In 2011, we booked a holiday to Thailand, wanting to have a Holliday with a difference we stayed at Elephant Nature Park as volunteers. For the next week we would be assisting with food collection, cleaning and preparing elephant food, as well as general tidying in the park and any other jobs happening that week. We were fed the MOST incredible food (all vegetarian), accommodation provided onsite in private huts and basically zero communication with the outside world, we called it heaven on earth.

Some days the work was tough, on one of them we were in a field cutting corn with machetes, carrying our cuts back to the truck. On this day I recall my only pair of runners I had on the trip completely falling apart in the thick mud. This left me with only one pair of thongs for the trip. (note: pack better shoes and possible spares). Other days was less labour intensive, such as making banana balls for the elephants.

Part of the stay here is an education night, where you learn the general elephant working trade and cruelty that exists in the industry, something the founder of the park, Lek Chailert, has dedicated her life to trying to change.

While it has been some time since our visit, I am positive the experience has changed a lot, their website lists all the experiences you can have at the park, which still includes volunteering (and I would recommend this above all else). It gives you an opportunity to experience them in their natural state, seeing their personalities and hearing stories from residents in the park and perhaps even from Lek herself.

At this park I witnessed instinctive love and compassion amongst the elephants, they are all chosen family (with only a few babies born at the park), all rescued from incredibly traumatic situations and brought here to rest and live the rest of their days out in peace.

It’s hard to imagine seeing Elephants any other way, other than in the wild. If questioning if a park you would like to visit is treating their animals ethically, take a look at what entertainment the animals may offer, if it ranges from painting, safari rides or any tricks then the purpose of the experience is gaining something from the animal which we avoid. Unless youre just a witness to the animal in the wild or doing wild animal things or you are positively contributing to the animals existence, ask yourself if it’s really worth it for the sake of their right to freedom.