The Elephant Sanctuary - The Crags

In the Crags, on the Garden Route of South Africa you will find 'The Elephant Sanctuary'. Founded by Chris Kruger, the Elephant Sanctuary is a sort of halfway house for elephants that have nowhere to go to.

The elephants all have different backgrounds. One of them was previously a pet for 11 years (believe it or not), some of them came out of Botswana, and still others were up for culling in the Kruger National Park. The idea is to re-introduce them to the wild, once they are older at private nature reserves.

Each elephant at the moment has its own handler, which it has formed a close relationship with.

Visitors can come on a one hour guided 'trunk in hand' elephant walk through the forest, where you'll get up close and personal with the elephants and even get to touch the elephans. This is followed by a feeding session where you get 'to thank' the elephants and feed them titbits like butternut.

You will also get  a 15 minute lecture on elephant anatomy and some interesting facts about these creatures.

Although there are arguments for and against close human contact, the Elephant Sanctuary maintains that nobody really knows for sure.

The Elephant sanctuary is open to the public every day of the week, weather permitting.