Our Amazing Experience At The Elephant Nature Park

We took a ride in a van for about one and a half hours outside of the city of Chiang Mai to get to the park. It was nice to get outside of the city see what rural Thailand looks like. We arrived at the park at about 11am. The park is situated on a large piece of property. It sits along a river and is back dropped by mountains.

The park is dotted with bamboo structures. Some are the sleeping quarters for the guests, others are the living quarters for the mahouts who look after the elephants. There is a building that serves as the kitchen, and two areas for sitting and dining.

The pictures below are of our room. It is nothing fancy and the beds are a little big hard, but it is all part of the experience. Early in the morning the girls in the room next to us starting screaming and ran out of their room. They had a huge spider inside the mosquito net above their bed.  No one can figure out how it got in there during the night. Maybe it was hiding somewhere in the net when they went to bed. Jack went over to try and get it out of the net. Even he was getting pretty squeamish about having to go near such a huge spider!

Upon arrival we saw a few elephants out in the field, but the majority were out for one of their daily walks. At any given time there are day guests at the park, as well as short and long term volunteers. We decided to stay for 2 nights and 3 days. We were not expected to help during our stay but could if we wanted to. People who stay for longer periods of time as volunteers pay a small amount for their room and board and help out with the daily tasks that are required to care for the elephants.

There were about ten people including ourselves that had shown up that day. We were soon greeted by Michelle. She is the person who orientates the new comers and manages the park. Her husband Karl is the main caregiver for an elephant named Max. They are both from Australia. They stumbled across Lek in her early days of the park over two and a half years ago. They were asked by Lek to come work for her.

They didn’t have to think long before saying yes. They say they still wake up sometimes and have to pinch themselves in disbelief of what they are doing. They both had pretty ordinary jobs back in Australia prior to this. They never imagined they would be managing an elephant park!

We started to see the elephants slowly coming back into the park grounds. It was an amazing site. We sat and listened to Michelle give us some history on the park. She also told us many of the individual elephants stories and pointed them out to us as they came into view.

Feeding Time

We were told how the daily routine of the park went. The food trucks were going to show up at anytime. There are two big pickup trucks that pull up to the feeding platform around where we were sitting. They have loads of bananas, cucumbers, squash, and pineapple. The elephants know the routine like clockwork. They all started to gather around the edges of the platforms. They eagerly awaited their food. They stick their trunks out and start smelling and feeling for food. Some start to make noises, as to say come on, hurry up and give us something to eat.

We have to unload the heavy bags of fruit off the trucks and pass it along a chain of people. It all gets washed. There is a lot of pesticide and chemical use on food in Thailand. It wouldn’t be a good thing to keep exposing the elephants to. After a good washing it is put into baskets to get ready to feed. The baskets are lined up along the platform and the frenzy begins.

The elephants are so funny. They get very picky about what order they are going to eat their food in. They generally want the pineapple first, then the squash, then they will go for the cucumbers. At first they will pick the green heads off the pineapple, they will return and eat them at the end.

If there are bananas they are held back until the end. The elephants will pig out on them and not want to eat anything else. There are crunching noises going on and lots of sniffing and snorting. You have to be careful to pay attention while you are standing in front of them on the platform. One time I had some food in my hand and turned to talk to someone. I soon got a trunk batted across me to let me know not to stand there holding on to food. Jack got a good dose of elephant snot across his foot as well!

After the elephants are satisfied we can all sit down and enjoy our lunch. The food here is incredible. The local Thai ladies work very hard to prepare the meals at the park. Pom a tiny lady, who’s as strong as an ox oversees the meals. We saw her carry a log across her back one day that would be a feat for most men. She is such a sweet lady, we became very fond of her during our stay.

Bath Time

After lunch it is time to take the elephants down to the river for their bath and scrub. They especially love this on the hotter days. We all trek down to the river and everyone gets in with the elephants. Buckets and brushes are handed out and the scrub down begins. This is some of the younger elephants favorite play time. The elephants get out on their own time. Some days they like to stay in longer than others.

Within minutes of exiting the water they start to reapply dirt and mud. Elephants have very sensitive skin and need to do this to protect their skin.  Some like to itch for a while before the application. They rub up against fallen tree trunks. It is fascinating to watch one of them pick up a stick with its trunk and use it to itch themselves. The dexterity they have with both their trunks and their feet is amazing.

After bathing there is some time to just sit around and relax. It doesn’t seem like much time passes and then it is off to the river again for the elephants final dip of the day. After this bath the elephants are chained up for the evening. This will have to be done until Lek is able to obtain a mass amount of property. The elephants would wander off in the night most likely to farmers fields where they could be harmed or even shot.

We then have our evening meal. There is more variety of dishes served up here than we have experienced anywhere in Thailand. You certainly won’t go hungry during your stay. Evenings are spent sitting around a fire, or playing games as we did one night. It was a cranium challenge. Someone also brought all the ingredients to make smores. Michelle and Karl from Australia had never heard of them before and thoroughly enjoyed them.

The mornings consist of getting up and eating breakfast and being ready by 9am to take the elephants for a walk. They get led down the road to an area of land where they have a larger space for grazing. You can just sit and watch them, or if they decide to start moving you follow along to where ever they decide to go. Then we bring them all back to the park.

The Ice Cream Man

Everyday at the park there is a fun experience that goes on. The ice cream man shows up! It is a small Thai man that comes from a nearby Hill Tribe village. He has a motorcycle with an ice cream freezer attached to it. He even plays the ice cream truck music as he enters and exits the property. He is the sweetest man with a smile that goes from ear to ear. He loves interacting with everyone.

We were told the story of the helmet he now wears while he drives. One day he arrived at the park with quite a bit of road rash on his face and head. Apparently he had been driving the ice cream bike while a bit intoxicated and went for a tumble. After this happened a second time, someone in the park was concerned he was going to get seriously hurt. A shiny blue helmet to match his bike was purchased and presented to him. He now wears it with great pride knowing his head is safe.

Here’s a link on youtube of a little video someone made at the park called the Icecream Boogie!

Max, The Gentle Giant

Max is one of the tallest elephants in Chiang Mai. When his mate Siam died at the age of 85 in 2004 he wept over her body. He only left her to amble slowly to his food before returning to her. He continued mourning after her burial with large drops of tears rolling down his face. Everyone who saw him wept along.

Max was left to die after he was hit by a 12 wheeled truck that broke his front legs. He was getting old so his owner didn’t think the cost for medical attention was worth it. He was rescued 5 years ago and treated. He has made a good recovery although. He receives great care and attention from his dedicated mahout Carl.

Quite a contrast to see the tallest and the smallest together. Max doesn’t bother much with the other elephants in the park and they don’t with him. For some reason the babies seem to approach him and run around his legs. You can see how Max stands at an angle from the damage that was done to his front legs when they were broken. He walks along very slowly and methodically, but he eventually gets to where he’s going.

Hard To Say Goodbye

We had an amazing time here. Even though it was only for three days, it felt like we were here for a long time. We became very attached to certain elephants. It was really sad to leave. I can’t imagine what it is like for long term volunteers when they finally have to go. We can’t say enough about this place. It is hard to come here and not leave a piece of your heart behind. There are many repeat visitors that come to it. We hope we get the opportunity to be one of them.

The park area serves as an in term project. Leks plan is to have a large area for the elephants to wander freely in a safe area where no harm can come to them. She hopes to change the way people view elephants in Thailand. Not as a tourist attraction for riding. She wants it to be more like what we experienced in Africa. Going to huge nature reserves to see them roaming in the wild as they should be.