Elephant Sanctuary Harties

Hello Journeyers,
Well the long weekend is officially over, for those of you who did take the extra long option, I hope you had a great weekend! I was not that fortunate and had to work Monday. But I did have an amazing Heritage Day!
Cedric spoiled me yesterday as an early birthday gift. And it was definitely the 3rd best day of my life! What is the first 2 you may ask? Well the 1st is the day that Cedric asked me to be his girlfriend. *swoon* and the 2nd happened recently, at our July Holiday where the Elephant literally moved past us only a few cm's.

My birthday gift was a trip to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hartbeespoortdam. As all of you know I love Elephants! So this was high on my To Do List. :) And it finally happened!
We were booked for the 10am Interaction, but I think excitement levels were a bit high as we arrived an hour early. But I was too happy to just be there so we sat and admired the other groups do their thing.
10am came and we were all gathered for 2 hours of fun. We had a educational session with our guide Sam. These animals are truly amazing! The only thing I did not like though is that the groups are very big. Our group had 15 - 20 people. Then we were entertained by Temba and Pumba.

This Sanctuary has 5 Elephants, I only saw 4. They are busy going through their adolescent stage (teenager years) and therefore there was no Elephant Back rides.
We could touch them, from their trunks to their tails. We walked hand in trunk with them and I even got a big smooch from Temba. I was impressed with how their skins felt. Hard to the touch with thick hairs on them. The only soft part on their bodies are the sole of their feet and the back of their ears.

The scary part is that these Elephants were only between 10 - 13 Years old and are not fully grown yet. It is extremely intimidating if you stand next to one of these remarkable creatures. You never know when it will turn on you and turn you into scrambled eggs. But still what an experience! For such a big animal they are so gentle. 

South Africans are extremely blessed to live in a country with so many beautiful things to enjoy, from our views to the animals to the cultures and the people! 

So yes I can say this Heritage Day was one of my favorites! 

Thank you baby for one of the best birthday gifts ever! You are truly a blessing to me and I can just thank the Lord for bringing you into my life! I love you!

P.S. - After seeing these photos of me it's time to get into the healthy eating and exercise routine NOW! Goodbye flab hello fab! hehe

How did you spend your Heritage Day?

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