Carrying on our ‘A postcard from…’ series, Jillian, our Volunteer Development Co-Ordinator, based in Siem Reap, took a trip to our Elephant sanctuary in Mondulkiri, Cambodia. Read her beautiful account of her time there.
“My trip to Mondulkiri to the Cambodia Elephant Sanctuary was an amazing experience! The day began by meeting at a cute little café and then heading into the jungle with the rest of the excited volunteers.”
“We were hiking deep into the jungle when all of a sudden out of nowhere two big, beautiful elephants appeared. It was so perfect to see the elephants in their natural element and going about their daily activities. We watched them for a few hours- capturing them eating, playing, and drinking water from the river.”
“It was such an amazing experience to see and all of the other volunteers were in awe as well. After we had watched the elephants for a few hours and had completed their medical check we hiked back to the main lodge for lunch. Lunch was so good – I was so impressed!”
“The bungalows and rooms were so cool and I really loved the hangout areas. When looking out all you could see for miles and miles was the jungle and banana trees.”
“I then joined the afternoon crew and helped move wood that would be used to build future infrastructures at the sanctuary. It was hard work but I knew that I was being very useful. It was so great to see a group of volunteers with various backgrounds and ages come together to complete this one task. After we completed the task we all headed back to the main camp and then hiked back out of the jungle to head home. “
I will always treasure this trip to the Cambodia Elephant Sanctuary!”