So, now you’ve read about the abuse that elephants in the tourist industry are exposed to before they are ‘useable’ I want to share with you our amazing experience of volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park.

On our first full day at the park we woke up early and went to a yoga class which was being organised by one of the other volunteers. We hadn’t been to a class since leaving Cornwall so were keen to go this morning. We had a lovely class and felt good afterwards, but I’m ashamed to admit we didn’t make it to the class again. It started at 6:30am and we were always very tired in the morning and didn’t want to rush to get to breakfast in time. We do appreciate that this was an option for us thanks to the generosity of this volunteer from Oregon.

As I said, breakfast was at 7am and first job started at 8am. We were put into groups A, B and C to complete our jobs on a rota system. As you can see most jobs were shovelling the elephant poo, unloading trucks of food, cutting corn, cleaning the park etc. The first job usually ran until 10am or so and then we had free time (shower time) before lunch and then second job started at 1pm for another 2 hours or so. We were always on alert during our free time because if a food truck came in we would be asked to help and unload, and of course we were always willing.

In the morning we went poop shovelling. These elephants poop ALOT! Luckily, it doesn’t smell as they are vegan, but there is so much of it. We walked around the park going to all of the enclosures and cleaning up. Whenever we had a choice we always chose to poop shovel instead of doing food prep as this provided us with more interactions and viewing time of the elephants.

On our first day we were treated in the afternoon to no ‘official’ job. We went around in our groups on an elephant walk. It was an absolute highlight of the trip where we went around and got to meet the elephants, learning all about how they came to be at the park. Most of the time our interactions were from a distance, but when the Mahouts and our Volunteer Coordinator said it was ok we were able to get closer for a photo and a small non-invasive touch. We were happy for our interactions to be like this as we weren’t there to distress the elephants in anyway. We were blessed to see the baby elephants being looked after extremely well by their herd. As soon as a dog ran in, the baby elephant trumpted and the females all surrounded him to protect him. It was magicial to watch. I have to admit I was pretty useless at remembering the elephants names, but two elephant stuck in my mind (not their names). The first was an elephant with an earring. She had suffered damage to her ear lob as a result of abuse and her Mahout gave her a beautiful earring to make something so awful, a little more beautiful. The second was the last elephant we encountered on our elephant walk. She was the most beautiful and calm elephant we saw during our time there. Her nature was just perfect. She had suffered severe injuries to her leg during a logging accident and walked with an awful limp, but you could tell she was happy and had the most awe inspiring relationship with her Mahout who sat under her legs and spoke to her the whole time. Here are a selection of photos from our elephant walk.

After our elephant walk it was time for some more fun, bathing the elephants. Elephants give themselves mud baths throughout the day to keep cool and to offer themselves some protection from the sun. We had the pleasure of washing 2 elephants during our time at the park and had the best time. We were given buckets that we would use to throw water over the elephants from the river. We just had to make sure that we didn’t get water into their eyes and ears as they are quite prone to infection. On the second occasion we ended up in a full blown water fight with some other volunteers. Perfect in the afternoon heat.

Whenever we could we popped over to the dog sanctuary as well. Elephant Nature Park is also home to nearly 600 rescued dogs and 200 cats. Originally the sanctuary took in 200 dogs after a local flooding event in 2011, but unfortunately most of these dogs never returned to their homes. Since then dogs have been rescued from puppy farms for the meat trade, from abandonment and taken in when people can’t look after them anymore. We fell in love with so many of the dogs and it is even possible to adopt a dog and take it back to your country. Unfortunately, we’re still not in a position to have a dog on our return and the quarantine period was 4 months for Europe. Some highlights were visiting a group of puppies and walking some dogs that were suffering from paralysis after road traffic accidents, My dog was called BaoBao and was a Border Collie Cross. So full of life.

This dog is Memphis. He’s a VIP at the park.

On other days we had other amazing experiences. One morning after our morning job we were taken to a local school to meet the school children. I was particularly excited about this one, but I have to say the experience was mildly infuriating. The children were beautiful, the teachers were eager to talk and tell us all about their school, but as a teacher I couldn’t believe what they learnt at the school. The teacher we spoke to was a Thai teacher at the school. He told us that this was a free school for the local children and that they were even building a dormitory for the children who lived more out of town so they could board during the week. He said that the students learnt Thai and English. I asked about science and he said they did, but we didn’t see much evidence for it. He said that if a child excels in something like massage or bracelet making then they were pushed towards that early on. I completely understand that these children need to make a living in the future for their families, but it came across as though this was at the loss of time studying Thai, Maths or other fundamental subjects. While we were there the students sold bracelets, soaps, danced for tips and sold us drinks. It was lovely to see that they were so business minded, but it worried me a little. The teacher told us that he studied for 1 month to be a teacher and that most of the students learnt using textbooks. It’s great that they have these resources as I’m sure there are many places in the World where they don’t. I just came away very confused. Let’s just say that it was very different to all the schools I have been in before. I was just worried that not all the students were being given the opportunity to reach their full potential and isn’t that what teaching is all about at the end of the day?

These signs were on our van on the way to the school. The chicken leg like photo is a of a smelly fruit called Durian. Make of the others what you wish.

One day we went out to help cut corn stalks to bring back for the elephants to eat. We travelled for about an hour in the back of a pick up truck which was fun. Our driver got us lost and took us down the wrong road which was very narrow and hard to turn around in, but we finally made it to the corn field. Luckily for us the locals were cutting the corn on this day and we were just transferring the bundles from the field to the truck, about 100m each time. It was hard and tiring work, but also rewarding as we knew we were helping to feed the elephants. We asked how many elephants the pick up truck load would feed. 2.5 elephants for 1 whole day… oh my!!!

We had lots of evening entertainment whilst we were at the park. One night we were taught all about Thai culture, from the language, to the people, the Royal family, the customs at temples and so much more. It was so informative and helpful. Another night we had the founder Lek give us a talk about the sanctuary which was unbelievable. It was so amazing to get to meet her and hear the story in her own words. One of the most special evening entertainments was when the elephant Mahouts invited us to listen to them play music. The Mahouts at the park are from Myanmar and many are refugees. They are given a life at Elephant Nature Park for themselves and their families. One of them told us that he sees us all day helping out, but we never have the chance to interact as many of them don’t speak any English. The played us music on the Burmese flutes and some drums made out of water containers. It was amazing and very beautiful. Another night we had some of the local school children come in and perform dances for us.

We had so many amazing experiences at Elephant Nature Park and met so many lovely people that we really hope we will see again in the future. Anyone visiting Northern Thailand, I encourage you to take some time and volunteer here. I promise, you wont regret it.