered a few coins from the site. In fact, we saw a couple of coins at the bottom of the water-hole. These provided a possible explanation for the turn of events that led to the blasting of the rock. Treasure hunters, armed with metal detectors, would have received signals from the coins in the water-hole. Mistakenly thinking that these were emanating from hidden gold, they would have blasted the rock. In retrospect, these coins would have been the thank-offerings of pilgrims who would have quenched their thirst at the water-hole.

I noted the possible location of our old campsite, but we could not find the whereabouts of the other water-hole where we used to bathe. The tracker, who did not know of the existence of the water-hole, feared that bear or elephant might be lurking among the trees if we went in search of it in the thick jungle.

Intermediate Zone

Intermediate Zone was a buffer between cultivated land and National Parks or Strict Natural Reserves. Shooting under permit during the open season was allowed in these areas. Many doubted the advisability of having these zones.

When the issue of licenses to shoot any animal was totally banned since 1964, Intermediate Zones were abolished, and these were annexed to National Parks. The Intermediate Zone around Galge became Block 3 of the Ruhuna National Park.

Hambegamuwa to Kumana

I, along with three others, went by jeep in June 1964 to Karawelgala, which was 10 miles from Hambegamuwa. We turned off at Tanamalwila, and drove along a jeep track, which is a far cry from the road that now runs to Balangoda through Hambegamuwa and Uggal-Kaltota amidst beautiful scenery. Throughout our three-day stay, we were at the Karawelgala school by courtesy of its headmaster.

In 1955, Hambegamuwa became the focus of public attention as a result of large-scale illicit cultivation of ganja in the jungle. The army and the police were employed to carry out ‘Operation Ganja’, which was aimed at destroying plants and suppressing its cultivation. This campaign became a major issue at the 1956 general election, and the newly elected government appointed a commission to investigate it. We did not see any evidence of ganja, but the headmaster told us that the meat he served us was cooked with a touch of ganja in order to soften it.

The school was in the middle of the village, and we were told that a few days earlier a wild elephant raced along the road through the village. Inmates ran helter-skelter into their houses. However, we did not see any elephants during our stay, though we heard loud trumpeting behind the school. We rushed out, flashing our torches, but we failed to see the animal. We were told that such trumpeting was a frequent occurrence.

The next day we visited places of interest in Hambegamuwa where the tank was large and the view enticing. One of the archaeological sites we visited was a complex consisting of three large, naturally occurring water-holes, placed one below the other. They were connected to each other through two openings in between. When it rains, the water that runs along the sloping rocky slab above fills the uppermost tank.

The overflow from it then fills the second, and so on till the third is full. It may be imagined that the monks from the monastery used water from the top tank for drinking and cooking, while that from the lowest tank was employed for washing. In this way the best use of water would have been obtained, for if washing was done in the top tank, its overflow would have contaminated the contents of the two tanks below.