Tomorrow is my birthday and I am sharing something that I treated myself to almost six months ago and looking back it was definitely one of the best experiences on this trip around the sun! Earlier this year when my parents went to Asia they had the chance to bathe elephants in a river and as soon as I saw the photos I thought, hey, I want to do that! Thus, when I learned about the opportunity to for a day of elephant mud fun with rescued Sumatran elephants I was all in.
The formal name of what I did was “Elephant Care Experience ” but I like the sound of Elephant Mud Fun so much better – because that is truly what it is ! We started the experience with traditional coffee and learning about the elephants but to be honest, everyone was on the edge of their seat just waiting to get the chance to play with them! We then changed into clothes that could get wet / dirty (for most that was just a bathing suit) and then proceeded to split into three groups where we fed the elephants local fruits, bathed them, and of course there was playing with mud!
The mud fun actually took place at the Kampung Sumatra at Bali Zoo but it well away from the actual zoo and you actually have to take a bus and a tram from the actual zoo just to get there! You can read more about it here because if you are still with me at this point I know you are likely ready to just see more cute photos of elephants!
They made us wait so long to actually go play with the elephants but it made sense, we needed to get changed, chop of the food, and do the whole safety briefing but by the end of it, you will have more than your share of elephants.
PRO TIP: If you go, take your camera. They tell you they may get wet or whatever, but put it in the plastic box – do not leave it in your locker. For a period of time you will be in the water with the elephants but there is a good 15 minutes and I am so glad I had the foresight to put in not only my phone but also my DSLR in the bin for these photos. Oh, and they have showers so bring anything you need for a shower post mud-fun as well as a full change of clothes
Post elephant encounter lunch is included (which I skipped as I had other things to do) as well as admission to the rest of the zoo for the day, which I also skipped, but know that those were part of it. The aspect I did most enjoy was that a driver is included in the experience price to to pick you up and drop you off at your hotel, which was great as I was staying nearly an hour away and those would have been two expensive cabs. It is not the least expensive thing I have ever done $100 US, but well worth every penny. (And yes, I bought the experience and the are not paying me to write this). And just one more elephants shot for good measure:
Does this elephant mud fun sound like something you would want to do?
Happy New Years from Egypt
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Exploring the Arundel Castle Gardens
Visiting Charleston’s Magnolia Plantation
