WorldWomenWork Adventures: Thailand with Lek and Save Elephant Foundation

THAILAND with Lek and Save Elephant Foundation

January 28-February 10th 2020

On this once in a lifetime trip through the beautiful country of Thailand, we will tour Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. While in Chiang Mai, we will spend two days with Lek Chailert of Save Elephant Foundation at Elephant Nature Park. We will get to meet some of the elephants and learn about Lek’s work to save elephants from abuse. This is a small group tour and space is limited. Get in touch to inquire about pricing and availability.

Itinerary:

Tuesday Jan. 28 - The Great City of Angels, Welcome to Bangkok

Wednesday Jan. 29th - Bangkok multi-transport adventure

Thursday Jan. 30th - Morning liquid Bangkok headlights adventure

Friday Jan. 31st - Flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Saturday Feb. 1st - A day with Lek at Elephant Nature Park

Sunday Feb. 2nd - A day with Lek at Elephant Nature Park

Monday Feb. 3rd - Chiang Mai countryside walking, and Thai kitchen live dinner at Rim Tai Kitchen, the Four Seasons Chiang Mai

Tuesday Feb. 4th - Lamphun and Lampang temples and villages

Wednesday Feb. 5th - Lampang’s mountain top temple

Thursday Feb. 6th - Flight from Chiang Mai to Hanoi, and a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake

Friday Feb. 7th - Hanoi inside and out

Saturday Feb. 8th - Hanoi backstreets adventure by vintage minsk and water puppets

Sunday Feb. 9th - Transfer to Ha Long Bay for an overnight on Bhaya 7 cabin boat

Monday Feb. 10th - Back to Hanoi and onward

"My Kenyan Friend" Prints by Artist Kathryn Adele Schumacher

After traveling to Kenya on one of our Adventure Trips, and meeting this beautiful elephant, artist Kathryn Adele Schumacher created this stunning portrait in pastels to commemorate her time there.

“We saw tons of elephants— but that particular one struck me as I photographed him. He was so docile and approached us in the jeep like we were old friends. I loved his eyes.

Singer opened my eyes to the beauty of Africa and it’s enchanting nature. I first went with her back in 2011 and then I went with her again in 2013. I’ve seen five different countries and cannot wait to go back. ”

— Kathryn Adele Schumacher

Kathryn Adele Schumacher has generously donated 10 prints of her award-winning elephant portrait to WorldWomenWork, and we have them available in our shop. They have professionally cut mats and are ready to frame. All proceeds from the sale of these prints will go directly to fund our projects, like Save the Elephants, which Kathryn Adele Schumacher got to visit in Kenya during her trip there.

Kathryn Adele Schumacher is a collage artist and painter based in Maine and Florida. Visit her website for more info about her work kathrynschumacherartist.com.

WorldWomenWork Adventures: Our trip to Morocco and Kenya

In January, we went on an amazing educational trip to Morocco and Kenya. We met in Marrakesh and stayed there for four days. We had a wonderful guide called Mohammed. We spent a couple of days going with him to the most beautiful palaces and museums. We went the Casbah, and had a lovely time walking around and looking at everything, as well as buying some beautiful things to take home. It’s such a fascinating place. We went up to the Atlas mountains for a hike and a beautiful lunch. Every night we had dinner in superb restaurants. Some of us even took a Moroccan cooking class and learned how to make a chicken tagine

Next, we flew to Nairobi and went to the Olerai House. The Olerai House is a farmhouse in a wildlife sanctuary on Lake Naivasha. It’s run by Iain and Oria Douglas-Hamilton of Save the Elephants. They’ve created an amazing nature preserve on their farm. We had lunch with zebras milling about. They also have giraffes, tommy gazelles, gazelles, hippos, buffalo, vervet monkeys, and more. While we were there, we visited and had lunch at Sirocco house, Oria’s parents house. It was a beautiful space, patterned after a west African king’s palace.

From there we went to Elephant Watch, which was created by Oria. We visited the Save the Elephants Research Center and learned about all of their projects. (You can read more about them on our project page, and in our news.) Then we went out with Samburu guides. These guides knew so much. They have been studying about 600 elephants for the past 15 years. They knew each elephant and the different elephant families. So we had the most intimate experience possible.

Next we went to stay at Sarara Camp. We also visited the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, in the Mathews Mountain Range. The Reteti Elephant Sanctuary takes in orphaned and abandoned elephant calves. Many of these elephants are later released into the wild herds that roam near the sanctuary.

We also went to the Maasai Mara National Reserve and saw everything known to man. We saw cheetahs, lions and so much more. We stayed in a beautiful camp. It was such a magical trip!

WorldWomenWork Adventure Trips are organized every year, as an educational as well as fundraising initiative. A portion of the trip fees go directly to the projects that we support. Read more about these projects on in our News and Projects pages. If you would like to be the first to know about our next trips, sign up for our mailing list.

Exciting Updates for 2018

• New project: Mama Tembo

• WWW shows in San Francisco, New York & Santa Fe

• 2018 Trip: Morocco and Kenya Trip

Soutine age 14, with her trunk resting on the radio collar was one of the first orphans in the WorldWomenWork funded “Orphan Project” with Save the Elephants. Among other findings, Soutine shows the resiliency of young elephants who without their Matriarchs to teach them have to learn on their own. We observed lion marks on the baby, age 3 weeks, and subsequently the baby was caught in a raging current in the Ewaso River and Soutine by her side managed to guide her to shore… She is a good Mother.
What a success story!

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Sarara Camp

One of the highlights of the Morocco/Kenya trip was spending 2 nights at Sarara, a magnificent camp set in wild beautiful country at the foot of the Matthews Range.. We visited Reteti falling under the magic of the babies, adopting and giving the trip donation; $9,000, to this fabulous Sanctuary.

WorldWomenWork Inspires: The Mama Simba and the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary

 We seem to be lost in this world today. There is even more of a need to somehow connect to things that are real that lift our spirts. Munteli and the Mama Simba do just that. She invited me to spend the first 3 nights in her new "house" funded by WWW after it was blessed by the elders. She is conducting safaris for local women among all her other endeavors.

Two ladies from Wamba 45 km away called Munteli , above right, and said they had heard “there was a lady with beads from a village who drives” meaning a real Samburu Woman from a village. They didn’t believe this so hired a lorry to bring them to meet her ...

Retetti is the first community owned elephant sanctuary in Africa. In the two years since its inception it has rescued 38 orphaned baby elephants and one rhino. The oldest Shaba, three and a half years old, lost her Mother to poachers and now she is the matriarch of this herd.

What a wonderful WorldWomenWork Adventure Trip was had by all of us last winter. One of the highlights was spending 2 nights at Sarara, a magnificent camp set in wild beautiful country at the foot of the Matthews Range. We visited the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary and felt the magic of the elephant babies. We gave a donation of $9,000 to this fabulous sanctuary.

I thank all of you who make the work of WWW possible. I hope you feel inspired too!

WorldWomenWork Adventures: Our trip to Kenya and Rwanda

Safari in Kenya, Trek in Rwanda, Camp in Luxury

Our WorldWomenWork explorers took to the plains and jungles of Africa this February in search of adventure. What they found, besides the captivating landscape, spectacular people, and the majestic wildlife, was an unforgettable experience engrossed in the raw abundance of nature. Enjoy these memories with us! 

WorldWomenWork Adventure Trips are organized every year, as an educational as well as fundraising initiative. A portion of the trip fees go directly to the projects that we support. Read more about these projects on in our News and Projects pages. If you would like to be the first to know about our next trips, sign up for our mailing list. Thank you!

Elephants, Humans, and Water: The Connection of Life

Water is crucial in this beautiful but arid land. One day we watched elephants digging and drinking from deep holes in the completely dry Ewaso River bed. The babies played like children in the holes, making a mess of their parent’s careful work. The holes are in turn used by many other animals during these dry times. Later I walked up the river to a spot where herds of cattle, donkeys, and goats are brought to drink from holes surrounded by walls of thorn branches to keep out the elephants and other wildlife. Women in beautiful necklaces and men call their animals to come and drink, singing to them as they go. The river bed is the life blood for these people and their animals as much as it is for the elephants. Everyone can’t wait for the rains to come.

While the world seems to verge on chaos, to spend time with these magnificent creatures never fails to help restore my faith in the future. I always come home filled with admiration for the people on the ground who struggle to preserve their unique place in the world and am inspired to do more to help. I know that next year everyone making the journey to Africa will share these profound feelings.

Exciting Updates for 2015-2016

• New website

• New project: Community Outreach for Elephants

• New project: WorldWomenWorks Disposable & Reusable Sanitary Pad Project

• WWW shows in San Francisco, Sun Valley, New York & Santa Fe

• 2016 Trip: Elephants & Gorillas Kenya/Rwanda already full!