If you go down to the Peanut Farm today, you’re in for a big surprise!

ABay remains quiet, with a trickle of interesting, adventurous, curious visitors. Good news is that looks like picking up in June with a good number of enquiries plus a Dubai surf tour company looking to book with us, www.surfingdubai.com

The idea being to bring Dubai’s overheating ex-pats (It is 40 degrees C there and can reach 50 over the coming summer months!) to cooler climes (35ish) and teach them to surf on one of Asia’s top 10 surf points; “The Point” Arugam Bay!

However “The Point” can be a little daunting for beginners & newbies, that’s where the other “Breaks” around ABay offer milder waves once the sand has built up. Potty point, Crocodile Rock & Peanut Farm all are great spots to surf once they are “working”

With this in mind, myself, Naleem, Ralph & guests; Rosie & Andy, took the potholed road down to Peanut Farm to check out it’s current state.

As we drew in 2 surfers were leaving, boards tethered to the roof of a “Tuk-Tuk” after a day surfing on their own; so break is working.

Peanut Farm is beautiful rocky bay, no guesthouses or hotels just a few tree houses for those that want the full “Robinson Caruso” experience.

The surfers leaving must have had some good advice because on walking back to the van, Rosie was marching ahead of us disappearing around a bend in the path , then she reappeared, marching faster towards us back around the bend, flushed, urgent whisper of “Elephants!”

This is the first time I have met up with Elephants on foot at close range; other “scary” incidences have been behind a protecting windshield?

Between us and the van was a family of two juveniles maybe 3 & 7ish plus two guardians/mothers, one of which was a large stature of a mother. We moved forward with caution, Naleem at the head with a piece of plastic pipe (makeshift stick or blowpipe!?) Ralph with a rock & me with a camera (heavy but not for throwing!)

We could see the larger mother give a typical warning, throwing grass and dust over her back; I’d witnessed this behaviour elsewhere, before being charged by protective mothers! So we were more than a little twitchy! Slightest signs or sounds in our direction had us scampering up a 3foot rock escarpment! Not sure it would protect but sure made us feel safer at the time!
Eventually Naleem, communicated “please go away, we mean no harm” i.e. hollered at them and waved his arms up & down, not recommended, an impression of a screaming pelican holding a piece of plumbing but it did the trick!.

Conclusion- They is big, they is scary at close range, they is prowling around dusk & dawn and Peanut Farm is working also a beautiful place to chill!

Steve “Elephant” Jones

Photo’s posted on www.roccoshotel.com & www.lookinglost.com

Well I have just driven over to ABay from Airport via Colombo, Unawatuna and along the coast road. Nothing to report really, nice scenic drive, apart from the 48hr of torrential monsoon rains on the West Coast! Never seen anything like it, just standing still visibility was zero, like looking through an opaque bathroom window, (smells to match in some places!)
Met up with friends en-route and all is calm on the ground.
Night flights have been suspended and the road to Pottuvil (Closest Town to ABay that you drive through, is closed from 5pm each night to 7.30am)
Security is tight in Colombo but as a foreigner I was not stopped or hindered in any way.
There are many police check points en-route; the majority are “drive through” to slow you down so the police can have a look.
One check point on the way to ABay you have to pull over and be checked out.
The bay is quiet, waves are long rolling 3-6 at the point, other breaks are working as the swell dictates. Sun is out & I am a very happy man, in a bizarre and confusing country!

Latest photo’s of hotel & recent trips into Yala West earlier in the year, are in the photo gallery.