Adventures with Elephants

On April 7th we went with out missionary friends, Rod & Barbara Williamson to Adventures with Elephants near Bela Bela, about a 2 1/2 hour drive in Limpopo province to the north. We were first given a short lecture on elephants and our encounters with the "ellies." Then the ellies arrived!!! First our big group was divided into 3 smaller groups and we were introduced to all the elephants and their unique training. One elephant can recognize people by their name (3 people were introduced to the ellie and then a few minutes later the trainer asked her to give a hat to the person by name). She then was given 3 peoples shoes and was able to return them by smell. She had a baby named Bela (the mother is the one Dave rode later so you see her baby). Another elephant was able to kick a soccer ball and another gave us a shower. After spending an hour with the elephants those who wanted to (and had paid!) took a 20 minute ride through the bush. It was a fun day!