The RHUGT Ladies Have a Mud Fight at an Elephant Sanctuary — What to Know About the Preserve

It wouldn’t be an ultimate girls’ trip without some breathtaking views, nights out on the town, and ... mud fights, which is precisely what the Housewives got during their vacation in Thailand.

On Season 3 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, which takes the women to Phuket, Thailand, The Real Housewives of New York City’s Leah McSweeney hosted an excursion and lunch for her fellow Housewives at the Green Elephant Sanctuary Park.

There, The Real Housewives of Potomac’s Gizelle Bryant and Candiace Dillard Bassett, The Real Housewives of Miami’s Alexia Nepola and Marysol Patton, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cousins Heather Gay and Whitney Rose, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Porsha Williams hoped for a day of hands-on fun and connection.

“As Housewives, a lot of our excursions are, like, dinners and lunches and fighting … yesterday was kind of a hot mess,” Leah told producers in reference to the RHUGT season premiere. “But elephants have healing powers, so hopefully, their calmness rubs off on the women.”

The ladies were introduced to rescued elephants both young and old, most of which were previously subjected to abuse and displacement, according to the sanctuary tour guides.

The elephant is seen as holy within Thai culture and revered as a national symbol of longevity and strength, per the reserve’s website.

RELATED: We Know Just How Wild Season 3 of RHUGT Is Going to Be Thanks to the Producers

“I am so glad we’re going to a sanctuary, even if it is big ass elephants,” said Porsha. “How can you not heal and come back together at a sanctuary? This is perfect. Bring back the bond.”

The women were led to a “feeding park” to give the animals shoots of sugar cane — but first, they were given the rules, such as to steer clear of petting the calves due to their protective mothers and not to be jumpy around specific elephants that had been subject to abuse.

As also explained on their website, many of the reserve’s inhabitants were ridden by humans, a practice proven to cause animals physical harm and emotional distress.

The women bonded with the elephants as they fed them, though the bonds might have been broken when one of the elephants sneezed in Whitney and Gizelle’s faces.

“This is not fun for me,” Gizelle admitted. “I did not travel halfway around the world to come and play with stinky animals.”

The tour guides then led the Housewives to a murky water hole where the elephants routinely bathed. The women were offered the chance to coat the elephants with the mud from the ground, which acts as a natural protectant against the sun; a treatment enjoyed by the creatures.

Photo: heather Gay/Instagram

Most of the women, including RHOSLC cousins Heather and Whitney, enjoyed the mud bath, though Gizelle appeared a bit apprehensive — up until Porsha threw a lump of mud at Gizelle.

Gizelle looked to Porsha, who played coy, and a nearby Marysol to glean who threw the mud. When Marysol pointed to Porsha, Porsha responded by throwing more sludge at the Miami Housewife, resulting in a full-on mud war among half the ladies.

“Oh my God, it actually smells like s--t,” Leah called out.

“This is s--t,” Porsha yelled. “This is not mud!”

Thankfully, a quick walk to the outdoor showers was all it took to remedy the situation before s--t really hit the fan.

The ladies cleaned themselves off before heading for a sit-down lunch at the sanctuary, where a table of floral arrangements and local dishes, including rice, wines, rolls, and shrimp waited. And though the ladies had just laughed their way through throwing elephant dung at one another, the lunch allowed more room for them to wind down and discuss some of the best and worst parts of being a part of the Real Housewives franchise.

To learn more, watch The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip only on Peacock. New episodes drop each Thursday.