A Place for an Elephant to be an Elephant

In 2008, I spent a month volunteering at Northern Thailand's Elephant Nature Park, a short ride north of Chiang Mai, in the forested of valley of the Mae Taeng River. This will remain with me as one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. Each day we worked on building fences and huts and collecting food for the 35 elephants who love there. The majority of the elephants have been rescued from lives of misery of one sort or another. Mae Boon lost part of her hind leg in a mine explosion in the forest in Burma. Medo was severely injured when handlers tied her up to a bull elephant who then attacked her. Max is a huge fellow with sad, thoughtful eyes, spent years begging on the streets of Bangkok. Here, at the Park, these awesome animals can finally wander freely and just enjoy being with other elephants. The Elephant Nature park offers a unique holiday experience which animal lovers will not want to pass up. It's hard work, but it's bloody rewarding.