Khao Yai national Park is mixed bag! A dedicated nature reserve within the gates and an outdoor action play ground just before the gates! I assumed all the noise from the quad bikes, enduro bikes, UTVs and river rafting camps would be enough to scare the animals back onto the right side of the invisible park border.
We were told elephants are seen from time to time and bears or rarer occasions- there were no details of what to do if you encounter them!
It was my first time driving a UTV but definitely lots of fun. The vehicle had 2wd and 4wd options and 4Lo and 4Hi rations to choose from. Luckily it was bottom-heavy and handled well on corners instead of feeling like it wanted to topple over.
It was also automatic which made the river crossings and hill climbs a breeze. We did had to play 'follow the leader', 2 staff members from the rental shop who acted as a guide and set the pace. The drive was more fun on the way back- maybe we was in a rush!
A little odd driving on the left, but easy to get used to. Winches were fitted to the front of each UTV and used in heavy rain when exiting the river crossings- we didn't have any rain so didn't make use of them :(
Before entering the over grown jungle track we passed a small reservoir. The dam doesn't have a water level control, just a concrete wall that allows over flow. It still supplies local villages with both water and water pressure since they are situated further down the mountain.
The video and photos were taken with a GoPro Hero 6 and Feyui Tech wearable gimbal to get those steady shots. The gimbal died after 20 minutes (charging error the night before) so I had to rely on the built in stabilization of the Hero 6- it worked better than expected.
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