The day started with breakfast in our lovely lodge with the rushing river behind us. The fruit plates were amazing and had all different kinds of fruit. My favourite was the passion fruit – it was tangy!
Driving to he eleflumps we saw lots more horrible palm oil.
We also a saw a spikey pineapple growing. I thought they grew on bushes, so it was cool to see the real thing.
Before lunch we swum in a not-so-amazing hot spring. We had to swim across the bottom of a rushing waterfall to get to it and it wasn’t exactly worth it. Or may be we were just lucky for having gone to a really amazing and super hot one 2 days before.
Then we had lunch. The food was OK, but the table was SOOOOOO OTT. It was kind of them to decorate it, but a bit hard to eat!
After lunch we walked to a local village. We saw some huts where locals lived. Their lives must be very different from ours.
In the village there was an English club where we were expected to teach. Me and Bella hid behind our new friend Jill. Mummy and Daddy were really embarrassing. They sang Head/Shoulders/Knees/Toes, and then the Wheels on the Bus. They then sang Incy Wincy Spider, and it turns out the kids already knew that one!
FINALLY we got to the eleflumps. Here are 2 females.
The first thing we saw them doing is a bit weird so get prepared…….. The mahouts took poo out of the elephants bottoms!!! They stuck their arms the whole way inside and just scooped it out like it was casual! The guide said it was because if they needed to put medicine inside they could, but we think it might have been to stop them pooing in the water.
Next they got into the water and lay on their sides.
We got brushes and started scrubbing them. Their hair was wiry! I thought it was going to be soft. Their skin was rough like sandpaper. They were all very quiet and gentle. The one we got to wash was the big daddy with the humungous tusks.
After we had finished washing him, he got to wash us!!!
Then we fed him little bits of pumpkin and banana.
Then we got eleflump kisses!!!!
Lastly we all lined up with the mahouts on their backs for a group shot.
It was really cool to see little snippets of the eleflumps up close.
Sadly the next day we had to say goodbye to our lovely lodge and to Sumatra.
But Dad made sure we left with a bang and let off a little rocket!
Note from Mum about The Sumatran Elephant:
The Sumatran elephant is a subspecies of the Asian elephant; All Asian elephants are classified as endangered. The Sumatran elephant is under serious threat from illegal logging and associated habitat loss and fragmentation in Indonesia. The island’s elephant population longterm viability is jeopardised by rapid forest conversion to commercial plantation.
Asian elephants are “flagship” species for their habitats, that is charismatic representatives of biodiversity within the complex ecosystems they inhabit. Because these large animals need a lot of space to survive, their conservation will help maintain biological diversity and ecological integrity over extensive areas and so help many other species.
Here is a bit more info on the Sumatran Elephants
And a bit more about the very worthwhile organisation that we supported with the cost of our day trip, and the purchase of some overpriced elephant sarongs! One of the ongoing struggles we face on this trip is identifying ways to engage with conservation efforts in a way that is truly positive in every way (there so much out there which is labelled ‘eco’, but is really just ‘tourism’….fine unless its actually damaging to the ecosystems they purport to be supporting!
10 thoughts on “Gentle giants”
Matteo Marzano
Love washing-each-other with the Elephants !
James
This is Emily by the way: thanks Matteo!
Dinnie
Great to hear – or rather read- things as they truly are, down to elephant poo: bet no one knew that before, not to mention embarrassing parents, wish I had been there. Thank you for sharing it. xxx Dinnie
PS especially enjoyed the elephant pictures!
James
This is Emily by the way: the poo was HUGE. Our eleflump was so tall that they couldn’t reach him, and he did actually do loads in the water. Can’t wait to see you. Lots of love, Millie xxxx
sara thawli
BrilliuNT blog about the eleflumps Millie. I like the way you rite just like you tork, it makes me feel as if I’m akshally hearing your voyss! I love eleflumps too. Dinnie and I went to an eleflump sanctry in Sri Lanka, years ago, there were lots of baybi eleflumps but we surtinly didn’t get kissed by one! Keep riting – one more blog befor you come home?
Here comes a x from Sarah . . .
James
This is Emily by the way: luvly to heer from u. The kiss woz tikkly and worm. luv from Millie xxxx
Grandpa Suffolk
Oh Boy! I love the eleflumps. How can such enormous animals be so fabulously gentle. I must say your eleflump looked so happy being washed, and it was great to see you all looking so happy washing it. I’m not totally sure that I want an eleflump kiss, but you can tell me all about it when we see each other. It also really great to know that you are helping to support the eleflumps that might otherwise die out. As for your lunch table, I think I must agree with you, you can’t see Grandpa Suffolk really going for that, but it was sweet of you to realise that they had made such an effort to make it special for you. I really loved the huts, but perhaps not perfect for Suffolk in the winter. Finally, OK Daddy, one last firework! (or are there more to come?). Emily Thanks so much for giving us such a perfect picture.
James
This is Emily by the way: Daddy never misses a chance for a firework. I can’t wait to see you and chat to you too. Lots of love from Millie xxx
Ness Langdale
It must have been amazing washing the elephants. I love all the photos of you all being washed afterwards.
Really interesting to see a pineapple growing. Not something I grow in my garden, although in the past people used to grow them in England as a status symbol because it was so expensive and difficult to do.
lots of love to you and the family
Godmother Ness xx
James
This is Emily by the way: thats a very interesting fact about the pineapple. I can’t wait to see your garden again, its always so pretty and neat. Lots of love from Millie xxx 😉