Elephant Hills - Khao Sok National Park
The drive was an easy two hours on good roads, and we arrived at the tented camp just in time for a briefing of the activities for the stay.
A quick check into our tent and time for lunch. Our tent was one of three (number two) facing the impressive limestone formations. Lunch was plentiful and a good selection of six-seven choices, all Thai selections with some pasta too.
After lunch, we had an hour to unpack and have a look around the camp. One main meeting area with a bar, reception and shop and a camp ranger available to answer any questions. Lined with benches where all meals were taken.
At the arranged time of 2pm we all met at reception, some of the clients went straight of to see the Elephants, we went down to the river and had a canoe trip down the river, very calm and peaceful, with great scenery. We then were collected by the truck, and taken to the elephant park. The usual afternoon darkness was creeping in, and we were lucky to get through much of the afternoon's activities before the heavens opened.
We had a great elephant experience, started off observing their interaction with each other, rolling in the mud and dust. They then made their way over to the area where we were to watch them, bathe and prepare some food. We then helped wash them and scrub them down, the elephants were so placid and calm and it was such a great experience to be near them and just experience their presence.
Then the heavens really opened, it being the rainforest and the start of the rainy season. The elephants loved it, able to throw mud over themselves and each other. Then the highlight of us preparing food and vitamins for them. We all had pineapples, sugar cane, and bananas to chop up and we all had to choose an elephant to feed. Mine was a bit of a bully, getting in the front of the queue to get the food. We also had vitamin balls to wrap in banana leaves and try and feed the elephants. The rain kept falling, and we were all getting soaked through to the skin, but we wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
It was a 20 minute ride back to the tents and it took a while to dry off. The welcome fan kept the tent relatively cool and provided some drying power for our clothes. After changing we were back in the communal area for a short film presentation about the rainforest, followed by a traditional Thai dance display presented by some local school children, and then a short cooking demonstration of Pad Thai.
Dinner was served at 8pm, again with lots of choice, and plentiful. After dinner, and a day of travel and excitement, it wasn’t long before people were making their way back to their tents, though only after a briefing of the following day's activities.
Day 2, breakfast at 8am, and we were all scheduled to leave at 9am, some of us to the rainforest camp for the night, others just for a day visit. On the way we visited a local market and a viewpoint over the dam. By 11am we were on our long-tail boat heading towards the rainforest camp, we passed many limestone pillars, similar to those found at Guilin, China, and Halong Bay, Vietnam. It was stunning as our boat captain slowed down and ventured closer to the great columns. After a 50 minute boat ride, we arrived at the camp at Cheow Larn Lake.
The attention to detail of the organisation was great again, we arrived at one of the communal eating areas, and the departing clients were having lunch at the other waiting for our boat to offload, and go collect them.
Again, a substantial, tasty lunch was served, and we were given instructions to meet at 2pm for the jungle trek. Each tent had a kayak for the occupants, and many of the children were already either paddling around or puddling around in the warm waters of the lake.
We assembled at the communal area, to board the boat to the trek starting point. The rainy season came back with a vengeance, and barely 10 minutes into the boat rode, from nowhere a storm came over the hills. The water began to get choppy, and the rain started heavy at first, then of biblical monsoon proportions, thankfully the boat captain decided to turn around, so we never got to see the jungle.
The rain lasted all afternoon, and long into the night, it was both unnerving, and peaceful to spend the night under canvas. All electricity is provided by battery, powered by solar panels, and once the battery flattens, you have to wait for it to become fully charged. We had prior knowledge of this, and kept electricity use to a minimum. No point in charging any gadgets, there was no wi-fi, and we charged all our cameras etc before leaving the tented camp. Thankfully the one fan managed to stay on through the night, providing a welcome breeze of cool air.
It was amazing to wake up over the water and see the mist roll off the hills. An early walk had been planned by the guides, a bit too early for us at 06:30, though they did report that monkeys had been seen, and thankfully they stuck around long enough for us to see them on the way to breakfast.
After breakfast, we had an hour or so kayaking around the lake, for some wildlife spotting and also to take in the peace and quiet of the countryside. Soon it was time to repack, have some more lunch, and be ready for our 12:30 pickup. The boat took us back to the pier, where our vans and luggage were waiting for us.
The organisation was excellent, we were each allocated a car which would ferry us to our respective destinations, some, like us to Phuket, some to airports and some down the eastern coast. After such early starts and excitement over the last few days, all we could do was sit back, relax and enjoy the trip to Phuket, and a short two hours later, we were delivered to our beach resort hotel in Mai Khao for the night.
Elephant Hills was an experience we’ll never forget, and such close encounters with the elephants definitely the highlight. With thanks to Chris, Banana, Tony and all the staff at Elephant Hills for their hospitality, friendliness and care to detail.