MEET THE ELLIES

I have visited Knysna Elephant Park on more than occasion with guests and how wonderful to come up so close to these gentle giants.

We arrived, signed in and went on a little tour of their museum where they have interesting facts and photos on the elephants, followed by a short video which was quite enjoyable.  The guides also walk your through the interaction, what to expect and all the do’s and dont’s.

They offer various experiences with the elephants but we opted for the meet and greet and feeding option.  We collected our buckets of food and joined the tractor ride to meet the elephants.

As they see you coming down, they know there is spoilings on the way so they start gathering and await our arrival.  The elephant guides are there to meet us when we disembark from the tractor.  We got the opportunity to feed this large animals and it was an experience for my mom and dad.  This was on her bucket list to do and she was thrilled.  Ok, gets a bit messy and once or twice we had an elephant “sneeze” on us….but all good fun.

Once we were finished feeding we were put into family groups.  They try and stick to small groups and each group gets a private guide to accompany them.  You are allowed to touch and feel the elephants and ask as many questions as you like, all under the guidance of the guide.  It truly was amazing.

We then headed back and decided to visit the curio shop and Indlovu Restaurant that offers light meals and is fully licenced.  The views are beautiful from the deck which is situated close to the dam where you can watch the birdlife and even spot an elephant or two in the distance.  They also have zebra which frequently visit.

We then checked into our accommodation for the night and decided to stay in The Elephant Nature Lodge.  By the way the rooms are beautiful and spacious.  Here you get a unique opportunity to spend the night within the elephant sleeping quarters.  The accommodation is set above the boma and you have the whole night to watch the elephants.  They are free to come and go as they please.  So we sat for hours on the couches and watched these majestic beauties.  Some of them decided to sleep in that night and if you are a light sleeper, then boy oh boy, no sleep for you.  If you have never heard an elephant snore then you are in for a big surprise.  We even had a baby ellie come and visit, which was amazing.

Morning came and we had a hearty breakfast at the restaurant and once again got a glimpse of the elephants in the distance.

If you love elephants then this would be a super experience for both old and young and I would highly recommend.