Aussie in jumbo forest haven

AN Australian is providing a safe haven in Bali for endangered elephants, says Diana Plater.

Trunk call ... rides offered at the Taro elephant park in Bali are part of a plan to save endangered Sumatran elephants / AAP

HE'S not quite known as the Elephant Man, but he could be.

Nigel Mason, an Australian entrepreneur originally from England, who has lived in Bali for 26 years, has a quest: saving endangered Sumatran elephants.

He's now saved 27 at his Elephant Safari Park at Taro in the northern hills of Bali.

The park's aim is to educate people to the elephants' plight as well as give them a close encounter with these "beautiful pachyderms".

They can be patted and hand-fed or you can go on a short safari ride into the surrounding forest. You can also have lunch in the restaurant and watch the elephants bathing.

Mr Mason, who co-owns Bali Adventure Tours with Balinese wife Yanie, told us his story after I enjoyed a restful elephant ride.

It all began when a man asked him to buy his nine elephants from Sumatra. Mr Mason built the park for them in 1997; and that started him on the quest.

Logging, as well as slash-and-burn techniques used by local farmers trying to eke out a living, had made the elephants' habitat in Central Sumatra impossible to live in, so they foraged in the forest.

The forestry department then captured the elephants and held them in camps.

"These elephants were doomed and the Indonesian government was at a loss about what to do," Mr Mason said.

After ploughing through paperwork, he and his team went to Riau Province in Central Sumatra to bring eight elephants to Bali on a 3000km journey, including two sea crossings.

Again in 2004, 10 elephants were saved, including two babies.

A documentary, Operation Jumbo made by Threefold Films and directed by Sydney's Brad Cone, tells the story of the rescues and has been nominated for a PANDA award – the wildlife and environmental equivalent of the Oscars.

Each of the elephants at the park has a handler who cares for and rides them. They start to train the elephants when they are about five to six years old. There are two elephant shows daily and an elephant painting exhibition, as well as a museum. A 28-room Safari Park Lodge is expected to be open in January.

The elephant park is just one of many adventure opportunities in Bali – no longer a destination just for surfers and shoppers. Cycling trips and white-water rafting are particularly popular.

The morning of our elephant visit we rode bikes for two hours from the incredible mountain scenery of Kintamani to the park near Ubud.

The day before I was taken on a jungle trek through vine-clad forests to Lake Tamblingan, in the highlands near Bedugal. It was another world compared with the nightclubs of Seminyak and the shops of Ubud as I was paddled in a canoe across the lake to the village of Asamundok.

The writer travelled to Bali as a guest of Garuda Indonesia, staying at the Pita Maha in Ubud and the Nusa Lembogan Resort.

Sunday Mail (SA)