The Gentle Giants of Bali

Im kinda excited about today as Roz and I am off to see the legendary Elephant Safari Park here in Bali, created by Nigel Mason and home to the largest herd of rescued Sumatra elephants in the world.

We plan to leave at 10am and the trip takes us over an hour from Vision Villas. Instantly we start driving into the facility we get a sense of what's been created here, the reception area is spectacular! We connect with a park guide and he takes us through to the main arena.

I'm kinda overwhelmed by the facilities as I can feel what this has taken to build and know a little bit about the history and the effort it took to get these animals here and out of harms way I also feel the passion and love for these creatures.

We're introduced to the Park manager and she is just as passionate about what they are doing as everyone else we meet. We get to do a few things that clearly are not on the standard program and have the most sensational experience with one of the baby elephants. I'm amazed by how smart and well trained they are, even at just a couple of years they know how to interact with us, and play too mind you.

We are then lead to an area to interact and feeding the giants, it is just extraordinary how safe I feel around them and with all the little children running around, feeding and playing with them, their trunks are so aware of whats going on and who they are interacting with. They are really intelligent and we have a ball playing with them, this is something else.

Now it's our turn to get up on our own graceful creature. Her name is Roxy, and she is stunning. The elephant guide has been here 12 years and he previously was in Sumatra for 12 years working with them, he clearly has a passion for these animals too. We go for a beautiful walk around the grounds and end up finishing in the massive bathing pool. Wow, I didn't expect to go that deep, we're just about swimming. What a magical experience, and how grateful are Roz and I to have come to this hideaway sanctuary in the heart of Bali.

This is a must see adventure, the facilities are stunning, the staff are caring and loving, and the elephants are unforgettable. We're looking forward to spending a full day here next time.

I give it:

Off the richter scale: 3 (It was exciting for me to be this close up)

Value for money: 10 ($40 access to the park)

Scenery: 9  (These facilities are world-class and are an amazing spectacle)

Cultural: 5 (We connected with many locals running the park and really got to know them)

Family: 10 (You bet ya, it would be better if they like animals)

To note: It takes about 2 hours if you are traveling from areas like Kuta to get here so you need to start early and expect to leave late. Their restaurant is fabulous so staying for the day is easy.

What else: The group also run, if not the best river rafting and mountain biking tours in Bali, you can package a full day out and get a lot of these things all done in one outing.

Check out our facebook page to see some of the other cool adventures we are getting up to.