Gibbon Rehab - Bang Poe Waterfall

I see that some of the driving tours with Mr Mor (or other drivers) will go up to the Gibbon Rehab.

Bearing in mind that we are travelling in April and there probably won%26#39;t be an abundance of water at the waterfall and I realise the idea of the rehab is not for touching the gibbons but what is this place like?

Is it worth going to the Gibbon Rehab or better places in the southern area of Phuket to show my kids? They obviously like animals but also a bit of culture.

I have already booked time with Richard at the Elephant Rehab.

Thanks for any responses.

Chris

Gibbon Rehab - Bang Poe Waterfall

We hired a jeep and drove down to the Gibbon Rehab Centre, and i have to say I was really dissappointed - the Gibbons did make some incredible noises but to view them was really difficult - the walk along to the water fall is quite nice if a little precarious in places though.....

Sorry to give a bad vibe, but Phuket is an amazing island a if your time is valuable spend it elsewhere.

Gibbon Rehab - Bang Poe Waterfall

Hi Dale4, We passed the gibbon rehab place on the way to the waterfall. It looked like the gibbons were caged, I%26#39;m not sure, but what I would say is that I can%26#39;t imagine you get to get so close you can groom the gibbons which is what we did with Richard. Also, if you%26#39;re doing it with Richard, is it worth doing a similar thing again? If they like it, I think you%26#39;d get more out of it by going to Richard%26#39;s rehab centre again.

As for the waterfall itself, I think there had been a lot of rainfall the month before we arrived and the waterfall was pretty unimpressive so I%26#39;d have to say so don%26#39;t bother doing that.

No kids in tow so can%26#39;t really offer any other suggestions but presumably a day%26#39;s snorkelling is on the agenda?

Hi Dale.

I live just a short way from the Gibbon Rehab centre and the waterfall. So I s%26#39;pose I have a different point of view from some of the others.

It all depends upon what you want. I have visited the waterfall at different times of the year, and have always enjoyed it. It is quiet mostly (particularly on week days) and not many tourists are there. The waterfall itself is pretty though not so dramatic, but it has pools of water to cool off in.

The Gibbon rehab Centre is just that. Its purpose is to rehabilitiate abused gibbons into the wild.

Sadly gibbons are captured from the wild to use as pets or for the tourist trade, ie photo opportunities in Bangla road. It is a very cruel practice, so no-one should support it by having their photos taken with baby gibbons. Apparently whole families of gibbons can be killed to catch one live baby. That%26#39;s why they are orphans. When the gibbons are too old to be cute, they can become aggressive, and that is when the abuse starts.

To rehabilitate them to the wild they must be isolated from humans to some degree. That is why you can%26#39;t touch them, but can view them from a distance, and also you can see the important work being done at the centre.

I think the centre is an excellent place to take kids, they can learn about wildlife, and appropriate interaction with it. It is not a zoo.

The gibbons at the elephant rehab centre, are as far as I understand are a different kettle of fish. I believe that they are so used to humans that they cannot be rehabilitated to the wild, but lead happy lives nonetheless. Also, it is the gibbons choice to interact with people, not the other way around. Richard is best placed to explain this, as I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting them.

There is an entry fee to the waterfall, I think it is 200 baht per head but this may have been increased. The Gibbon rehab get none of this money, and rely on volunteer workers and donations. So your visit is important to them too.

I hope to add this centre to the phuketalternativetours website, but I haven%26#39;t found anyone at their office on the main road yet, and I haven%26#39;t been in to the park for a while. Hopefully it will be on the site soon.

Whatever you choose, have a good holiday.

Regards,

Mark.

I have to support Mark in his comments. Good animal conservation is not always heartwarming and lovey dovey. The Gibbon Rehab Center is a quality program. Perhaps not entertaining - but that is not its purpose.

Whether it should be a tourist stop or not - up to you. But, they certainly would appreciate a couple bucks donation.

I would like to add, in retrospect, that it might be a VERY GOOD lesson for children to visit the Gibbon Rehab Center - to really understand how things work. Yes, not all fun and cute - but important, nonetheless.

Ted and I have had discussions before about the merits of the GIbbon rehab centre but he supports the concept and puts his money towards it good on him.

Visiting the Gibbon rehab centre and the waterfall were parts of a day long package and I was disppointed in both. Perhaps it was the hype given them in the brochures.

We visited in May and the waterfall was just that a ho hum waterfall.

The best part of the visit was the cold drinks in the shop afterwards.

If time is of the essence during your stay these two places would not come close to the top of %26#39;must see%26#39; in my itinary.

Mike from Wellington

I think I agree with you.

The waterfall, I agree, is nothing special. But I am not a waterfall person - unless it is unusually spectacular. Partly having to do with living for a couple years just a few hours drive from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

I am not sure that the Gibbon Rehab program is a tourist attraction - nor have I ever promoted it as such. While some people promote it that way - maybe they shouldn%26#39;t.

However, it is a good conservation program. But the two don%26#39;t always mix well (tourism and conservation).

For people who what to learn more about the issues involved - from a non-tourist perspective, please read their website:

http://www.gibbonproject.org/

Thank you to all the comments above - I understand all the concepts of donations/conservation etc and my children have a very empathetic look on life.

As our time in Phuket is limited we will wait until we get there to decide whether we get there or not.

Thanks again.

eye liner