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Just your average start to the day
Stormsrivierpiek, Garden Route National Park, Western District, South Africa
This morning was like every other Saturday morning really. We got up at 6:30 had a coffee and went into the living room to check on our elephants.
It was so funny sleeping with them in the same building. They make so many different types of noises. They make a low growling noise which is communicated by putting their trunks to the ground and the other elephants feel the vibrations through their feet. This kind of growl can travel up to 25 k's. Then there is a higher growl they use to communicate something interesting. We heard this when the matriarch saw the keepers truck come along with the food in it. She growled to let the others know. Lastly the trumpeting which is usually used to let the others know there is danger around or when they are fighting. They also tend to be a little gassy, probably because they are always eating so they often do quite a bit of trumpeting from the other end as well.
Our heads are now full with so many elephant facts I could bore you for day's with our new found information and when we get home I'm sure I will but for now I will leave you with your sanity intact.
So we finished our coffee while we watched them get ready for their day then the guides told us we could come down. Not really knowing what to expect we rugged up in our winter warmies and hurried down. They had us climb some steps and brought the elephants up to us and we got to ride them out to the paddock during sunrise. You really know your in Africa when your riding an elephant out to greet the sun. We were both almost rendered completely speechless and were only capable of blurting out a 'wow' or 'amazing' from time to time.
We rode them for about 20 minutes I think and one of the guys was taking loads of photos for us, and video I'm sure you'll be delighted to hear. At the end of the ride the elephants kneeled down and we had to throw one of our legs around and slide off, which we did with the grace of a couple of ballet dancers as I'm sure you can imagine. 20 minutes on the back of an elephant and my buttocks and inner thighs will never be the same again. Those things are WIDE!!
We stuck around for a few more cuddles from our morning transportation (I'm sure Elstub was eyeing hers up to see where the DOC plates would go) and then it was time to check out and keep moving.
We headed next to Monkey World where you walk through the forest and the monkeys roam free. It was good and we got to see 9 different species of monkeys but hard to beat our last experience. Then a quick stop off to the highest bungy jump in the world which is a drop of 216 meters. We watched about 3 people jump off and that is as adventurous as we got.
Back in the car and we were off to our next motel we had booked in Storms River. We quickly checked into the motel, dropped off our bags and got back in the car to look for the village. It was a very quick drive. There is nothing here except one adventure store where you can book tubing, canopy tours and other such stuff. We did contemplate doing a swim with the seals today however when we looked at the website they talk about all the precautions they take to keep sharks away from you and remembered that seals are sharks favorite meal so where there are seals sharks are bound to follow. Oh who am I kidding, we saw that to get there we would have to go on a 30 minute boat ride and with the memories of both of our heads hung over the side of the boat in Gansbaai still so fresh in our minds it was never going to happen.
So what do you do in a town that has nothing to do and the motel your staying at has a spa attached. Another massage thank you very much. So now with that over and done with we are now both just sitting here, in Storms River In the worst hotel we have had yet, without even a TV to keep us occupied. And now I have even finished today's blog. Good lord we are going to have to talk to each other. Lucky we are both completely shattered after a night of trying to sleep in a boma full of noisy elephants.
Before I go Elstub has a very serious complaint. In a previous blog I had briefly said that she was bitten by a tiger but I didn't really go into too much detail. As she lays in pain every evening and begs me to clean the wounds and change the dressing she asks in a whispered feverish voice "have you heard from my family"..........
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Rhuby & Bez. Keep that wound clean.