Our
two elephants, Damara and Nzewe are both sub-adult
males aged around 12 and 14 years respectively as at
Sept 2008. They arrived at Plumari in Sept 2006.
They were born and living as wild elephant on a
private game reserve in Limpopo Province which at
the time was about 50% overpopulated with elephants.
Threatened with being culled, Damara and Nzewe were
acquired by Elephants for Africa Forever ("EFAF")
and put into their licensed training programme. Upon
satisfactory completion, they were relocated to
Askari Lodge
EFAF work closely with Nature Conservation, NSPCA
and other relevant groups - their training is
covered by permits and involves strict protocols
covering all areas from safety to the well being of
the elephants.
After seeing the relationship of elephant and
handler / other guests, you will understand the
exceptional bond in place between human and
elephant.
We are also very conscious of the dignity of these
mighty animals, and accordingly have tried to build
"interaction" activities around their normal daily
routines of roaming and feeding in wild bushveld,
rather than forcing the elephants into routines to
fit around humans.
2012 Elephant Experience Rates
07:00am Wake-up Call – R 450.00pp
10:30am, Interaction including 'Touch and Feed' - R
450.00pp
Please Note: Sundays we only have the 10:30am "Touch
and Feed" experience
Elephant Experience Times
Elephant Experiences are scheduled to suit our
elephant. We want our elephant to be elephant, and
with this in mind, we ensure that our elephant are
'doing elephant things' somewhere in the reserve
between these scheduled times. Look out for them on
your game drive!
Wake-up Call :
Meet at Reception - 06h45
Elephant Experience - 07h00 to 09h00 (approximately
2 hours)
Join in with the elephant wake-up call at the
stables. Experience their morning wash and feeding.
Then see their training session, Interacting with
the elephants and join them on an hour's walk
through the bushveld.
Meet at Reception - 10h00
Elephant Experience - 10h30 to 12:00 (approximately
1½ hours) Touch & feed Educational Experience
At the Lodge, our elephant manager will present an
educational session. Then it's down to the viewing
area for interaction with our elephant. This will
include 'touch and feeding' our elephants.
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Elephant experience checklist
1. Camera
2. A hat or a cap
3. It is always a good idea to use sun block cream
(all through
the year)
4. A light, warm jacket during the cooler months
(May to August, inclusive)
5. Comfortable walking shoes
Booking
Lodge guests are requested to book at Reception. All
other guests are requested to book elephant
experiences in advance by contacting us or by
requesting a quotation online. Booking is essential -
very seldom are we able to accommodate walk-in
guests for our elephant experiences. Kindly also
note that elephant experiences occur at the
scheduled times, indicated above, and late arrivals,
as much as we would like to accommodate them, will
forfeit monies paid. (See Elephant Experience Terms
and Conditions).
Safety
The above experiences are designed to fit humans
around the daily natural routines of our elephant,
rather than the other way round. Elephants are prone
to having bad mood days, or may get nervous with
weather or other conditions. Your safety, and the
well-being of our elephant, is paramount. Our
Elephant Manager will make a safety assessment
before each experience. If there is a deemed
increase in the risk to your safety, we retain the
right to cancel such an experience, and either
provide a different experience or a refund (if paid
for in advance).
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