Change of plan. (Again.) We decided to make our 3 day camping trip a 6 day trek! We headed out to Bramath on the O’Pley river, hoping to complete 7 transects by the time we make it back to Chhouk. Jen, Liz, Sadie and Max headed out with the elephant while Vong, Heath, Oudom and Scooby set out on their own. Of course, Liz and Jen lost the elephant halfway through the hike but did run into 3 men (resin collectors). After a brief exchange of words (with the little Khmer Liz speaks) we got out of there with only a few nerves rattled. The boys made it to camp long before the ladies and had camp already set-up, including boiled water for some instant coffee and milo! The crew even managed to call Tom (WWF) via a Vietnamese SIM card. This is becoming quite an adventure.
The teams set-out again for Chhouk, this time going 3 different directions after a day of rest. (Our elephant and mahout had to go all the way back to Chhouk to get more food and then come back to O’Pley – they definitely must think we are crazy Americans!) Jen, Vong and Max took the road to better get Max on the wild scent. Heath, Oudom, a ranger and Scooby headed out into the woods and Liz, a ranger and Sadie hiked a riverbed. Leave it to Sadie May to find a boa! At least this time it was only part of a dead one, she definitely makes life interesting. All 3 teams met-up on the road and took an afternoon snooze while we waited for the truck. Definitely a successful and fun trek.
Vong packing up camp
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