Elephant Sanctuary

August 3rd

Wow! Quite an amazing day to say the least. Today was our visit to the Elephant Sanctuary. We had the main gentleman from the sanctuary at the hotel to give us a video presentation on the sanctuary and how they work and rescue Elephants. This got everyone excited about actually seeing and interacting with the Elephants.

We got an early start today as we had a long bus ride. About 2 1/2 bourse later, we arrived at the Sanctuary. Surprisingly well developed as everyone had remarked how our impression before we arrived was that the area was going to be pretty desolate and deep in the jungle. Deep in the jungle, desolate no. With secure structures for the elephants, and interactive viewing pens for the Elephants. This was a fantastic opportunity to get up close with these huge animals.

Our first encounter was with 4 young Elephants. They were quite cute and the kids loved feeding them peanuts from their hands. It was very interesting watching some of the expressions on the kids faces as the Elephants vacuumed up the nuts with their snouts. 

Next, they brought out 5 Adults. Explaining where they came from, they kids eyes were wide with amazement watching them. We were then given the opportunity to ride the huge animals. Almost everyone rode the big pachyderm around a penned enclosure, a highlight I am sure based on the smiles from each and everyone.

We were provided a nutritious lunch by the locals and after that, the boys were put to work. As it is the month of Ramadan, the locals really don't do too much heavy work during the day. With 92 strong bodies who rare well fed, there was a work force to be tapped. The sanctuary needed some sand bags filled and transferred to a ramp by the river to support the edge of the ramp from eroding. They went at it like Canadian beavers building a dam. At the end, everyone had a great sense of accomplishment in helping and giving back. After such hard work, it was time to cool off. They turned on a hose and sprayed everyone down with a cool shower. Extremely refreshing for all, but better still was the swim in the river. Everyone enjoyed the swim, probably more than Sunway Lagoon! 

After about 40 minutes, we were taken on a tour of the local jungle area. Down a pathway about 600 meters to view the local flora and fauna of the jungle. Of note was a particular type of tree that the locals use the sap of to dip their dart tips in to hunt. 

One of the highlights was the bathing with the baby elephants. This was and amazing fun, and very wet! Most were able to get onto the elephant and get a "bath". Finally, a snack before we left and the ride back to the hotel. After dinner, we sorted out our equipment and packed everything up for our trip to Melaka and Port Dixon. We will be in Port Dixon for the remainder of the trip and don't know what the Internet will be like so please bear with us. We will be home soon!