cokesmith

Thailand is so much more than beaches, temples and bars. Believe it or not, Thailand has a bit of its original wilderness and wildlife still remaining. We were fortunate last week to get a privileged trip in to one of the kingdom's wildest areas for a few days. Here are our images and trip report. Definitely worth taking a peek! Cheers.

http://cokesmithphototravel.com/four...ha-khaeng.html

simpsonc510

Incredible! I am in awe of your patience, waiting for hours in a blind, for just the right pics. I know that Thailand has lots of rain forest, jungle, and must be filled with amazing wild life. Thank you for sharing your experience and photographic prowess. My hubby would be very impressed with your camera gear!

cokesmith

Thanks for checking it out. The time in the blind can be zen at times....IT is important to have something comfortable to sit on! I did not this day...

stitchintime

Looks like a wonderful, successful trip. The photos are beautiful and you were very lucky that everything fell into place to make it a trip of a lifetime!

progol

The photos are stunning -- and your family is amazing! I can't imagine sitting and waiting 5-6 hours for a photo, so I'm also awed by that patience you all have. And well worth it, too!

khunwilko

I've camped up there a couple if times....I'd love to get access like that though.

rhkkmk

fabulous pics as always.. loved seeing the Thailand I do not know..

annhig

wonderful pics - not just the leopard but the bats and the otters - all made me smile.

how did you organise the trip?

Cattail

Those were my favorites too - the leopard and bats and the otters, though they all are fabulous.

progol

I loved those bats - they were terrific!

cokesmith

Thanks everyone. Organizing the trip was basically through personal connections with Bruce, who is without a doubt the most well-connected farang in Thailand. I cannot believe how many higher ups he knows. I almost did not post the trip report on a general travel site as it is sadly impossible to arrange a trip inside HKK - it is closed tight to the public. Tourism can happen near the entrances and the ranger station but that is about it. Seeing the truly amazing stuff needs entry in to the core area so I am thinking this was our once-in-a-lifetime peek inside there!

annhig

thanks, cokesmith. we were lucky to do a private tour in Australia and saw a lot of things which i suspect most people don't even know exist, care of our excellent guide. Whilst not as remote and difficult to access as the area you saw, it was still fascinating.

It's probably just as well that the general public can't access the place you went - i can see those leopards lasting long in that case.

Femi

Nice to know such places still exist in Thailand.

MaryW

Thanks for sharing. The rest of us may never be able to get into the park but its lovely to see such great photos of what's there. The pigeons aren't just your every day ones either so even if that's all you had waited for they are still pretty nice but what a bonus you got.

kmkrnn

You were truly lucky to go up there and see all that wild life. Thank you for sharing with all of us. Glad you had second thoughts about posting.

lauren_s_kahn

Great photos!

rje

Really fine shots! Thanks for the opportunity to see such amazing things through your eyes.

I have a question. Were the flying foxes aware that you were shooting them? I ask because recently I was shooting them in the Cape Tribulation area. I was only using a 200mm lens, hand-held, so they could see me, and even though I was quiet and didn't move much, they flew off shortly after spotting me. I wouldn't have thought they'd see me as a threat, as I was way down on the ground, while they were quite high up, hanging upside down in trees.

cokesmith

Hi rje. Yes they were aware. In fact I was in a multistory structure adjacent to their roosts that allowed for the eye-level perspective in the images. I've photographed the flying foxes near Cape Trib in the 90's and I remember them being a bit skiddish as well. I remember that they were pretty persecuted as pests back in those days and that may be the reason.Not sure if that is still the case now or not though. But having photographed many species Pteropus bats all over the Asia and Africa, only the ones in Australia were scared of my presence....

annhig

We came across fruit bats hanging in huge numbers in the Botanical gardens in Kandy [Sri Lanka] and I can tell you that nothing disturbs them!

nestorkelly508

I have stayed in Thailand for 1 week and the places are really great. I couldnt ask for more when I visited the best island resorts.