https://adventureswithelephants.com/

We were booked to go to Serbia to see a friend of mine but due to Covid, this couldn’t happen. We decided that we’d still take the leave but visit places in our Sunny South Africa that we haven’t seen.

Elephants are my favourite of the large animals and I have always wanted to experience some close up time with them and to get to know more about them.

On Monday, we had the honour of meeting the elephants at Adventures with Elephants in Bela Bela. Everyone knows that elephants have good memories and we were able to see this in person. When Messina was brought to us, the handler, Oscar invited us to feed her some pellets from our hand, each time telling her our name. We did this three times. Oscar threw his cap to the ground in front of Messina and instructed her to give it to one of us, telling her which of us to give it to. The next task was for us to give Oscar one of each of our shoes and she was told to return to the correct shoe to it’s owner. Messina was able to carry out the task perfectly.

The first elephant we met had lost the tip of his trunk. Apparently, if an elephant in the wild doesn’t learn to feed himself within seven days of losing the tip of his trunk, he will die of starvation. With the help of Adventures with Elephants, this handsome elephant was able to feed and is thriving.

My partner was given a shower by an elephant and we were we able to touch them. Their skins are rough and uniquely patterned, caked with mud that helps to keep them cool, as do their ears. I was fascinated by the tip of the tail with it’s almost wire like bristles. These (bristles) help the elephant to keep the flies off of them. They use their ears as a fan to keep the flies off their shoulders and to cool themselves.

We enjoyed being able to stand between their legs and have a picture taken with them.

We went away knowing more about elephants and my love and respect for these majestic animals has just increased.

Well done to Adventures with Elephants for an unforgettable experience.