The Elephant Orphanage of Nairobi

"The feeling of respect for all species will help us recognize the noblest nature in ourselves." - Thich Nhat Hanh

We’ve all heard about ethical shopping and maybe in our everyday lives we do make an effort to support organic and eco-friendly products and places. But what happens to our green intentions when we travel?

Travel for me has been all about soaking up experiences, discovering the wonders of the world and having fun. And it still is; but with modern day travel and the Internet making the world ever smaller, I’m beginning to see that we all need to look further than preserving our own patch of grass. What’s going on in one part of the world will ultimately affect us all.  

As consumers of tourism, a billion dollar industry, we yield great power in shaping the industry and its practices.

It was after my trip to Nairobi that the idea of ‘responsible travel’ truly resonated with me. I visited The David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and was moved by this organisation that saves orphaned or abandoned baby elephants from the wild and nurses them to health. They shelter the elephants from excessive human contact and food, giving them special formulated milk, a caring environment and the social support of other elephants so that they can recover from their ordeals and thrive in the wild.

The keepers at the orphanage take the elephants on walks, where they leave their scent for the wild elephants. In their own time, through these excursions, the elephants from the orphanage find new families amongst their wild counterparts.

The traumatic tales that happened so early of the baby elephants’ were heart wrenching to hear. Some had had their mother’s killed by poachers in front of them, others had fallen down wells, been attacked by hyenas and the baby rhinoceros living at the orphanage was found guarding the dead body of its mother from vultures.

What makes the plight of these elephants even more emotionally gripping was to learn that elephants have incredible memories, strong family ties and can mourn for lost family members for months.

Fortunately for the animals here, they are now safely in the hands of people who genuinely care and understand about their wellbeing.  

The David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage is a wonderful place to support and visit if you are ever in Kenya. You cannot touch, hold, feed or ride the elephants but you can see them at a close quarters being fed by the keepers and bathing in mud pools. Instead of taking away a photo of you riding an elephant, you’ll take away a sense of pride in that you’ve supported an organisation that is making a difference to the wildlife of Africa in the most ethical of ways.

Our support of animal-friendly organisations will allow them to prosper and further benefit their environment and communities. Equally, by not supporting organisations that are neglectful and abusive to animals we can force them to improve their practices or shut down.

Realising that our actions have direct repercussions on the environment is empowering and a stepping stone to change. Whether it’s choosing an eco-friendly lodge on a safari or not buying animal-product souvenirs on a shopping layover, our actions, however small, can make a difference. Next time you’re abroad, why not give a thought to where your money is going; we have the power of responsible travel, so let’s use it!

Extras

§  Before the 1990’s the cruel practice of dancing bears was widespread in Turkey and tourists paid to see these barbaric performances. Due to the publicity created by animal rights groups like WSPA, understanding of this inhumane practice deepened, and tourist’s attitudinal change has largely brought an end to this practice.

§  For more information on how to be a responsible traveller, look at WSPA’s Compassionate Travel Tips. www.wspa.org.au/tips_traveller.asp

§  If you would like to support The David Sheldrick orphanage, visit the website and for $50 USD a year you can adopt an elephant. www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

(Trip from 2009)

24 Hours in Lagos

I have to say that when I first saw Lagos on my roster, I was not disapointed. All the stories I'd heard about police escorts from the airport, not being allowed to leave the hotel and wine bottles thrown at crew during the flight simply added to my intrigue. How exciting!

Our African escort on the bus strictly briefed us on the rules; no opening the curtains, no photos, no engaging the street sellers or beggars. (Apparently another airline bus had been attacked once before and they now get "safe" money to travel there.) With this in mind, I wasn't going to be the one to break the rules; I just looked out over the driver's shoulder, through the windshield.

The traffic and people walking in the street selling things made for chaos on the roads, and the buildings, yes, looked run down and makeshift. But through this wasteland strolled the most magnificent, almost regal, outfits. Tailored full-length dresses of bright colours and bold designs sashayed imperviously past us. With larger-than-life matching hats, these Nigerian women looked dressed for the races. Such style!

The hotel was bit worn, but luckily more of the fabulous African dresses were miling around the lobby to spruce it up a bit. Over drinks by the pool and listening to the live band, I met a man who also worked in aviation and was stationed in Lagos for twelve weeks. Twelve weeks? I remarked, What can you do here for twelve weeks?

'I come here', he said, 'to the bar and the office'.
He said there weren't shopping malls as such, wasn't much to see or do, and it wasn't safe to do so anyhow.
So I wasn't missing anything by not venturing out? 'No', was his adamant reply.

Back on the aircraft, we found that the cleaning staff had eaten our crew sandwiches. One of the cleaners even came up to us to ask what had happened to his sandwiches!

Seeing babies slung tightly to their mothers backs and those lovely African hats again, made the busy flight back worthwhile and coaxed me into reminiscenes of my own African roots.

(Trip from 2008)

Long Beach - Thai Style

A 4W-drive or motorbike, and some skillful driving, is a must to access this beach. The "road" is a length of dusty rock and rubble that winds around the islands steep ridges and ascends its folds to a dizzying height. There were many turns at which I held my breath! Rather rudementary attempts have been made to secure parts of the road that have callasped back into the cliff, but given that Long Beach, Koh Chang, Thailand is only home to a few beach bungalows and a restaurant, maybe there isn't yet the monetary incentive.

Being underdeveloped and off the beaten track though, is exactly what gives the beach its appeal. Lonely Beach, another beach on the island, is ironically the more popular of the two. Apart from "David" - a man who tells me he's been at Long Beach for 40 days and whose tan is deeper than the dark brown shorts he's wearing - no one bothers me. (And I think he only talked to me to drum up business for the hand-made trinkets he had hanging from a tree.)

The Tree House, with its cushions, bamboo-stick bar and chilled-out music is a hippy's paradise. While I sipped on my coconut and wound down to the beat of the house/reggae mix, I looked at the bandana-totting, ankle bead-wearing beach goers around me and couldn't help think that maybe they have the right idea after all.

I walked "Long" Beach in about 10 minutes (so it wasn't that long) and passed by the wooden bungalows, set right on the shore's bank with their occupants tanning on the sand, just infront. Some girls even topless! (I've been in Dubai too long now - everything shocks me).

The sea was bath-warm and soaking in it lulled me into the most relaxing state of beach bliss. I found my own island of dry sand within the low tide water to sunbathe on, and my skin is happily a shade browner for it.

Its great to find places that are not yet over commercialized and hopefully Long Beach in Koh Chang can still cherish its chilled-out charms a while longer.

(Trip from Feb 2011)