The faint rustle of the jungle

A Roaming with RUSKIN story — Sri Lanka

By Chloe Frost-Smith

I wake before dawn, the air already humming with possibility, and tiptoe through the canvas flap of my tent at Wild Coast Tented Lodge, where Sri Lanka’s jungle meets the roar of the Indian Ocean. The faint rustle of the jungle mingled with distant surf; I can just make out the silhouettes of twisted palms and rocky outcrops. The lodge perches where dense bush slopes down to a wild beach — like a frontier post between ocean and forest. There’s a thrill in standing at that threshold, where the wild begins, the kind that makes my pulse quicken even in the stillness.I dress in layers — cool cotton long-sleeves, light trousers with ample pockets, my trusty Clutch Con Cinta (a compact, cross-body companion) slung diagonally so it wouldn’t shift when the jeep jolted. A torch, binoculars, insect repellent, and a small flask of tea are bundled inside the vehicle. The lodge rangers had already brewed strong coffee and left a tray of cut fruit by the door. Soon, I’m clambering into an open-top 4x4 and rumbling off into the dark — half-awake, half-dreaming, filled with anticipation.As the park murmurs awake we bump over red earth tracks, the sky shifting from indigo to rose. Our ranger guide coaxes the jeep around a bend in silence. And then — crouched in a bush just a few yards off — Suba “the Lucky”, a young leopard, glints in the soft light, his spotted pelt merging with shadows. He looks at us for a moment, still as stone, then slinks away into the undergrowth. I realise I’ve been holding my breath.We press on. An adult elephant ambles from scrub to waterhole, lifting its trunk to sniff the air. A troop of monkeys chatter overhead, leaping between branches. In a sunlit trench we glimpse several crocodiles, basking like stone riddled with teeth. And then, farther off, two leopard cubs tumble on a rocky ledge — playful tumble, paws batting, momentarily oblivious to us at the edge of the vista. The distance gives them an ethereal quality, like living sketches against a golden backdrop. By midmorning, we return to camp, electrified. After a restorative breakfast and a power nap by the pool, I join a late afternoon nature walk with our knowledgeable ranger, Thilanka. We wander along the coastline just beyond the lodge, where forest edges give way to rugged shoreline and steep headlands. Thilanka tells of the ‘garnet coast’ — pockets of sand streaked with garnet and other heavy minerals, where the ocean’s currents deposit tiny crystals and polished sea-shell fragments over eons.We crouch to examine shell shards: Veneridae (Venus clams), univalves, arks and horn shells, bleached pastel discs edged with rose or pearl. Thilanka teaches us how older storms have pushed fossil shell beds, layering them into dunes and beach ridges; he speaks of coastal geology and sea-level shifts that left shell-rich strata inland of today’s high-water line. I trace a finger over one of the shells — its edge cool and smooth.In the gathering dusk we pause at a rocky promontory. The sea sighs, waves battering coral-studded outcrops, salt spray in my hair. Thilanka points out native coastal shrubs — hardy sea grasses, stunted scrub — and those curious, tide-worn bluffs of beach rock cemented by marine minerals. As the sun sinks, the sky turns molten, and the shells glitter faintly in the fading light.

Back at the lodge that night, I unpack my Clutch Con Cinta, hold a few of those tiny shell fragments, and sit on my deck watching fireflies flicker over the dark canopy. The day had given me leopards and elephants and geological ephemera; small proofs that wonder can be found in both motion and stillness. In Sri Lanka’s wild fringes, I rediscovered the joy of noticing.Chloe travelled with her Clutch Con Cinta in bracken

With gratitude to Chloe Frost Smith

Chloe is an experienced travel and lifestyle writer based in Edinburgh, working across a portfolio of boutique hotels around the world, shaping tone of voice and crafting brand narrative while penning hotel reviews, destination guides, and trend pieces for VOGUE, Cabana Magazine, YOLO Journal, and more.