We have been spending this weekend with my sister, she has a small animal, game reserve at the edge of the Magaliesburg mountains, a beautiful peaceful place where you can sit on the verandah and watch the Wildebeeste, the Zebra, the Kudu, the Impala, the Gemsbok, the Blesbok, the Inyala, the Ostriches coming down to the water hole for food and water.
We decided some weeks ago to treat ourselves this weekend to a visit to the Elephant Sanctuary which is about 10 kilometers down the road from where she lives. After some drama with bathrooms in the morning, we were all ready and on our way we arrived at the elephant sanctuary at 6.45 and the morning began......... after we had signed the indemnity forms...... and I could see why this was necessary....... we were all loaded onto the back of a game viewing vehicle, seats still dripping wet from the rain the night before, the mist was so thick you could hardly see in front of you and it was just a little bit on the chilly side ............. but it was adventure time so no one complained about the wet "buts' we all had when we arrived at our destination......... and what a destination, after we had been bounced around on very muddy, very slippery, very bumpy dirt roads, as we turned the corner into a clearing surrounded by mist just ahead of us were two enormous elephants, "Demdem" and "Zigi they are semi domesticated animals, which means although the are taught to interact with humans they are still allowed to roam free for the rest of the day............ they were huge and they were beautiful.......
After some rules on what to do and what not to do, no loud noises, no sudden movements....... and with one word from the trainer, these enormous animals laid down and we were able to touch their skin, surprisingly enough covered in hair like the bristles of a brush, we touch the hairs at the end of their tails that felt like pieces of plastic wire, we touched their feet enormous and hard like a nail, and then we touched there ears, the outside tough like the rest of their skin, and the underside as soft as cotton wool................... amazing...........
And then we were allowed to feed them "Zigi" first because he is the jealous and the more aggressive one............ one piece of butternut you put in his truck, he takes it so gently his trunk so flexible truly like a wiggly worm, every seeking, and then a piece in their mouth so we could feel their tongue, and then we had to put a piece in our mouth and the elephant took it with his truck....... scary with this great big elephant in front of you, who would have been able with a could of steps forward to squash you into the ground and here he was gently taking food out of your mouth..........
Then we were able to do the same with "Demdem" except here there was as a twist to the tale............... when you had finished Demdem did one more thing she put her truck on your forehead and blew you a kiss down her truck............. the power was amazing it blew your hair back, and you were pretty wet from the snot that came with it.......................... but how many people can say they have been kissed by an elephant.................
We spent a couple of hours in the bush following trailing them, following them on their never ending mission for food, and then we walked back to the lodge to have some breakfast, but none of us will forget the day we were kissed by an elephant....................... Life is Amazing
Wow, what an adventure! It sounds like you had a great experience, but I'm not sure about the snot part! You're very lucky to have such great wonders of nature all around you. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHow amazing! I'm showing my daughter the pictures who is a HUGE elephant lover - she's super jealous! I'm excited to read your adventures from all around the other side of the world :)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Idaho