LottaMadness: Dad's 70th

Friday, July 17, 2009

Dad's 70th

My Dad turned 70 today and I wish we could have been in South Africa to share in the fun and celebrations. Paul, Sharlene, Tanya and I (and our spouses of course) pooled together to give him an elephant ride as part of his gift. We sent him to the Elephant Sanctuary in Magaliesberg and he spent the morning viewing, feeding and then riding on the back of one of the ellies.

The following is from his email to us:

As you know, I really love ellies, - they are such special intelligent animals, and to spend time with them was just wonderful. We left home at about 8.40am and got to the Elephant Sanctuary at Hartebeespoort Dam just before 10 min when the morning tour began. You park just inside the entrance, then follow a trail through the bush to a deck overlooking the holding area for the elephants. Coffee was ready, a talk about elephants followed, then we were able to feed them. That was fun. Mom had a serious altercation with one greedy one and she scolded him for not allowing the other smaller one to get to the food!

Then we walked down a long boardwalk to an area in the bush where we sat on logs to await the elephants. They are so big but so silent, we didn’t hear them coming until they just emerged on the path. We were able to touch them, their skin is actually like leather. Then one elephant gave out kisses with his trunk – it was a mixture if dust and wetness! The one pic shows me after a kiss on both cheeks. We went back to their enclosure and we could walk holding their trunks and they followed like big dogs. Then came the rides. It was hard climbing on the back of an elephant. They have a huge spine and it wasn’t very comfortable, but fun. After you get off you have to thank him by patting and stroking his trunk – otherwise they are “miffed!” You must just see how gentle they are – looking into their eyes is awesome.