Can you be an elephant carer in just one day? Anything's possible at the Elephant Nature Park... Forest fires? Winter chills? Begging? You wouldn't believe it but these are all issues associated with elephants that the team at the Elephant Nature Park (ENP) are tackling every day. Along with their work in running eco-tourism elephant projects, the ENP has become a local crusader helping in all areas of conservation from planting trees to supporting hill-tribe communities. Their main aim is to get people closer to elephants and give them an understanding of the problems elephants face. Most elephants in Thailand worked in the logging industry until it was banned in 1989. Some are now used in tourism but many are uncared for as their owners don't know what to do with them. The lucky ones get to come to the Elephant Nature Park. There are thirty elephants here. Some are disabled and some are orphaned but the focus of this conservation project is to let them live out their lives in an environment as close to the wild as possible. You experience see this unique conservation centre for yourself as part of a Tell Tale Travel holiday. From having never seen an elephant in your life to assisting in the care of one is both a brilliant and a brave thing to do. It may be for just a day, but it's extremely rewarding and fun. Elephants are gentle creatures but you've got to be prepared to get stuck in and help out. It's bit like babysitting, getting to help feed and look after your charge except there's no chance of you ever being able to carry your 'baby' around. The opposite is more likely to be true... "My balance isn't all that great," laughs Lisa, recounting her tale. "So I'd never felt so apprehensive when my elephant Sao Yai, started to rise from her kneeling position with me clinging on to her head! That was my moment of doubt but once she was on her feet - she was moving and I was officially a novice elephant bareback rider. I just relaxed into it as we wandered into the jungle." There's so much you can take from the Elephant Nature Park, even in just a few hours. You'll get to know about Asian elephants including how their historical role in society. You'll get tips from their carers, the mahouts and a stockpile of stories to tell the folks back home. "They do get a lot of freedom to graze in the forest", says Lisa. "When we were out and I was still riding bareback, I got confused as Sao Yai kept stopping. We were losing the rest of the group she was so slow. Then I looked down and realised her baby, Liberty was following. That's why we were taking so long because mum was waiting for her baby to catch-up." Bath-time is a highlight of everyone's day. Where else can you follow a herd of elephants into a river and help scrub them down? Make sure they wash behind their ears? Okay, so you may get a bit muddy too but it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Elephants seem to get more playful in the river, squirting everyone with water as you wash them down. Who ever said they were always well-behaved?! Tell Tale Tips: Another great way to see elephants in Thailand is see the annual 'Elephant Round-up' festival held in the Surin province every November. Up to 150 elephants take part in this superb display of skills including parades, a tug-of-war and a football match!
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Elephant holidays
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