Unfortunately we had yet another bad nights sleep last night, this time not the fault of our neighbours but instead of the howling wind and the fact that the house, although beautiful, is probably made of plastic. Half the night if felt like it was going to be blown down by the wind and the rest of the night as thigh it would be torn down by the torrential rain that came later on. The rain actually helped us get a little sleep though, as even though it was stupidly loud, it was a constant noise and as such didn't startle us out of the light sleep we had fallen into, which is what kept happening with the wind. I really can't fault the bed though, it is so so very comfy and is a small saving grace when we can't sleep that at least we are comfortable.
A slow morning ensued after the rubbish night of sleep, and it was only at about 10 am that we left the house. What we had decided to do today was something I found via the trip advisor app on Dan's phone, and that was to visit the nearby Elephant Sanctuary to walk with and learn about elephants. The trip advisor app for the iPhone is amazing, if you don't already have it you need to get it, as it allows you to find the best attractions, cafes, restaurants and obviously accommodation nearest to you. I have always loved elephants since I was little, probably because my mum loves them too, and so I convinced Dan that it was worth the R325 per person for the hours experience. I think it really was!
When we arrived we had about a 25 minute wait until the next walk went out with the Ellie's, so we were offered tea and coffee and walked around their shop whilst we waited. When the group before us left we were walked to a platform and told about the Ellie's. There are 5 in total, three from Botswana and two from the Kruger national park. The ones from Kruger were breaking down fences and stealing the neighbouring farms food stuffs so would have been put down if not for being re-homed at the sanctuary. The three from Botswana were the elephants that they allowed us to meet where the Botswana trio, Morula, Thandi and Jabu, because the two from Kruger are a bit younger and can be more naughty! Before we got to walk with the elephants they asked us if we had any questions, the only questions came from one accusing woman who seemed to make it her mission to attack/question the handlers methods and care of the animals, quite aggressive and very annoying. Always wanting to be first in these types of situations I jumped at the first chance to go walk with them. Three of us were lead over to the Ellie's, I was given to Morula and her trainer told me to stand to the left hand side of her and put my right hand back behind me with the palm open, and she would lay her trunk in my hand. It was so magical!! We were told not to close our fingers as elephants breath 70% with their trunks and only 30% through their mouths, so we didn't want to smother them. She kept her trunk in my hand and pushed me from behind, she was really strong but also very gentle at the same time.
Dan's turn was next, and he lead Thandi through the Ellie's track into the bush, whilst the rest of the group took a different trail, as if they got scared and bolted we didn't all want to be following behind them. Thandi still had all of her trunk whilst the other two had lost the tips of theirs to snares back in Botswana. Because she still had the 'fingers' at the end of her trunk, Dan said she held onto his fingers whilst he walked in front of her, how sweet!!! They then demonstrated some of the actions elephants do in the wild, Morula showed us how they go on their knees to dig in the ground with their tusks for roots. Jabu sat and lay down for treats, because they lie down to go to sleep. Dan thought that watching it sit, lie down and then get back up again made it look like a giant dog, which it kind of did! Elephants only sleep for about four hours per day, the rest of the time they spend eating! Thandi showed us how they flap their ears when they get irritated by flies or when they get angry, if you see an elephant near you doing that it's usually safest to back away.
Dan and I then got to go up to Thandi and rub her trunk whilst we were shown her ridiculously long eyelashes, to protect her eyes from flies and dust and her tear ducts, which are not situated in her eyes as you may expect but on the side of her head! Elephants ear canals are also not behind their massive ear flap as you may also assume, instead they are right in the front of it. The ear flap is very very soft, and is used to swat away flies that bother her :) we the got to stroke her tummy, it's more soft than you may imagine, but still really tough at 2cm's thick. Their tails are also very tough, with short hairs at the end, and it's used as a fly swatter :D
They are such beautiful and gentle animals, it was a very magical,and humbling experience to be able to see them, touch them and experience them up close. If we could get a pet elephant we would!! I'm sure it woud make great friends with Mo and Snuggie, dont you? At this point they showed us how the elephants tend to hold each others tails when they are fording rivers. The handlers then let another group of visitors walk the elephants back out of the bush and back to the field where they spend most of their time. Once we arrived back in the field they brought out some bowls of sliced oranges and sweet potatoes for us to feed to the elephants. The two elephants that were missing the end of their trunks had to grab the food by wrapping their trunks around it, while Thandi could be fed by placing the food directly into her trunk.
Once we were finished at the elephant sanctuary Jenny wanted to have a look at a giant enclosed attraction called 'birds of Eden' two minutes up the road. The few acres of net enclosed forest looked interesting but at R240 a person we decided to pass. We saw a quaint looking shop on the way back to the main road called 'the mohair mill shop' where we stopped and had a look about. It was a strange collection of shops and they even had some goat in a pen nearby, one which wasn't very friendly to Jenny haha. There was a small cafe attached to the shops where a man was playing the piano so well we thought it was a recording! About this time we realised it was getting to be lunch time so we headed into Plettenberg Bay to stop at Pick and Pay for braai supplies.
We picked up a few steaks, some butternut squash, some more salad supplies and more fire wood. It is after all national braai day, so we thought we should celebrate. The braai took a little longer than we thought to reduce to coals and so we only started cooking at about 16:00. The food was very good and just what we needed. I was feeling a bit tired though so told Jenny I was going to lay down for a nap. She wanted to head to the resort bar for a frozen margarita and I told her we would leave in an hour after my nap. Jenny tried to wake me up at 18:00 but it was no use, I was gone for the night! She occupied herself for another hour or so watching tv and typing up blog posts until she too succumbed to sleep quite early.
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