Rustic, natural and wild

Rustic, natural and wild are three words that come to mind when reflecting on Task Safari Camp, 35 km from Wellawaya. Encompassing a large area of arid terrain beside a refreshing river, the Menik Ganga, the site is covered with ancient trees and dense scrub, and is miles from anywhere.

It is the perfect landscape for spotting a variety of wildlife and making you feel you are truly at one with nature.

My experience of camping has involved standard two-or four-person tents that sag and rarely let you stand up fully or turn around with ease, so I was looking forward to the prospect of the "luxury camping" that Tasks offers. I also was interested in finding out whether it is possible for the two words "luxury" and "camping" to actually go together.

Accommodation at Tasks is nearly all canvas and wood, but far from your everyday camping experience. The canvas 'rooms' are large and spacious, while the tents are placed on raised wooden platforms near the river with a thatched roof overhead. The 'rooms' at the rear of the site are placed on smooth concrete. All have a generous veranda with table and chairs, and rooms are spaced out enough along little paths marked by painted white stones to feel private.

From the outside the 30 canvas, rooms look to be nothing special. The material is faded and the canvas does slightly sag, as you would expect from a tent. The rooms contain a large double or a few single beds adorned with brightly striped bedcovers. There is plenty of space to walk around on the creaking floorboards without bumping your head on the roof. With high ceilings and straight sides, rooms are perfectly comfortable, spacious, and aptly merge into the natural environment. Other furniture includes tables, a long mirror and a portable camp bed.

The rooms come with a bathroom. These are typically found along a walkway from a side entrance of the tent and contain an airy toilet, sink and an open-air shower with green-sheeted sides and a coconut husk as the showerhead. In fact, the cool water that gushed out of the holes in the coconut feels immensely refreshing. It is especially nice at night-time when you can see the stars and the moon overhead.

Task is about experiencing nature and living amongst it, so at night you will only find one light in the bathroom - connected to the electricity supply. By dusk, the paths are lit with oil lamps and you are given a handful for your room. This lighting, enhanced by the green pulse of the magical fireflies, is very romantic and more so as it is augmented by crickets chirruping, the sighing of the wind and the sound of the river.

While you sit on the veranda to read a book or write your diary entry you will gain a sense of your grandparents' era. There are no fans or air-conditioning units, which suits the experience of Tasks, but you may find it quite hot sleeping at night even with all the 'doors' open.

The doors are of course just flaps; there are no locks and no keys! In some cases the flaps cannot be secured at all, so while there are staff always close by to watch for your belongings, it is recommended that you put your valuables in the 'safes' at the Reception, or keep them on your person. In fact, the safes are quite fitting since they are brown paper bags that once filled are then stapled and sealed with your signature!

The reception area is between the Bar and Restaurant, which is where you will spend your evenings, no doubt. Comfortable khaki canvassed seating is provided in the bar area with sliced wooded trunk tables on which to place your drinks. The sturdy bar is certainly safari in style, and the menu features some good and moderately-priced wines by the glass or bottle, though the enclosed position means that it lacks the airy atmosphere of the restaurant.

Creaky but peaceful, Tasks restaurant is on a raised wooden platform shaded by large trees overlooking the river Menik Ganga. One part protrudes slightly over the water, while a high roof covers one end. The river rushes in accompaniment to the wind rustling through the trees, providing the only background melody as you are wined and dined.

All meals at Tasks are hearty, so you won't go hungry. While breakfasts may be typically western, lunch or dinner could be a traditional Sri Lankan rice and curry buffet or a starlit barbeque. If you are staying at Tasks when it is at medium to full capacity you can enjoy many BBQs under the starry night sky and quite possibly experience Tasks' speciality - a bush dinner on Kottigala (Leopard Rock), where you can see for miles and spot the wildlife that Sri Lanka is famed for, including elephant, deer, wildboar, and sometimes even a leopard or wild cat.

Tasks is situated within the elephant corridor that joins the Uda Walawe National Park to Lunugamvehera National Park so there is more chance of spotting a variety of wildlife, even elephants in close proximity. Tasks offers a variety of nature walks, primarily to Debara Ara, accompanied by a guide with a good knowledge of the area. While they do not provide binoculars and other bird watching equipment, handbooks are available.

Early morning or evening nature walks provide a chance to explore the beautiful surroundings, which consist of a terrain of dried paddyfields, sparse open spaces, copses, and shrubs alongside little clay houses and small settlements.

Look out for the intricate and amazing teardrop-shaped weaverbird nests that hang from the lower branches of trees and the spider webs that take over whole bushes, while in the distance you may see a brightly coloured peacock chasing a peahen. Evidence of the elephant is all around - great muddy footprints, vandalised palm and banana trees, and big piles of dung, though your best chance of seeing one or more in the wild is by taking a trip by jeep to one of the nearby national parks.

An Ayurvedic Centre is on site at Tasks beside the river, so you'll be able to relieve tired and aching limbs or just heighten your jungle experience.

Friendly and polite staff are always on hand to help you settle in and have everything in hand during your stay. And while I am still not certain that the words "Luxury" and "Camping" go hand-in-hand, you certainly will not lack for any comforts at Tasks and your experience will no doubt be both magical and unique.

Emma Boyle - Courtesy Travel Sri Lanka

Tasks Safari Camp

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