Herdis was a volunteer from the wildlife sanctuary for 7 weeks and is from Iceland. We have actually know each other for a while as we also volunteered at the same time last year. If you are wondering what the feature picture is about, for long staying volunteers and close friends i like to draw a sleeve tattoo on their leg of their stay. Herdis is in Green and as usual i am in Black.
I came to Glen Afric, the Wildlife Sanctuary, because i wanted to go to a project that had all sorts of animals and GA sounded really nice with a big variety of animals. I fell in love with the place. The animals are amazing, all the workers are so lovely and fun and you never get bored of the work there, there’s always something new happening. Which was the reason I came back again and for a longer time because 3 weeks was too short. I decided to stay for 6 weeks, but that was still too short – so I extended for one more week to be longer with the amazing friends I met there and all the animals.
Herdis with the three girls she bonded with.
I met Bex as a volunteer my first time in GA in 2014. I had stayed there for 2 weeks when she arrived. She was a big bundle of joy and a true friend! So when I heard she was going to be a project leader, it was just right to go back to GA at the same time. We were very close at GA and are good friends today. We went through thick and thin together in Africa were a bit more than just a project leader and a volunteer and I miss her deeply. And she does her job brilliantly!
Thank you Herdis, we have been through a lot together, i think the turning point of our friendship was when we were looking after the few day old kitten (Rubber) and hare (Omega), it was one tough job looking 2 precious beings so small, we spent copious amounts of time with feeding and nurture and sadly Omega the hare didn’t make it.
Baby Omega and Rubber
We were both so gutted and so upset and think we both realised that we have found someone who we can be completely open with. There we both sat, crying in my room. From big to small hey, we love them all, lets talk about those precious Elephants!
It is amazing to go on an elephant walk; words can’t explain.
It is absolutely breath taking and at the same time puts you at complete ease.
When you go on an elephant walk at Glen Afric you get to see new side of elephants you didn’t see before.
Glen Afric has three elephants. They are, Three; the big gentle ellie mum, Hannah; the silly goes-her-own-way daughter, and Marty; the cheeky adopted daughter who fits in the family perfectly.
Three came to us as a rescue and has grown up on the farm, we use to have a bull elephants named Bully the farm was too small for a bull, which tend to leave the home and live in solitary and can roam for miles and miles, he is the father of Hannah and holds a very special relationship with the owners son Jono. Marty has a bit more of a blessed story. Marty came to the farm days old from Kruger National Park, her mother was a new adolescent mother and poor little Marty got left behind when crossing the river. There was many attempts from the rangers at Kruger to enter her back into the heard but with Marty now growing weak the herd were to fast so they looked for alternative options. As Three still had milk for Hannah, Marty became a second feeder. Three the gentle elephants that she is, raised Marty like she was her own and they have been a trio ever since.
Three getting cheeky with Herdis
Elephants are very smart and I admire how smart and loyal they are. After the handlers open the locks on their enclosures, the three ellies open the gate themselves and when they walk out, they always say hello to their handlers.
One elephant handler has worked with Three for 23 years, when he has a day off it is said that three grumbles and notices his absence. He knows Three better than she knows herself.
An elephants love is also so strong. The love these elephant have for each other and their handlers is truly remarkable to see, and I am lucky to have experienced it! The handler who has worked with them for the longest told me that if anyone would try to harm him or look like they’re harming him, Three would attack that person to protect him.
The Trust between the handlers and the elephants
It is so amazing to see how happy they are when they go on walks and eat fresh leaves and barks. You have to be careful around Marty, however, because if you go too close to her when she is in the enclosure, she will be cheeky and hit you and steal your bag (which is very funny to see!)
She has wacked me around the head so many times to count! She is so boisterous!!
One time, we were a few girls on an elephant walk. We were walking over a bridge and Three and Marty were walking ahead, but Hannah likes do go her own way and do her own thing, and is walking behind everyone. Soon I see her charging at us and trying to run us down. I shouted: “Watch your backs!” and everyone was running away from that charging elephant. At that moment we got very frightened. But still love them all and were not scared long after.
The elephant handlers are extremely experienced and know how to deal with those elephants as if it was their own children.
That just shows how dangerous it is always to be with animals. But it also showed how much feelings animals have. We think Hannah got mad because we were in front of her and in between her and Three, her mum, so she got mad and frustrated.
It amazes me how precise and powerful the elephants trunk is. They can get the smallest leaves, break the biggest branches, and just does almost anything our hands can do. They also keep some branches between their trunk and their tusks, which is super clever and cute. The moment they see or can smell mint, they go for it! That is their favourite!
Mint and the onion roots! It amazing to see such a big animal dig such a small bulb from the ground! So technical! My favourite actually is when they eat cabbage – Three stabs the cabbage onto her tusk and peels of the leaves with her trunk and eats it!
Elephants have great memory and know where to go for the best water. Elephants try to go for the freshest water and it is so funny to see these three big animals squeezing into a small space to get to the water closest to the source.
The sweetest thing to see is the elephants swimming in the dam. They dive all the way under water and just lie there, putting the trunks up to breathe. They’re splashing, laying on top of each other and spraying water on the people around.
Here is really is amazing to see the biological differences between the two children Hannah and Marty. Marty runs straight in and is splashing like crazy, whilst Hannah calmly waits standing in the water with Three. One ranger says this is because Hannah is much more mature than Marty as she had to grow up faster because along came orphaned Marty and the handers say that the characteristics can go down to what cannot be changed with the birth mother and child bond. But when all three of them swim, the first time I saw it – I almost cried, sometimes in life you sit back and watch at how blissful and gentle the world actually is.
Its not just elephants you will see on the walk, but a lot of free roaming antelope including giraffe
Even though elephants have the roughest skin, are the biggest and strongest land animals and ruin most trees they eat, they are so humble, caring, loving and trustful. Therefore, it is a privilege to get to see them up close and watch them in their natural environment.
Elephant walks are one of the best things to do on the program, elephants are my favourite animal and I will love these three girls forever. They were the reason I wanted to come to Africa and they are so special.
Herdis. x
Much Love,
B xo
The BecksPacker 