We hired our taxi driver from last night for an all day trip around Taiwan today. We told him to take us some place cool, so we are going off his recommendations. When he picked us up from the airBnB, he had hats and candy for us. He also put down one of the back seats, so the kids wouldn't be so squished.
Our first stop was at Shen'ao Elephant Head Rock. Since I hadn't done any research, and had no idea where we were going or what we were seeing, I also had no idea how far we would be driving. It took about 2 hours to get to our destination. Our driver parked the car, and tells where to walk and what to do. There weren't any parking spots, so he said he would be there in about an hour or so. He was so nice! He told the girls to keep their hats on because it was very bright.
To begin the trek to the Elephant Rock, you first walk on a super rocky beach. This beach was composed of huge boulders that we walked and jumped across. The girls kept talking about how the rocks definitely looked like elephant skin, so that is why it is called elephant rock.
There were so many people here to climb the Elephant Rock. I was wearing a dress, because I didn't know we would be actually hiking. The wind was pretty great, so I kept one hand at my hem to keep it from blowing up.
The climb to the rock wasn't too long. It was a pretty steep initial climb up a hill. The hill was rocks and dried ground with huge cracks. I was worried Kevin would fall with Monster on his back, so I walked in front and helped him keep balance.
After the steep hill, we came to a pretty flat part. We didn't know what we were looking for, so we all pointed at rock formations guessing it was the elephant head. We took some pictures out over the beautiful ocean.
About this time, our driver comes up and asked if we already saw the rock, we tell him that we think so and point in the wrong direction. The girls say they think this is an elephant because it looks like elephant skin. M&M points to a circle and says it's probably an eye. So here they are in front of the only thing we could think of would kind-of look like an elephant head.
Our driver laughs and says, no, no, no! And leads us to the right where we climb just a few rocks and suddenly a huge elephant head is before us! This was an unmistakable elephant head! So super cool!!
Big Sis, M&M, Little A and I then make our way to hike up the head. I'm not going to lie, It was a little nerve wracking! The footing was so super close to the edge, with cracks that lead straight to the ocean floor. Our driver came over and held Little A's hand over the cracks. He spoke in Taiwanese to the people around us. I'm guessing he told them to move, because a path was cleared for us.
We made it to the top of the head! It was so windy and high! The girls did not feel comfortable at the top. They were holding onto me and onto each other.
From the top of Elephant Head Rock, you could see out over the ocean and even further. It was a pretty clear day and so beautiful. Once the pictures were taken, they immediately wanted to make their way back down.
We made our way down, then went to the ocean shore. The girls found an area where there were a ton of tiny shells. I couldn't resist getting a picture of them! The all had fun trying to find shells, until Big Sis slipped on a rock with moss. This was our cue to start walking back to the car.
Elephant Rock was huge and so beautiful. The view was breathtaking! I'm so glad our driver suggested taking us here! It was so worth it!
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