Wildlife & Nature, Ko Samui

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During our stay on Samui we booked a day jungle jeep tour. One of the many stops was at a rubber tree plantation, now I'm not talking about a 5 second stop to snap off some pics of tress, on this tour, we stopped, got out of the jeep and our guides gave a detailed explanation (see the look on Emilys face) on how the rubber is collected. This was one of the best tours i have every been on, mainly because of the friendly and informative guides we had with us that day.

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After the nice jungle tours it was about time to see the sights from offshore. From the travel desk in the hotel lobby we were able to book a day boat tour to Koh Nang Yuan for some snorkeling. After about 3 hours of being in the water it was time to get back on-board and head to another island for lunch.
After lunch we still had time to stop off at a 3rd island for a quick swim and fresh fruits, then it was back to Koh-Samui.

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Na muang Safari Park offer several different packages in the way of things to see & the length of time your experience goes for, I selected the 3 hour trip which was perfect for me as I find the all day trips to long & taxing.

The Safari Park pick you up & return you to your accomodation,the 3 hour trip includes a guide & full insurance ,crocodile show,baby elephant & I thought a disappointing 5 min monkey show & also a 30 min elephant trek in which I found the Mahoot very friendly & always ready to take your picture but I really didn`t believe him when he said his name was Tom Cruise from Surin.

The cost of the trip was 900 baht, which I considered reasonable value, I certainly enjoyed the experience & am glad that I did it.

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If seeing the street dogs & cats in Koh Samui upsets you, and if you're a good person & animal lover, instead of turning a blind-eye... why not do something about it? Try something different during your holidays and volunteer at the Dog & Cat Rescue Centre Samui!
The centre is owned and run by Brigitte & her husband Werner (both German, but fluent in English). It opened its doors in April 1999 and carries out the following activities:

To inject all stray dogs and cats against rabies.
To sterilise all dogs and cats by castration.
To treat dogs suffering from mange.
To deworm all dogs and cats.
To treat all stray dogs & cats in the event of injury or sickness and give them somewhere to rest.

The centre either captures, sterilises, vaccinates and releases healthy dogs, or allows older or injured dogs to stay at their large shelter to live a happy and healthy life.
IF YOU FIND A DOG/CAT THAT IS IN URGENT NEED OF MEDICAL ATTENTION OR SHELTER, CALL: Tel: 0066 77 413 490 or 0066 81 893 94 43.

Not only dogs, but also cats are helped by the DRCS and Brigitte and Werner also try to rehome animals on the island, or even help tourists wishing to adopt a dog/cat and transporting them to their home country at the end of their holiday in Samui! Check out some of the lovely adoption stories of Thai dogs and cats finding new homes in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, etc.!

John and I volunteered for 2 days at the large shelter at Ban Taling Ngam: bottle-feeding puppies, taking out ticks, and giving the animalslots of snuggles and love!


--> If you have some space in you luggage on the way to Ko Samui, these items are always needed & highly appreciated: dog/cat toys, old towels, flea collars, shampoos & powders, Frontline, etc.
If you would like to carry on helping after your holiday has ended, you can also sponsor and dog or cat for only USD 15.- / EURO 15.- a month!


Check out their website and experience a holiday with a difference.

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You can meet the elephants near Namuang One waterfall. Many different tour operators organise guided elephant treks through the island's tropical forests. Treks can last15 minutes, half an hour, one hour or half a day, and each elephant has its own handler ("mahout").
These skilled "elephant drivers" are in charge of training, feeding and taking care of the animal, as well as riding the elephant with the "passengers" during the trek.

Elephants are no longer used as for work in the forests of Thailand, and for many animals, trekking therefore guarantees their survival.
It is always important, however, to make sure that the elephant looks healthy and seems well taken care of.
Report any signs of neglect or abuse to the authorities immediately.

If you don't wish to ride the elephants, but simply want to spend time with them, buy some bananas from the handlers and feed and stroke the elephants. You may even be lucky and see a calf!

(Did you know that elephants are the only mammal to have 4 knee-caps?)

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Want to ride and elephant? It's fun and they are really sweet. You can do this in the elephant camp at Namuang Safari Park. A ride takes aproximately 30 minutes and costs about 500/700 baht. You can also feed them with bananas and interact with these cute animals

First stop heading towards Chaweng beach was the Elephant Safari. Well this was something everyone wanted to do, so we headed up the little dirt road for an adventure of a lifetime :o)

....Check out the travelogue for more pix.

I was at a loss on what to do! honestly!! I read about a elephant trek, so I contacted the local tour people and they arranged my pick up and return to the tourist attraction. I was happy with the show and the elephant trek...well I almost got scared going down a step embankment and I was holding on for dear life.. Good Show and Trek well worth the money....

Make at least a motorcycletour, a day trip around the whole island, to see as much as you can. And still there is thousands of things there you havent had time to see;) Monkeys and elephants waterfalls and views you never thought you would see. Paradise in a seashell.

The company is called Canopy Adventures. The gentleman who runs it is called Mike. Basically they strap you into a harness and you ride a cable through the trees. It is extremely exciting boasts the longest cable ride of it's kind anywhere in the world, 127 metres. It is well worth the money, only 1400 baht. Take the jump, you will not be sorry.