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Adventures with Elephants: Meet the Gentle Giants of Bela Bela 

Over the last century, the elephant population has decreased by over ninety per cent. With these majestic creatures declining due to poaching and habitat loss, places such as Adventures with Elephants are proud ambassadors for all species. With their story having begun back in Zimbabwe with Rory Hensman, they officially opened their doors in 2010, educating over 15,000 guests year after year on the nature of Africa’s gentle giants. With a curated list of educational and fun offerings and accommodation for longer stays, enjoy an experience like no other amidst majestic giants at Adventures with Elephants.    

Get up close with the herd at Adventures with Elephants 

Over the past fifteen years, the herd at Adventures with Elephants has continued to attract visitors from around the world. With a mission to increase awareness of the conservation issues that wildlife in Africa faces, each activity has been designed to inspire awe, joy and above all interest in the African elephant. Furthermore, Adventures with Elephants aims to promote an understanding of wildlife needs in every guest who walks amongst the herd.   

While decades ago, only two orphaned elephants called Rory Hensman’s farm their new home, today, guests can interact with the seven elephants that make up the herd. These three females, two males, and two babies, Bela and Zambezi, capture the hearts of everyone who witnesses them in their natural habitat. Each elephant has been trained using a combined method of verbal commands, praise, body language and aids, targeting, clickers, and food rewards.  

Guests visiting can enjoy one of their special offerings. The Educational Experience is more than a ‘touch and feed’ activity; it is a personal encounter where guests can meet and learn about the herd. Guests who take part in this educational experience can further enjoy the Elephant Bath and brush and bathe the herd in the dam.  

Nature walks are the perfect way to witness the wild side of the elephants as they roam across 300 hectares of pristine landscapes. Observe them up close and embrace the unique opportunity to play hide and seek with African elephants. Visitors are additionally offered a range of tailor-made activities.   

Extend your stay 

Adventures with Elephants allows guests to extend their stay with their accommodation offerings. Options offered include an exclusive farm stay in the Modern Log Cabin and the Aske Bush Retreat in a self-catering cabin, and luxury stays in the Zebula Golf Estate and Spa. 

Contact details 

For more information about Adventures with Elephants call (+27) 79 431 7655 or email Reservations@adventureswithelephants.com 

Adventures with Elephants is located at D1000 Mabula District, Bela Bela, 0480 

Facebook: @Adventures-With-Elephants 

Instagram: @adventures_with_elephants 

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About us

Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.  We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa.  Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation?  Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose. 

Expensive is not always better.  Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday.  They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice.  A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday. 

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance.  Of these, service is the most important. 

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion.  However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review.  We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience?  The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table. 

Well that’s our theory anyway.  It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced.  However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience.  In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe.  It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!

 

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