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LCKI8KI8M<C��
A decade of dream trips
MARLON BRANDO’SSECRET ISLAND
THE ULTIMATEWINTER THRILLS
ultratravelThe Daily Telegraph
TH
ANNIVERSARY
1O
SUPPLEMENT OF THE YEAR WINTER 2014
special issue
&ANGELA MISSONI
HESTON BLUMENTHAL
JOHN SIMPSON
FIONA BRUCE
ALAIN DUCASSE
AMANDA WAKELEY
ANTHONY HOROWITZ
ALICE TEMPERLEY
The inspiraTion for your Jumeirah experience everywhere
Creating the world’s most luxurious hotel made us think differently.
Find your Jumeirah experience at jumeirah.com/experiences
The Bluepr inT
LCKI8KI8M<C��
TEN YEARS OF WOW
Ican scarcely believe that almost 10 years have passed since the first issue of Ultratravel landed on
doorsteps across Britain. Unashamedly aspirational, this glossy publication was dedicated to the finer things in
life: a guide to finding heaven on earth. That much has not changed. But a lot else has. In 2004 a phone was still
used for calls and the phrase “social media” was one more likely to be used to describe journalists’ penchant
for a post-work drink than the nation’s greatest pastime; Twitter, Instagram and YouTube did not even exist.
The Telegraph has always been at the forefront of adapting to people’s changing media habits, from launching
Britain’s first newspaper website in 1994 to creating one of the UK’s leading digital platforms for luxury travel.
Those who were quick to predict the decline of a magazine like ours in this new digital world got it wrong.
For this year has seen Ultratravel scale new heights – our autumn issue was a record size and we were delighted
to be awarded Colour Supplement of the Year in the 2014 Newspaper Awards.
As we celebrate our 10-year anniversary in this winter issue, I believe there are three things that set Ultratravel
apart. Firstly, in a world full of white noise, where everyone professes to be an expert, people are looking for an arbiter
of taste, quality and value. We understand that travel is not only about creature comforts, but also about access to the
greatest experiences on earth, and recognise that whatever the price of the trip, it has to be one worth paying.
Secondly, we recognise that travel is both an emotional and a lifestyle choice. People need escapism, hence our
emphasis on inspirational writing and engaging photography that can take us there. Travel is also inseparable from
fashion, style and beauty – where you go and what you take on holiday all say something about you.
Finally, it is about trust. Unlike some publications, we do not cut corners. Everything you read in these pages
we have tried, tested and found worthy. If we recommend it, it is worth doing. Here’s a welcome dose of winter
escapism and here’s to another great 10 years.
1OTH
EDITOR
special ANNIVERSARY
LCKI8KI8M<C��
CONTENTS
Gabriella Le Breton
A snow-fiend who has skied
since she was two, Gabriella
still takes childlike pleasure
in discovering a new resort
or mountain restaurant. This
year she will be heli-skiing in
Iceland – “from virgin peaks
down to the ocean, before
retiring to a luxury lodge”.
Photographer Tim McKenna
A Fitzroy Salperton yacht sails by
Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Angela Missoni
Although she has houses
in Venice and Lake
Como, the Italian fashion
designer says there is
nothing she likes more
than “walking around in
a foreign place, shopping
for unusual or weird
souvenirs, fabrics and
clothes, objects and
jewels”. One of her most
recent finds?
“A beautiful orange
nightgown for my
daughter, Teresa,
from GoodEarth in
New Dehli”.
Sara Wheeler
The Fellow of the Royal
Society of Literature has
written several books on the
polar regions, including the
acclaimed Terra Incognita:
Travels in Antarctica. This
winter she plans to travel to
Lake Baikal, in Siberia, to
finish her book on Russia.
Nigel Tisdall
A regular contributor to
Ultratravel, Nigel has sailed
a £30m yacht around the
Caribbean and trekked the
jungles of Guyana. In this
issue, he island-hops through
French Polynesia and hopes
next to drive a 1957
Chevrolet around Cuba.
Simon John Owen
The London-based
photographer says he never
quite knows where he’ll be
the next week. “Within 24
hours of photographing lion
in the Serengeti,” he says,
“I was capturing Paddington
Bear enjoying afternoon tea
at the Mandarin Oriental.”
CONTRIBUTORS
FOR THE
LATEST IN
LUXURY TRAVEL
telegraph.co.uk/luxurytravel
Features30 The high life Our ski specialists review the most thrilling
luxury experiences on the slopes this winter, from snow safaris
in Sweden and gourmet dining in the wilderness to learning how
to make your own bespoke snowboard
40 Island of Bounty Marlon Brando’s private atoll in French
Polynesia is now home to an exclusive resort. Nigel Tisdall checks
in to The Brando, then sets off round the South Pacific to review
the best of the rest
50 Ten years of Ultratravel What makes a journey
unforgettable? Our finest contributors recall their favourite
moments over the past decade, from learning to be a cowboy,
and being transported by helicopter for a mountain-top picnic,
to visiting Captain Scott’s hut in Antarctica
60 Creatures in comfort A self-drive Land Rover safari through
Tanzania’s northern Serengeti puts Charles Starmer-Smith at
the heart of the greatest migration on earth
Regulars13 The next big thing Geometric hotels; how to see the 2015
solar eclipse in Scandinavia; famous restaurants on the move;
Barcelona‘s new superyacht marina; and hotel openings in Paris,
New York, China, India and Mozambique
17 Accessories The best in fashion, jewellery, beauty,
watches and gadgets
26 Aficionado Olivier Krug, the winemaker, on taking selfies,
being seduced by distinctive scents around the globe, and
how best to enjoy champagne
29 Upfront with John Simpson Buenos Aires is vibrant,
bookish, delightfully old fashioned – and incredibly misunderstood,
says the BBC’s world affairs editor
69 Intelligence The best times to see Europe’s hotspots in 2015;
why Skibo Castle in Scotland is the ultimate member’s club;
a masterclass in how to make the perfect cup of tea; and the
Ferragamo’s new penthouse suite in Florence
74 Travelling life Angela Missoni, the Italian fashion designer,
on the French spa she returns to every year, the most practical
brand of luggage, and her favourite places to eat in Venice
ultratravel Editor Charles Starmer-Smith Creative director Johnny Morris Deputy editor Lisa Grainger
Sub-editor Kate Quill Photography editor Joe Plimmer Contributing editor John O’Ceallaigh
Executive publisher for Ultratravel Limited Nick Perry Publisher Toby Moore
Advertising inquiries 07768 106322 (Nick Perry) 020 7931 3039 (Chelsea Bradbury)
Ultratravel, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT Twitter @TeleLuxTravel
Hot spots Le Taha’a Private Island in
French Polynesia (page 47)
Bossa Nova – Coming Soon
THE ORIGINAL – THE LUGGAGE WITH THE GROOVES
BOSSA NOVA – travel in style and do goodOut of solidarity with Brazil, this extraordinary range is only being manufactured in the Brazilian factory. And there is another special feature: RIMOWA is donating a proportion of the sales proceeds to the organization Saúde e Alegria, in order to support projects in the Amazon region.
www.rimowa.com www.saudeealegria.org.br
Te moment you kept moving,
while time stood still.
U N F O R G E T TA B L E . S I N C E 1 9 0 7.
There’s something about the big city that can
bring you closer together. A long walk along a
cobblestoned street. An overdue date night at
an Art Deco cinema. With the romantic Savoy
connecting you to London in a genuinely new way,
there’s no telling where your trip will take you.
Call 00 800 0441 1414 or visit Fairmont.com
to connect to the right experience in
over 20 countries.
9:13 PM
LCKI8KI8M<C���
BY JOHN O’CEALLAIGH
What’s coming up in the world of luxury travel, from geometric hotels and globetrotting chefs to superyacht marinas
SHAPING THE FUTURE
Could a building’s form, in future, be the deciding
reason for booking it? The Czech architects
Atelier 8000 certainly think so. If their plans for the
Kezmarske Hut lodge (above) come to pass, it
will be easy to imagine design buffs trekking up
Slovakia’s Tatra Mountains to see it for themselves.
The proposed lodge resembles a gigantic Rubik’s
Cube that has been wedged precariously into the earth, and has been
conceived as a retreat for mountaineers.
Similarly geometric structures have already been built in several
places around the world. In the past year, Leaprus 3912 (visitcaucasus.
ru) has opened 12,834ft up Mount Elbrus: a 49-bed refuge composed of
four elongated tubes. Opening this month beside a lake an hour outside
Beijing, the Sunrise Kempinski Hotel (kempinski.com) is equally
incongruous. Designed to resemble the rising sun – symbolic in modern
China – it has among its five-star facilities nine restaurants and a spa.
Further south in China, the recently opened Sheraton Huzhou Hot
Spring Resort (starwoodhotels.com) is a horseshoe-shaped structure by
Lake Taihu, and near the region’s extraordinary limestone formations.
Of course, an unconventional exterior might not be enough to
attract guests. The 105-floor, pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel
(ryugyonghotel.com) in Pyongyang was due to open in the Eighties but
it remains incomplete and unoccupied to this day.
Geometry set
(clockwise from
above) The planned
Kezmarske Hut in
Slovakia; the Sunrise
Kempinski near
Beijing; the unfinished
Ryugyong Hotel in
North Korea; Sheraton
Huzhou Hot Spring
Resort; Leaprus 3912
the NEXTBIGTHING
���LCKI8KI8M<C�
Yet more reasons to visit
those quintessential city-
break destinations, Paris
and New York, in the next
few months. Over the
Channel, the new intimate
40-bedroom La Réserve
Hotel, Spa and
Apartments Paris
(lareserve-paris.com),
designed by Jacques-Garcia,
will open just off Palais de
l’Elysée. Meanwhile, in New
York, The Knickerbocker
(theknickerbocker.com) will
feature a Charlie Palmer
restaurant and rooftop bar
(above) with views of
Times Square.
Less conventional
destinations are also luring
travellers with the promise
of a new place to stay.
On a private island in
Mozambique, adults-only
Anantara Medjumbe
Island (medjumbe.
anantara.com) resort will
be a place to rejuvenate;
it opens in December.
In January in Australia,
Pumphouse Point
(pumphousepoint.com.au)
opens as an 18-bedroom
boutique hotel seemingly
afloat on the southern
hemisphere’s deepest lake,
Tasmania’s Lake St Clair.
A Unesco World Heritage
site and one of the
birthplaces of Taoism,
China’s Qing Cheng
Mountains will be more
accessible in February,
when Six Senses Qing
Cheng (sixsenses.com)
opens nearby. For a more
cosmopolitan break, there’s
the The Penthouse hotel
in Calcutta, due to have
a soft opening in spring.
Operated by the city’s
Prakash family, the nine-
bedroom property stands
atop an all-glass block. It is
set to be the chicest place
to stay for travellers – many
of whom will also have
visited the family’s Glenburn
Tea Estate (glenburntea
estate.com) in Darjeeling.
Unable to make it to a well-regarded but
distant restaurant? Wait long enough and
the chefs might come to you. In January
and February René Redzepi will relocate
Cophenhagen’s Noma (noma.dk), named
the best restaurant in the world, to the
Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo (mandarin
oriental.com), giving the hotel’s Asian
cuisine a Scandi slant. More ambitiously,
Heston Blumenthal will relocate The Fat
Duck to Melbourne for six months, to the
Crown Tower Resorts (thefatduck
melbourne.com). Closer to home, Harrods
(harrods.com) has taken on chefs from
some of Italy’s best restaurants. With seven
Michelin stars between them, the teams
from Torre del Saracino on the Amalfi coast
(torredelsaracino.it), Enoteca Pinchiorri in
Florence (enotecapinchiorri.it) and Piazza
Duomo in Alba (piazzaduomoalba.it) will
take it in turns to run pop-up restaurants
on the premises until January.
Could the superyachting community
spurn Monaco’s gilded charms for
Barcelona? Yes, if OneOcean Ventures
has its way. Having acquired the
city’s Marina Port Vell, the company
has opened OneOcean Club
(oneoceanclub.es). The superyacht
club has a 400-cover restaurant,
overseen by Llorenç Valls, former head
chef of Arzak in San Sebastián, and
is twinned with the Rybovich
Superyacht Marina in Florida.
z HOT HOTEL OPENINGS
RO
BE
RT
SH
AD
BO
LT; G
ETT
Y
Although total eclipses – during which the Moon
totally blocks the light of the sun – can be seen
somewhere on Earth every year or two, they are
very rarely seen in Europe. Which is why there is
mounting excitement about the next total solar eclipse, on
March 20 2015, which will be visible in northern Scandinavia.
Normally at this time of year above the Arctic Circle, the
sun is only just beginning to show after six months of winter
darkness. On March 20, though, no sooner will it have come
up than its light will be blocked by the Moon passing in front
of it, casting an eerie glow on to the snow and ice around.
Good viewing is predicted around Svalbard (svalbard2015.
no) in northern Norway, which has several extremely
comfortable places in which to stay. Real explorers might
enjoy Basecamp Explorer’s (basecampexplorer.com) 100-
year-old ice-bound schooner, Noorderlicht, accessible only by
dog-sled or snowmobiles, while those who like creature
comforts might prefer the converted radio station, Isfjord
Radio, or the warm Trapper’s Hotel, whose wooden interiors
are decorated with the odd polar-bear skin.
Tour operators offering trips to see the eclipse – and
perhaps the Northern Lights – include Nordic Experience
(01206 708888; nordicexperience.co.uk), whose four-day trip
to the Faroe Islands costs from £2,495, and Wexas Travel
(020 7590 0618; wexas.com), whose seven-day Spitsbergen
trip costs from £4,995. This isn’t a journey that can be put off
– while there will be a total eclipse in America in 2017, and
several in the next decade in the southern hemisphere, the
next total eclipse anywhere near us will be in 2081 in
central Europe, and in Britain in 2090. More information
from visitnorway.co.uk. Lisa Grainger
z DARK SIDE OF THE SUN
z JET-SET CHEFS
Fire and ice A total solar eclipse
will be visible next year in northern
Scandinavia. Places to stay include
Noorderlicht (below left) and Isfjord
Radio (below) in Svalbard, Norway
z BARCELONA’S SUPERCLUB ONtrend:
RE
UTE
RS
the NEXTBIGTHING
SAIL INTOA NEW
PERSPECTIVE
For more information or to book please call 0844 251 0835, visit silversea.com or contact your travel agent.
LCKI8KI8M<C���
Northern lights
ULTRAfashion
“This winter, wrap yourself in a
sculptural coat that is both luxurious
and as light as air. Choose pampering
cloud-soft cashmere in pale sugared-
almond shades for chilly evenings,
and fine, tightly woven wool for rainy
days. Complement this season’s
feminine shift dresses with thigh-high
boots and a supersized clutch
to create an urban look that’s cool
but comfortable, no matter
what the weather
HA
IR A
ND
MA
KE
-UP
: KR
YSTL
E G
USIN
G B
OB
BI B
RO
WN
; MO
DE
L: A
LEX
AN
DR
A @
PR
OFIL
E. S
TYLI
ST’
SA
SSIS
TAN
T: F
RE
DE
RIC
ALO
VE
LL-P
AN
K
Grey oversized wool coat £2,750,
Hermès (020 7499 8856; hermes.com).
White silk cady dress £1,575,
Chloé (020 7730 1234; harrods.com).
Buffalo-calf and python-skin
hexagonal chain bag £2,995,
Victoria Beckham (020 7042 0700;
victoriabeckham.com).
Grey suede thigh-high Annie boots
£1,600, Gianvito Rossi (0207 499 9133;
gianvitorossi.com).
Four-wheel Topas Titanium
cabin suitcase £790, Rimowa
(001 519 653 1445; rimowa.com).
Photographed at the new Mondrian
London hotel (0808 234 9523;
morganshotelgroup.com).
PHOTOGRAPHY JOE PLIMMER
“
Arabella Boyce
���LCKI8KI8M<C�
Mascote snake ring by De Grisogono
Fawaz Gruosi, the Geneva jeweller’s creative
director, has been visiting Africa for years to find
rare stones. This snake ring is made from mammoth
tooth and 18ct rose gold, set with 67 brown
diamonds and two white diamonds. £16,200, by
De Grisogono (020 7499 2225; degrisogono.com)
1
Zebra ring by Boucheron
A monkey, lion cub and gazelle are just some of
the menagerie in Boucheron’s glittering collection.
This zebra ring is set in 18ct white gold with
diamonds, sapphires and a ruby or an emerald.
POA, by Boucheron (020 7514 9170; boucheron.com)
Earrings by Hemmerle
Ancient Egyptian influences are often glimpsed in
the designs of Hemmerle, whose co-owner hails from
North Africa. These disc earrings studded with rocks
of Mozambique garnet look native, but are crafted
in the Munich atelier in white gold and copper, and
set with Mozambique and spessartite garnets. POA,
by Hemmerle (0049 89 242 2600; hemmerle.com)
Sabre earrings by Shaun Leane
Tusk shapes and tribal motifs are a favourite of the London jeweller.
These fine “tusk” earrings of 18ct white gold are set with Gemfields’
Zambian emeralds, and are designed to swing as the wearer moves.
POA, by Shaun Leane (020 7493 9601; shaunleane.com)
Horn necklace
by Penny Winter
“This was conceived to
be the antithesis of a
couture piece,” says the
Kenyan-based Irish
designer Penny Winter. The
necklace is made with
2,500 carats of Zambian
amethyst beads and
18ct gold-plated Nigerian
beads on a simple horn
collar. POA, by Penny
Winter (020 7851 7140;
pennywinter.com)
Zebra bangle by Cartier
A complicated puzzle, the
L’Odyssée de Cartier Parcours
d’un Style bracelet is made of
white gold with onyx, garnets
and diamonds. POA, by Cartier
(020 3147 4850; cartier.co.uk)
Continental shift
2
3
4
6
5
ULTRA
Once, Africa was mined only for its gems,
from egg-sized diamonds to emeralds,
rubies and amethysts. Today jewellery
designers are turning to the continent for
inspiration, too. As Cartier’s Jacqueline
Karachi-Langane says: “Africa not only
has brilliant colours and stones, but
incredible warmth, patterns and rhythms.”
This precious African odyssey, it seems,
has only just begun Caragh McKay
jewels
CO
RB
IS
‚‚
‚‚
123Go! promotion is applicable to new bookings made in Ocean View stateroom categories and above between 15 November 2014 and 28 February 2015 on selected sailings departing between March 2015 and April 2017. Interior staterooms are not applicable to the promotion. Guests can choose ONE of either: Complimentary Classic
Alcoholic drinks package, up to $300 Onboard Spend or Free Gratuities. Guests can choose TWO of these benefts for European sailings. Book Concierge Class or above to recieve all THREE benefts on any applicable sailings. The 123Go! promotion is applicable to eligible guests aged 18 and over on the date of any European, South
America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand departing sailing and 21 on any departing North American sailing will receive a Complimentary Classic Alcoholic drinks package for the 1st & 2nd guest in the stateroom only. Passenger date of birth information must be provided at the time of booking before the drinks package can be
applied. This is a legal requirement. Please drink responsibly. Eligible guests under the specifed age limits specifed can request a Non Alcoholic Classic drinks package instead and free 40 minutes internet usage. Internet usage is per cruise, has no cash value and is not redeemable for cash. The onboard spend amounts are per stateroom
and vary by ship & sailing date. The 123Go! promotion is combinable with Captains Club loyalty savings vouchers & 1 Category Stateroom Upgrade, Shareholders benefts, Back to Back Sailings Ofer, Reduced Third & Fourth rates, Future Cruise Certifcates only and the benefts ofered by booking onboard via our Future Cruise Consultants
(Cruise Now or Cruise Later Bookings only). 123Go Evergreen benefts ofered onboard for Cruise Now bookings are not combinable with this 123Go promotion. Interior staterooms and Z, Y, X, XC, XA and W guarantee staterooms are not eligible to beneft from this promotion. 7. For full ofer terms & conditions including a list of applicable
sailings, visit www.celebritycruises.co.uk or contact your travel agent. 8. This publicity is issued by RCL Cruises Ltd (company no. 07366612), t/a Celebrity Cruises 3 The Heights, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0NY
CELEBRITYCRUISES@CELEBRITYCRUISE CELEBRITYCRUISES
Welcome to modern luxury. A unique holiday experience where you’ll savour exquisite cuisine, unwind in sumptuous
accommodation and be treated to exemplary service morning, noon and night. Where you’ll wake up in a beautiful
new destination, every day. And for a limited time only – when you book a Concierge Class stateroom or above on
any sailing before 28 February you’ll enjoy three enticing ofers.
Hurry, when a holiday this exclusive is now all-inclusive – don’t miss out, book yours today.
YOUR MOST EXCLUSIVE HOLIDAY
IS NOW ALL-INCLUSIVE TOO
VISIT CELEBRITYCRUISES.CO.UK/ULTRA | CALL 0800 441 4056 | CONTACT YOUR TRAVEL AGENT
FREE GRATUITIESFREE DRINKS ONBOARD SPEND
LCKI8KI8M<C���
1 Antioxidants, which neutralise free radicals,
the molecules that age skin, are integral to
anti-ageing creams. Acure Organics Chlorella
+ Edelweiss Stem Cell Eye Cream uses
edelweiss, the small, white, antioxidant-rich
Swiss flower, to treat the wrinkle-prone area
around the eyes.
Swiss beauty treatments are enjoying a renaissance
as lovers of the outdoors increasingly turn to products that
combine healing herbs and high-tech science. Alpine plants
such as gentian, edelweiss and alpenrose have evolved over
millennia to resist wind, snow, rocky soil and intense UV
exposure. If their botanical make-up can protect plants in those
conditions, imagine what it can do for the skin
Kate Shapland
ULTRAbeauty
Flower power
“
“
5 The science behind the best Swiss spas
means their products have credibility.
La Prairie Cellular Swiss Ice Crystal Cream,
developed at Clinique La Prairie spa in
Montreux, uses stem-cell technology and
Alpine botanicals to hydrate and firm the
skin, and help it combat stress.
2 Gentian is an anti-inflammatory and
antiseptic herb that soothes the skin – so it is
ideal for use in a cleansing formula. Clarins
Cleansing Milk with Alpine Herbs is a gentle,
softening milk cleanser that doesn’t feel
harsh or astringent.
1 Antioxidants, which neutralise free radicals,
the molecules that age skin, are integral to
anti-ageing creams. Acure Organics Chlorella
+ Edelweiss Stem Cell Eye Cream uses
edelweiss, the small, white, antioxidant-rich
Swiss flower, to treat the wrinkle-prone area
around the eyes.
3 Seven Alpine herbs are the magic
ingredients in the S5 skincare line. The herbs
are thought to inhibit tyrosinase, the enzyme
responsible for triggering skin pigmentation.
SF Illuminate Serum will keep skin looking
bright and dewy.
4 The antioxidant herb echinacea became
fashionable in the Thirties when it was
discovered that Native American tribes used
it to treat colds. It has since found its way
into beauty treatments – the herbalist
A Vogel grows it organically in Roggwil
for use in its Echinacea Crème.
MA
RTI
N R
USC
H/F
OLI
O-I
D.C
OM
1 Acure Organics Chlorella + Edelweiss Stem Cell Eye Cream £9.35 (mynaturalmarket.com)
2 Clarins Cleansing Milk with Alpine Herbs £19 (clarins.co.uk) 3 S5 Illuminate Serum £44
(myshowcase.com) 4 A Vogel Echinacea Crème £5.99 (avogel.co.uk) 5 La Prairie Cellular
Swiss Ice Crystal Cream £210 (laprairie.co.uk)
���LCKI8KI8M<C�
Few luxury brands are so
inextricably linked with travel as
the luggage-maker Louis Vuitton,
so it’s no surprise the firm has
designed a globetrotter’s watch.
The Escale Worldtime covers all
24 time zones, and has a colourful
face (which takes 50 hours to hand-
paint) featuring the names of major
world cities. The round case with
riveted lugs was inspired by a design
for motoring luggage found in the
Vuitton archive Simon de Burton
TIME& PLACE
Patek Philippe
World Time 5130
£44,060 (platinum), £30,520 (gold)
(020 7493 8866; patek.com).
The mechanism that powers
Patek Philippe’s world timepieces
was invented in 1937 by Louis
Cottier to show “home time” on
a conventional pair of hands while
also showing the hour in 24 capitals
on a numbered, rotating disc.
Pressing the push button on the
top left enables the local city time
to be aligned with 12 o’clock
on the inner dial. The hands
correct, leaving the remaining 23
cities aligned with the appropriate
number on the outer ring.
THREE MORE WORLD-TIME WATCHES
ULTRAwatches
Vacheron Constantin
Patrimony Traditionnelle
World Time
£39,350 (020 7578 9500;
vacheron-constantin.com).
This is possibly the ultimate world
timepiece. While most world-time
watches show the time
simultaneously in 24 cities, the
Patrimony Traditionnelle does so
in a remarkable 37, including those
that are offset by 15 minutes
or half an hour. The watch includes
many ingenious features, among
them the central sapphire
dial, half of which is tinted and
half clear to indicate night
and day in different locations.
2 To determine the time in any of
the 24 time zones on the dial, the
wearer looks for the relevant city
initials and reads the number on
the adjacent section of the hour
disc. The minutes are displayed
beneath the vertical yellow arrow.
1 The Escale’s mechanical
movement drives three discs which
form the dial: the large, static outer
disc shows the initials of the cities;
the central disc shows the hours,
and is divided in to black and white
halves to show whether it is day
or night; the small, inner disc
shows the minutes.
3 The blazons that decorate the
dial – handpainted in 38 colours –
are based on old designs by
Gaston-Louis Vuitton, the grandson
of the company’s founder,
who created patterns based on
the sound of a person’s name.
For example, the symbol of
a family called Poiret comprises
a green pea (for pois) and a
series of vertical lines (rayes).
4 Unlike most world-time watches
that are adjusted using push
pieces, the Escale is set using the
winding crown which operates in
clockwise and anti-clockwise
directions – meaning that a
mistake can easily be corrected
without having to scroll through
each of the destination cities to get
back to the one required.
5 Although it houses
218 components, the white-
gold case of the Escale Worldtime
is just 1.6in in diameter and just
over half an inch thick. It is
also waterproof down to 98ft, so
it will survive a dip in the
swimming pool or ocean.
Rolex GMT Master
£5,950, with black and blue bezel
(020 7024 7300; rolex.com).
The Rolex GMT Master dates back
to 1955 when it was developed for
Pan American Airways, which
wanted to equip its transatlantic
pilots with a watch that showed
the times of the departing and
destination cities. The basic design
remains the same today, with
a rotating bezel calibrated into
24 hours and divided in to halves,
one representing night and the
other day. The 24-hour hand can
be set to show the destination time
on the bezel, leaving the main
hour hand on “home time”.
LCKI8KI8M<C���
ULTRAtech
1 Sphelar Solar Flashlight $150/£93 (001 212 708 9888;
momastore.org). Using spherical solar cells that can capture
light from all directions, this Japanese torch comes with a
wooden base to hold it in place while it soaks up the sun.
It gives four hours of LED light from a single charge.
2 Poc Receptor Bug Communication €220/£171
(0046 8717 4050; pocsports.com). This snow-sports helmet
comes with built-in Beats headphones and a remote control,
which let skiers listen to music and take calls on the slopes.
Mark Wilson, Ultratravel’s gear and gadgets guru, selects innovative cold-weather kit for winter travellers
2
5
6
3
3
2
3 Kolon Sport Life Tech £1,527
(020 7381 6433; seymourpowell.com).
Designed to help explorers survive
in extreme conditions, this jacket
features a first-aid kit, a heating
system that gives seven hours
of warmth, and a wind turbine
to power GPS devices.
4 Jones Ultracraft Splitboard £786
(001 360 393 4741; jonessnowboards.
com). Splitboards are snowboards that
divide into skis to allow riders to
tackle different terrain. This light board
has been designed from scratch as
two skis that join together, rather than
as a single piece cut in two.
5 Voyager Expedition Flask £74 (01349 884111; dalvey.com).
Stainless-steel 95ml hip flask with an inbuilt military-standard
compass: a practical combination tool that helps adventurers
to keep warm while finding their way.
6 Arctic Cat Bearcat 2000 XT $9,100/£5,680
(001 218 681 3162; arcticcat.com).
A powerful all-rounder in cold conditions,
this snowmobile has a high windshield,
passenger wind-deflectors, adjustable
suspension and an electric
start button to keep journeys fast and
comfortable. Ice-fishing equipment
can be stowed under the seat.
4
3
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OLIVIER KRUG CHAMPAGNE CONNOISSEURA remote French island, Japan’s volcanoes and glass-blowing in Venice are favourite subjects for the vintner’s Instagram account
Olivier Krug is the sixth generation to make
champagne in his family’s cellars in Reims.
“It’s true that one of the very first things any
Krug child tastes is champagne,” he says. “It’s in our
blood.” Today, the champagne house owns hundreds
of plots in the Champagne region, and creates a
Grande Cuvée every year by blending up to 120 new
and reserve vintage wines, and laying them down for
20 years. Having spent 47 years honing his tastes, the
vintner knows what improves bubbly wine – and
destroys it. “Don’t drink champagne too cold; you
lose the flavour. Avoid champagne flutes; the glass
should be slightly wider, to allow the liquid room to
express itself. And don’t think that putting a silver
spoon upside down in a bottle will keep the bubbles.
It won’t.” Krug says his four children call him “the
oldest man on Instagram. I take selfies and snaps
wherever I go, like this view from my office [above]”.
Here, he muses on a lifetime of travel.
Heaven to me is the Ile d’Yeu, right, the farthest French island from
the mainland, where I have a house. On holiday, I go out most days
in my boat on my own and fish for seabass, which I like to barbecue
or roast in salt. With a bit of olive oil, it is so delicious.
The southern Amakusa islands of Japan, above, are incredible:
really rural and volcanic. There’s a triangle of them: Kumamoto on
the far west, with lots of active volcanoes, Kyushu on the other side,
with hot sand baths, and in the south Kagoshima, where a volcano
erupted a couple of years ago. It feels very raw and ancient.
Watching artisans in Venice is always inspiring. Seeing them blow
glass, they way they have for centuries, or weaving velvet on 12th-century looms, makes you
realise that even in this high-tech world, old traditions haven’t died;
they’ve become more ingrained.§
‚‚
Seeing the Lipizzaner
horses in Austria is
always an extraordinary
experience. They are
white, incredibly
beautiful and so well
trained. I’ve been to the
stud farm where
they’re bred: it’s
hundreds of years old
and run like a fine
hotel.
Most countries have a
memorable smell. In Japan it’s
of clean air. In Corsica it’s herbs.
In Greece it’s ripe tomatoes and
figs. In Reims, where I live, it’s cut
grass, because even though it’s a
city, people have gardens.
One of the tastiest things on earth is the
Eastern matsutake, left, which is a bit
like a truffle or a cep. It’s pure and rich and
crisp and soft all at the same time. The most
delicious way to eat it is on a grill, with a
half-drop of yuzu citrus oil to give it a kick.
‚‚
Availability may be extremely limited, particularly during peak periods. Price is in GBP per person based on two adults sharing Avis car hire in lowest car group with insurance with return fights from London Gatwick to Alicante, Pisa or Nice for selected travel between 01/01/15-15/03/15. Prices correct as of 23/10/14. Bookings must be made by midnight 14/12/14. Some payment methods attract a handling fee. Holidays are ATOL protected (number ATOL5985). For full terms and conditions, visit ba.com.
Travelling together certainly has its rewards
SpainFlights + 7 days car hire from
£99pp
ItalyFlights + 7 days car hire from
£119pp
FranceFlights + 7 days car hire from
£139pp
Enjoy great savings when booking your fight and car together. Join the Executive club and enjoy additional
benefts from our partnership with Avis.
Book by 14 December at ba.com/avis
LCKI8KI8M<C���
new poetry, new books of essays.
Argentina has the highest number of
book-buyers in Latin America: 74 per
cent. (Don’t ask what Britain’s figure is.)
Magazines and newspapers pump out
provocative, challenging stuff. The
cinemas show excellent movies which
rarely make it to Britain, with the notable
exception of The Secret in Their Eyes in
2009, a police thriller which managed to
be genuinely life-enhancing. The little
art galleries in places like the old port
district of La Boca contain things you
actually want to buy. The restaurants and
cafés are renowned, even in Latin
America. And bookshops, cinemas, art
galleries, restaurants and cafés are full at
midnight, and many stay open till dawn.
So let’s suppose you’re staying at
the Alvear Palace Hotel in Recoleta:
expensive, though not as pricey as
London, Paris or New York, and stunning:
a Thirties vision of a belle epoque hotel
which always reminds me of the Rita
Hayworth film Gilda. At 9pm, it’s too
early to eat, but it’s a good time to take in
a few shops and have an aperitif or three:
a Hesperidina, perhaps, with its bitter
orange taste, with a few slices of chorizo.
Wander on to the Plaza San Martín,
past the side-street Calle Maipú, where
the anglophile polymath Jorge Luis
Borges (1899-1986) lived, and where, in
his blind old age, he used to test visiting
Anglo-Saxons by quoting Beowulf in the
original, and asking them what it was.
(Fortunately someone had tipped me off.)
After the magnificent cool beauty of the
darkened Plaza San Martín, with its
ghostly statues and its vast ombú trees,
you turn into Florida, the ever-delightful
pedestrian-only street, which at night is
buzzing with people looking for a good
night out. The last time I walked down it,
a sensationally beautiful guitarist was
playing an introspective piece of porteño
music: by Victor Villadangos, maybe.
I don’t want to give you a false
impression; BA has as many drunks,
beggars and bores as anywhere else. But
they won’t target you because you’re from
Britain. At a time of economic crisis the
government may make a fuss about the
Falklands, but few ordinary people could
care less. And in Argentina, as in so many
parts of the world, people feel they have a
special relationship with the British.
Let’s round off the evening in a
restaurant – not somewhere fancy, but a
good old place famous for its steaks and
fried potatoes. Since Buenos Aires is one
of the most class-conscious places on
earth, my grander friends turn up their
noses at the Palacio de la Papa Frita in
Corrientes Avenue. But with its hard-
working waiters, who bustle round
carrying unimaginably large silver trays
laden with vast steaks and delicate discs
of sautéed potatoes, it is part of the soul
of Buenos Aires.
The place doesn’t get really full till
eleven, and by midnight there’ll be
a general roar of enjoyment. If the waiter
lets it be known that you are from Britain,
someone will probably send you over
a carafe of good, rough Argentine red.
Buenos Aires can be infuriating, but it
is also one of the civilised world’s great
jewels. Ignore the headlines and sample
it for yourself.
Journalists like me have a lot to
answer for, force-feeding images
into people’s minds that are
almost impossible to get rid of.
What mental pictures, for
instance, do you have of Argentina? Angry
demos denouncing Britain, ludicrously
be-medalled generals on balconies, lines
of gloomy prisoners being shepherded
by British soldiers, Jeremy Clarkson
(a particularly enjoyable one, this) hiding
under his hotel bed? So you’ll probably
find it hard to believe that Argentina is
one of the finest countries on earth to
visit – especially for a Brit.
I even enjoyed it during the Falklands
War, when everyone, except for secret
policemen and the occasional gang of far-
right thugs, was unfailingly welcoming.
I first arrived at my grand hotel in Buenos
Aires assuming I might be handed over to
the military death squads. Warily, I gave
my name to the assistant manager. “Ah,
yes, Mr Simpson, the BBC has left a
message asking you to call.”
“An extraordinary misunderstanding,”
I blathered. “I can’t think how it can have
arisen.” He looked at me quizzically for
a moment, like a character in a Thirties
black-and-white comedy, then said, “I
understand completely, sir. But may I just
say if you had been from the BBC, what a
pleasure it would have been to welcome
you.” It was the start of a lifelong affection.
Sure, the economy staggers from one
crisis to the next, politics is a century-long
disaster, and it’s a long time since there
was a sensible president. Yet the cultural
life of Buenos Aires thrives regardless.
The bookshops are full of new novels,
Banish negative images of Buenos Aires you’ve seen on the news, says our globetrotter. It’s a supremely cultured city
Argentina has the highest number of book-buyers in South America, the
cinemas show excellent movies and the galleries contain things you actually
want to buy
UP FRONT
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JOHN SIMPSON
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mountainHIGHS
It’s not just to ski that we head for the hills, but to
seek experiences as rarefied as the high-altitude
air. Ultratravel’s snow specialists select the
ultimate winter thrills, from heli-skiing in Canada
to Michelin-starred dining on the slopes
PHOTOGRAPHS BY SIMON JOHN OWEN
THE BEST GOURMET WEEKEND
Courmeyeur, Italy
Having just spent three days with a trio of Britain’s leading
chefs in Italy’s Val d’Aosta, I think I can say with some
certainty that I will never eat like this again while skiing.
There is always good food in Courmeyeur, and so many restaurants
that in a week one could eat lunch and dinner in a different place
every day. But this year, the area became the ultimate gourmet ski
destination, thanks to the passion of chef Heston Blumenthal and
co-owner of Momentum Ski, Amin Momen, who brought together
their twin loves – of food and skiing – to create the area’s first
Mountain Gourmet Ski Experience.
The Italian ski area has long been known for its food. Bordered
by France and Switzerland, its menus feature hearty Aostan dishes
such as carbonada (beef and red-wine stew) and mocetta (goat-
ham prosciutto), as well as local specialities such as fontina cheese,
Arnad lard and Jambon de Bosses. But with Blumenthal whipping up
such creations as a dry-ice-infused mid-morning “Black Forest
gâteau hot-chocolate drink” (which involved adding flavoured dry-
ice vapour, a black cherry and a posh version of a Mr Kipling slice),
and his two Michelin-starred British compatriots Marcus Wareing
and Sat Bains competing to create ever-more inventive menus, the
area’s ingredients were taken to whole new heights.
Creating the dishes, apparently, was almost as challenging for the
chefs as the skiing. As Blumenthal put it: “Cooking in a mountain
restaurant where we’ve never cooked before is quite a test. But f
LCKI8KI8M<C���
Top grub British chef Marcus
Wareing (far left) serves tiramisu
at a Mountain Gourmet Ski
Experience dinner. Heston
Blumenthal (left), who served
up Black Forest-infused hot
chocolate (below); Sat Bains’
roast scallops with charred
leeks (below left); wooden
mountain refuge (bottom)
Rush
MAUR IT IUS REUNION MALD IVES CH INA U .A . E (2016) | LUXRESORTS.COM
The Team Members of LUX* help people to celebrate life with
the most simple, fresh and sensory hospitality in the world.
LCKI8KI8M<C���
e it is a great way to bring people together to celebrate this
beautiful region. And some of the food around here is so good that
sometimes it almost makes me want to cry.”
There was certainly an extraordinary collection of international
foodies coming together in two rooms: more than 40 guests from all
over the globe, from Holland and the United States to Brunei and
Oman. And the chefs didn’t disappoint: each cooking a distinctive
menu for two nights running, with guests trying one chef’s offering
on the first night, and then the other chef’s the next night, while
sampling local restaurants at lunch in between.
While both chefs made use of the local ingredients, their menus
were very different. Wareing’s began with Alpine rainbow trout with
egg and chowder, and moved on to Herdwick lamb, broccoli and
almonds, with potatoes, fontina cheese, onion and smoked bacon.
Bains’, meanwhile, started with generous-sized roast scallops with
truffle emulsion and charred leek, and followed with ox-cheek,
parsnip and meat tartare on toast. After an Aosta Valley cheese
course, both chefs presented their own take on a traditional Italian
dessert: tiramisu. For vegetarians, such as former racing driver
Damon Hill, there were non-meat options, too. “Getting good
vegetarian food in this part of the world is always quite a challenge,”
he said. “But Sat came up with a risotto using spelt ground at a mill
in Northumberland, along with almost an entire truffle, and Marcus
produced artichokes with a quail egg. Delicious.”
Thanks to his motor-racing father, Graham, and mother, Bette, Hill
started skiing at the age of six, in Kitzbühel. “Then we used wooden
skis and leather boots, but I’ve always loved skiing,” he said. “After
all, James Bond went skiing. And my hero is Franz Klammer. So this
event – mixing food, people and skiing – is wonderful.”
The transport to the restaurants earned his approval, too.
While guests to La Chaumière had to walk through the snow to
sample Wareing’s food, those heading for Bains’s dinner at
La Maison Vieille, a good mile or so away, were treated to
snowmobile transport to the front door. With headlights picking
out the falling snow, we all felt like extras in a James Bond movie
as we hurtled up the mountain – Heston Blumenthal sitting side-
saddle to ease his painful hip.
While the British chefs were the stars of the weekend, chefs from
the area’s restaurants got their moment in the spotlight, too. On the
first night, guests were treated to a dinner at the Auberge de la
Maison in neighbouring Entrèves, cooked by Massimiliano Villani,
featuring dishes from caramelised pig’s trotter and an onion cooked
in hay to a dessert of chestnut chocolate purée with whipped
cream, as well as, of course, Aosta Valley grappa. In spite of the
prospect of a good morning’s skiing ahead, few people – if any –
were in their beds before midnight.
Normally when I go skiing, I eat and ski with similar abandon, the
net result being that I never lose weight, no matter how many
vertical feet I consume. But this time it was different. I lost a few
pounds and never once had to reach for the packet of Rennies I
keep by my bedside – something that speaks volumes about the
quality of the food. ARNIE WILSON
The next Mountain Gourmet Ski Experience is from January
9 to 12 2015, and costs £3,500 per person, based on two
sharing (020 7371 9111; momentumski.com).
With their cinemas, helipads and spas as standard, today’s luxury Alpine chalets are a far cry
from their rustic forebears. Gone are the days when a lone outdoor hot tub was a selling
point. Now it takes three tubs, with the indoor one handily located a bikini’s throw from a
1,400sq ft private nightclub, to raise an eyebrow.
So what does it take to create the world’s most incredible ski chalet? Ask 37-year-old Austrian
tycoon René Benko, whose £30-million Chalet N knocked the mink spots off the competition when it
opened in Lech last year. At a whopping 54,000sq ft, Chalet N sleeps up to 24 guests in 10 en-suite
doubles and a fairy-tale children’s bunk room. There are two dining rooms, a sitting room with roaring
fires and a full-sized bar, cinema, wine cellar, plush ski room with an elevator to whisk guests straight
on to the piste, and two outdoor hot tubs and an ice bar for après-ski parties. And let’s not forget the
gym and largest chalet spa in the Alps, with multiple treatment rooms, a beauty and hair salon, large
swimming pool, hay sauna, ice fountain and salt-cave steam bath.
However, it takes more than bricks, mortar and reclaimed wood panelling to be incredible. Chalet N
really does push the toboggan out when it comes to detail: the floor-to-ceiling windows are bullet-
proof, the cutlery is handcrafted from titanium, the bathrooms are stocked with full-size Hermès
treats (Terre de Hermès for him, Kelly Calèche for her) and there are 26 professional staff on hand at
all times, including a pair of chefs and butlers. Oh, and guests’ initials are embroidered on the 1,000-
threadcount Egyptian cotton pillowcases, too. It’s the little touches… GABRIELLA LE BRETON
Chalet N (chalet-n.com) costs from £163,500 a week through Oxford Ski (oxfordski.com).Fast foodies Heston Blumenthal, Sat Bains and Marcus Wareing swap
chef’s aprons for ski gear on the Italian slopes of Courmeyeur
THE BEST CHALET Chalet N, Oberlech, Austria
mountain
HIGHS
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THE BEST HELI-SKIING
Revelstoke, British Columbia
Just occasionally on the snakes-and-ladders board of life
you may be lucky enough to experience a sensation that
somehow transcends the normal boundaries of our
humdrum daily existence. If you’re a skier, one way to do this is
to go to Revelstoke and book yourself on an A-Star helicopter.
You’ll also need a modicum of technical skill (although a pair of
ultra-wide skis will help significantly), and an expert mountain guide
from the unlikely named Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing.
For 36 years, sleepy Revelstoke, sandwiched between the
Monashee and Selkirk mountain ranges, has been the world capital
of heli skiing. In an average winter, some 40ft of snow tumbles out
of the sky. Usually, heli-skiing outfits operate from remote lodges,
and if the weather closes in and flying is impossible, the money
meter is still ticking. Not so in Revelstoke. In 2007, the resort built
a giant two-mile-long gondola up Mount Mackenzie (whose 5,620ft
vertical drop is the longest in any North American ski resort) and
bought Selkirk Tangiers, along with a local snowcat-skiing operation,
whose vehicles can take you to places that cannot be accessed
by lift. With all this, you can ski almost anywhere.
The heli-skiing starts from designated drop zones scattered
across half a million acres of rugged, unpopulated terrain.
Depending on the weather and the skills of the group, the guide
can choose to explore wide open bowls and chutes way above the
treeline or lead his party through abandoned logging trails.
For somewhere to stay, Revelstoke has the best hyperchalet
outside the Alps. British-owned Big Horn is built on a grandiose
scale, its four storeys housing eight large bedrooms, a pool spa
and an outdoor tub big enough for 16. It also has a chef worthy of
a Michelin star, and its own heli-pad from which to collect guests.
With these extras, skiing couldn’t get better. PETER HARDY
Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing (selkirk-tangiers.com) costs £960pp a day,
and Big Horn (bighornrevelstoke.com) from £29,220 a week.
Every four years we marvel at the
skill, balance and sheer bottle of
our Winter Olympians as they slide,
glide and soar through the different
death-defying disciplines. Of all the
events, it is the bob skeleton that
seems to captivate our attention
more than any other – not simply
because we Britons are quite good
at it, but because it confounds all
conventional logic.
Think the Cresta Run but with
more bends, no brakes and no
restrictions on women taking part.
Riders lie face down on a glorified
tea tray, with their hands clamped
by their sides and their noses 3in
from the ice as they hurtle down
the track at speeds of up to 90mph.
Sound like the kind of winter
thrill you were looking for? Well,
you now have the chance to try it
yourself in the exclusive company
of one of Britain’s greatest
Olympians, Amy Williams (right),
the 2010 Olympic gold medallist,
on one of the greatest tracks of
them all, at Innsbruck.
I think back to my first skeleton
ride and the beads of sweat that
formed on my brow, despite the
cold, when I first caught a glimpse
of this giant track – the walls so
much steeper, the turns so much
sharper than I had ever expected.
“Next on the track: Starmer-Smith.”
There is no way to describe how
helpless you feel at the starting
gate, nor the adrenalin that courses
through your veins when you face
the same centrifugal forces as a
fighter pilot as you shake, rattle
and roll down the course at warp
speed. And it’s especially hard to
convey the endorphins that flow
after you reach the finish – alive.
More alive. It’s the ride of your life.
CHARLES STARMER-SMITH
Momentum Ski (020 7371 9111;
momentumski.com) offers two
nights’ b&b at the five-star Grand
Hotel Europa in Innsbruck, return
transfers, skeleton and bobsleigh
rides, tuition and two dinners with
Amy Williams from £1,250. Return
Club Europe tickets with British
Airways (ba.com) cost from £250.
THE BEST ADRENALIN WEEKEND Innsbruck, Austria
mountain
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You’ve booked your luxury chalet in Courchevel and bought
this season’s Moncler jacket. Now all you need is a bespoke
snowboard. There is only one catch: you have to build it.
Spurart, in Innsbruck, offers a weekend course at which, last
winter, I did just that. For someone who struggles to wire a plug
without following a YouTube video, the prospect of creating a piece
of high-performance sports equipment felt daunting, to say the
least. Fortunately, there was a team of experts to oversee my
handiwork – including Michi Freymann, the former ski racer and
Spurart founder, who has tested more than 15,000 pairs of skis.
The weekend course began with a telephone consultation where
I gave details about my weight, height, experience and how
I wanted the board to handle. By the time I had arrived at Spurart
on a Friday evening, the team had already drawn up the
measurements for my equipment. Under the expert eyes of the
tutor, Christian Geisler, I started to make the template, which I cut,
sanded and shaped: messy work, but surprisingly easy. At the end of
the first evening, covered in sawdust and with pieces of wood in my
hair, I admired my creation with a large smile on my face.
The next morning, it was down to making the real thing. Using the
template, my first task was to cut out my board’s base from a strip
of vinyl, before trimming the metal edges with an angle grinder and
fixing them in place. For my base shape I had chosen a “twin”
(meaning that the nose and tail are identical), making it easier for
switch riding, with a short nose and tail for better agility in a snow
park. Having shaped the core with a planer, to ensure the right
camber, it was time to cover it in epoxy resin, to give it strength
and stiffness, and then choose a wood veneer for the top. I opted
for a dark oak on the edges and a light beech in the centre, a bit like
a Sixties surfboard. Once that was done, the final step was to put it
into a plastic bag and bake it in a high-pressure oven overnight.
I returned the next morning feeling excited but nervous, and
gingerly unwrapped the bag. It revealed a beautiful and, to my eyes,
perfect snowboard. I was thrilled. Following an hour of sanding,
I gave it a light oiling that brought out the beauty of the wood grain.
By then, there was one thing on my mind: hitting the nine
ski-slopes of Innsbruck to show off my baby. “We always
recommend that you leave a new board to settle for three days,”
said Christian, “so the layers are properly bonded together.”
This was like being given the best toy ever, only to be told you
can’t play with it. Although disappointed, at least I was able to test
Spurart’s previous creations. Now, all I want is for winter to arrive,
so I can try out my own. Bring on the snow.
SIMON KHALIL
Spurart (spurart.at) offers a weekend snowboard-building course
from €790 (£545). The Grand Hotel Europa Innsbruck (0043 512 5931;
grandhoteleuropa.at) offers doubles from €126 a night; a day
ski-pass at Axamer Lizum (axamer-lizum.at) costs €35.50.
When it opened 24 years ago in the Fermes
de Marie boutique hotel in Megève, Pure
Altitude was France’s first mountain spa.
The hotel’s original name, La Ferme de
Beauté (The Beauty Farm), was a reflection
of the centuries-old mountain-shepherds’
huts and stables that were dismantled and
rebuilt in meadows to house the rustic-look
hotel. The spa’s old and current names also
reflect owner Jocelyne Sibuet’s dedication
to the development of beauty products and
treatments using locally-sourced Alpine
flowers, herbs, minerals and glacial water.
Treatments include nourishing facials with
edelweiss-rich creams, skin-softening
scrubs with malachite and rhodochrosite
“snow crystals”, and swaddling wraps in
mineral-infused “velvet snow” body lotion.
Following an extensive rebuild this summer,
the spa is now a whopping 10,000sq ft and
updated to include high-tech equipment
within its ancient frame. A granite-clad pool
is flanked on one side by 200-year-old
timber beams and on the other by full-
length windows overlooking the Alps.
Fragrant red cedar wood envelops a sauna,
hammam, and hot and cold traditional
Japanese ofuro soaking tubs. Treatment
rooms are clad with slender floor-to-ceiling
birch trees. And an ancient shepherd’s hut
houses a sauna in the snow-dusted garden,
while a wooden hot tub steams in the crisp
mountain air. The treatments are a glorious
mix of practical and luxurious, with hot and
cold stone massages to refresh legs,
moisturising “oxygen-bubble” facials to perk
up altitude-affected skin and warming pools
and saunas to heat up cold bones. It may
be a quarter of a century old, but it has
aged well. If only we looked as good.
GABRIELLA LA BRETON
Doubles at Les Fermes de Marie
(0033 4 5774 7474; fermesdemarie.com)
cost from €300/£235 a night; a signature
Seve de Vie anti-ageing facial costs €145.
THE BEST SPA Pure Altitude, Megève, Switzerland
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THE BEST WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE
Aurora Safari Camp, Sweden
Gazing up at the swirling, neon majesty of the Northern Lights is usually as chilblain-inducing as it is
jaw-dropping. Which is why the opportunity to survey one of the world’s most magnificent natural wonders
with a warming glass of wine in hand, roaring fire mere feet away from the comfort of your own snuggly
blanket, is really rather appealing.
Equal parts glamping trip, safari adventure and Northern Lights tour, the Aurora Safari Camp experience offers
all the serenity and bucket list-ticking awe of the Arctic but with a spectacularly stylish, culturally informed and
personable twist. Hidden on the outskirts of Lulea, a remote Swedish township situated on the edge of the Arctic
Circle, the camp consists of five Sami-inspired, perma-glowing Lavvu tents (comfy mattress, wood-burning stove,
and the ability to withstand temperatures of up to -37C mercifully come as standard). Outside there are gloriously
uninterrupted views of the Aurora-filled night sky, and a permanently toasty lounge area in which to unwind with
the finest of local organic dining (particularly good was the smoked and dried moose meat, complemented by
a glass of delicious lingonberry juice).
The camp also has a charming and welcoming host, the founder, Fredrik Broman, who came up with the brilliant
idea of creating a Scandinavian safari after working as a guide in African parks. Whether he is kitting you out in the
cosiest of reindeer pelts, drilling holes in the frozen lake for a spot of ice fishing, snowmobiling you into the heart of
the wilderness on a stargazing tour or introducing you to the town’s local reindeer herder and his pack of purebred
Siberian huskies for a spot of sledding, he makes Arctic adventures as bespoke, polished and surprisingly
comfortable as anything can be in these eyeball-freezing temperatures. MATT RISLEY
Double rooms at Aurora Safari Camp (aurorasafaricamp.wordpress.com) costs from £350. originaltravel.co.uk.
Cool comforts (clockwise from left)
Tent at Aurora; driving huskies through
the forest; inside a Lavvu tent; exploring
the Swedish wilderness on foot
mountain
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The Hollywood legend was so seduced by French Polynesia that he bo
BRANDO’S
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ught his own island, Tetiaroa. Now it is open as an ultra-exclusive resort. Nigel Tisdall jets in
WATERFRONT
Wild one Thatched villas
line the beaches of the
remote island that was home
to Marlon Brando (top left,
with his French Polynesian
wife, Tarita Teriipaia)
C A L L 0 8 0 0 0 4 6 3 3 6 2 C A P T A I N S C H O I C E . C O . U K
S I M P L Y T H E F I N E S T W A Y T O S E E T H E W O R L D
Captain’s Choice is the acknowledged leader in luxury touring around the world. Travel with us in unparalleled
style on one of our three amazing African itineraries, and you will discover some of the most inspiring, iconic
and remote places in this fascinating continent. You will stay in the finest available accommodation, dine on
superb locally-inspired cuisine, and be taken care of throughout by a dedicated, experienced team which even
includes a doctor. To find out more and to see our full range of tours, please call us for a brochure.
R elax, and let us show you the magic
and majesty of Africa
PRIDE OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
Visit the diamond town of Kimberley •
Marvel at the incredible Sossuslvei
dunes and Fish River Canyon • Go on
safari in Etosha National Park and the
Lion Sands Private Game Reserve •
Explore the waterways of the Okavango
Delta • See the Victoria Falls in full flow
Prices from £15,845pp twin share
ETHIOPIA
Discover Ethiopia’s intriguing capital
Addis Ababa • See the mighty Blue
Nile Falls • Explore the islands scattered
on Lake Tana • Tour the medieval
castles of Gondar • Visit the astonishing
rock-hewn churches of Lalibela •
Discover the historic town of Aksum
Prices from £6,700pp twin share
CAPE TOWN TO PETRA
Watch Africa unfold before your eyes
on Rovos Rail between Cape Town and
Pretoria • Visit the impressive Victoria
Falls • Go on Safari amidst the teeming
wildlife of the Masai Mara • Visit the
ultra-modern city of Doha • Explore the
ancient site of the rose-red city of Petra
Prices from £16,095pp twin share
LCKI8KI8M<C���
urquoise, deep blue, light blue, indigo blue, cobalt
blue, royal blue, robin’s egg blue, aquamarine.” I’m not
surprised that when Marlon Brando wrote his memoirs
he struggled to find words to describe the bewitching
colours of the lagoon at the heart of his private atoll.
After discovering the myriad charms of French Polynesia
while filming Mutiny on the Bounty (which co-starred the
19-year-old Tarita Teriipaia, who duly became his third wife),
the actor bought Tetiaroa, 30 miles north of Tahiti, in 1966.
It cost the star $200,000, and it was his intention that this
ring of 12 deserted motus (islets) remain unspoilt. Tetiaroa
was where Marlon escaped the battlefield of Hollywood,
chatting with the world on his ham radio using the
pseudonym “Jim Ferguson”, kicking back with friends and
family in a castaway landscape of white sands, coconut palms
and green turtles waving a friendly flipper from clear waters.
Now, following lengthy negotiations between his heirs and
Richard Bailey, a friend of Brando and President of Pacific
Beachcomber, we can get a taste of his desert island dream.
The Brando has opened its doors – or rather its airstrip. The
only way into this hyper-exclusive pancake of sand is by
helicopter or aboard the resort’s plane, which departs from
a dedicated terminal at Faa’a International Airport in Tahiti.
Only one idyllic motu has been used in the making of this
21st-century paradise, which comes with an eco-station and
ingeniously sourced energy: 4,000 solar panels line the
airstrip, while a 3,000ft pipe drops deep into the ocean to
draw up cold water to cool the air conditioning. Thirty-five
monumental villas march along its pristine beaches, built
with the massive trunks of ironwood trees and embellished
with an outdoor bath, infinity pool and a rocking chair for
two. Every guest gets a bicycle in a chic café-au-lait livery.
The sands are raked with the precision of a Zen garden.
Hidden in the coconut palms, and fringed with lily ponds,
the Varua Polynesian Spa includes a dreamy double suite
suspended in the trees like a large brown ball of knitting
‘IT’S VERY ELEMENTAL HERE,’ SAID BRANDO. ‘YOU HAVE SKY, SEA, TREES, SUN’
Ring of bright water Tetiaroa, top, the atoll of 12 islets once owned by Brando, pictured there in 1972. A villa bathroom, above
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wool. The massages, using sensual monoi oils and
long, flowing movements like the ocean waves, are
exceptionally good. Dinner is served by the beach, in your
villa, or at the calm, cream Les Mutinés restaurant, which
is overseen by Guy Martin, chef at the two-Michelin-star
Le Grand Véfour in Paris. Everything is included:
champagne, meals, a daily spa treatment per villa,
excursions – even coral-friendly sunblock.
The Brando is not a party place, but providing the sun
shines (May to October is driest) it is easy to love and
ideal for some South Pacific lotus-eating. It also marks a
step-up for the traditional Tahitian holiday. For once,
there are no over-water bungalows. No predictable
breakfast buffet served in a pandanus-thatched hangar,
no rip-roaring jet-skis, no still-in-the-Stone Age charge
for Wi-Fi. Here the French and Polynesian staff are neither
jaded nor brainwashed, while the guests are, frankly,
a better class of honeymooner. The resort will work best
at the start or end of a tour – chill out here after that long
flight, or cap off your island-hopping with some
deliciously deluxe downtime.
All this is good news for French Polynesia, which
deserves a higher prominence in our holiday plans. Tahiti
and her 117 islands lie sprinkled across a blanket of blue
ocean the size of Europe, and include mountainous
Moorea (pineapple central), loved-up Bora Bora
(honeymoon central), the vast constellation of the
Tuamotus (diving central) and the far-flung Marquesas
(not at all central), where Paul Gauguin ended his days.
In my experience, these are all worth your time, and it’s
a bonus that the indisputable joys of the tropical holiday –
balmy warmth, incredible stars, gorgeous waters – also
come with a French dressing. Baguettes, pétanque, yellow
postes boxes – and, of course, good grub.
hile there are rewarding inland
hikes and excursions on many of
these islands – up to the viewpoint,
round the vanilla plantation, down to the
pearl farm – it’s worth remembering that
at least half your sightseeing will be done on or under the
water. You don’t need to be a diver (although this is a fine
place to learn), because the snorkelling is equally
sensational, with richly coloured corals and fashionista
fish galore. Since 2002, the whole of French Polynesia has
been a marine mammal sanctuary – a fact brought home
to me in spectacular style as I sample The Brando’s
impeccable breakfast croissants. For three days in a row
I spy humpback whales from the shore. And they’re not
just blips on the horizon. A humpback is the size of six
elephants, and they regularly pass by Tahiti from August
to October. When one breaches, it’s like watching a
zeppelin do a belly-flop, with an ensuing thunder-splash
that makes you wonder if the French have started nuclear
testing again.
The natural wonders don’t stop there. Out on “The
Ultimate Tour of Tetiaroa” we see stingrays, three-month-
old lemon sharks and perky flocks of brown and red-
footed boobys. But, of course, it’s the hypnotic blues and
greens of the lagoon that seduce most. Looking down into
the honeycombs of sunlight that dance in its crystal
waters is like getting a sneak preview of heaven, and while
Tetiaroa doesn’t have a monopoly on such mesmerising
sights, it’s certainly a treat to have a whole atoll to
yourself. “The Billionaire’s Pool” is how Leonardo
DiCaprio described these enchanting waters when he
checked in a few weeks ahead of me. That’s a name that
will surely stick, as another great actor falls for the peace
and beauty of Tetiaroa. Marlon once explained: “It’s very
elemental here. You have the sky, the sea, the trees, the
crabs, the fish, the sun… the basics.”
And if we can now also get unlimited champagne,
sublime Polynesian massages and filet mignon de veau
aux truffes – well, that’s civilisation, n’est-ce pas?
TETIAROA ESSENTIALS
Air Tahiti Nui (0844 482 1675, airtahitinui.co.uk)
flies to Papeete from Paris, Los Angeles, Tokyo
and Auckland. A return flight from London
costs from £4,450 business class, £1,551
economy, flying the LA sectors with Virgin
Atlantic. Flights from Papeete to Tetiaroa
with Air Tetiaroa cost from £235 return.
A one-bedroom villa at The Brando (00 689
4086 6366; the brando.com) costs €3,421/
£2,687 per night (minimum stay three nights),
including all meals and drinks, one daily spa
treatment per villa and a daily excursion.
Turquoise Holidays (01494 678 400;
turquoiseholidays.co.uk) offers seven nights
at The Brando from £11,525 per person,
including flights from London, domestic flights
and transfers, travelling from April 1 2015.
More information: tahiti-tourisme.co.uk
Big blue Clockwise,
from top: Swimming
in the clear waters
of Tetiaroa; the
resort’s private plane;
Marlon Brando with
his wife Tarita and son
Teihotu; the double
suite in the spa
W
PIC
TU
RE
CR
ED
IT
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Where to go after Tetiaroa? Nigel Tisdall picks the region’s highlights, from romantic escapes to cultural cruises
THE BEST OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
ULTRATRAVEL GUIDE
SUBLIME STOPOVER
Rarotonga, Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands are the smart choice if you fancy
a quick taste of the South Pacific en route to a
longer holiday in New Zealand or Australia. Air
New Zealand has a weekly direct flight from Los
Angeles to Rarotonga, and passengers can stop
over at no extra charge if continuing to Auckland,
just four hours away. It takes 45 minutes to drive
around this joyful island, which has a rainforest,
a volcanic core and a coastline of relaxed palm-
shaded beaches. Try to time a visit with the fête-
like Punanga Nui Saturday market held in the
capital, Avarua, and then go on to a rugby match.
A 45-minute flight north, Aitutaki is famous for its
lagoon and popular with romancing Kiwis: here
it’s all about lazing in that hammock.
Discover The World (01737 214 291;
discover-the-world.co.uk) offers a twin-centre
holiday to Rarotonga and Aitutaki from £3,265
per person, including international and domestic
flights, transfers and three nights each at the
Crown Beach Resort and Aitutaki Lagoon Resort,
travelling in low season (December 2014 to
March 2015).
LOVE IN A LAGOON
Taha’a, French PolynesiaBora Bora is a byword for romance if you’re a fan
of luxury beach resorts. A 50-minute flight west of
Tahiti, the island rises out of the ocean in a graph-
like run of green and toothy peaks, the crags of a
venerable volcano ringed by an emerald and
sapphire lagoon. Almost everyone here is on
honeymoon, or celebrating something special. But
rather than feeling like a love factory there is a
touching and happy energy to the place. For the
full works, check into a mountain-view over-water
bungalow at the Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora,
which has the best location and seamless service.
But for something less stage-managed, the
nearby island of Taha’a is far more low-key, with
better excursions and two well-appointed
escapes, Le Taha’a Private Island & Spa (a good
choice if you prefer a beach bungalow) and the
tiny, 12-bungalow Vahine Island Private Resort.
Turquoise Holidays (01494 678 400;
turquoiseholidays.co.uk) offers four nights each
at Le Taha’a Island Resort & Spa and Four Seasons
Resort Bora Bora from £4,775 per person,
including international and domestic flights,
transfers and breakfast, travelling in high season
(from April 1).
Beautiful south The beach at
Le Taha’a Private Island & Spa, Bora
Bora. Inset: a vintage Pam Am poster
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DIVINE DIVES
Rangiroa, Tuamotus, French PolynesiaAn hour’s flight north east of Tahiti, Rangiroa is
the world’s second largest atoll and the gateway
to the 76 low-lying islands and atolls of the
Tuamotus. Up on land, life is exceedingly relaxed,
a place to unwind amid glossy palms, plink-
plonking ukeleles and invigorating poisson cru
(raw fish marinaded in coconut milk). Put your
head underwater, though, and it’s aquatic
Armageddon. Tiputa Pass is the big draw, where
experienced divers can drift with the current
alongside hundreds of grey reef sharks, plus
manta rays, stingrays and show-off fish galore.
Original Diving (0207 978 0505; originaldiving.com)
offers a seven-night trip to Rangiroa from £3,100
per person, including international and domestic
flights, transfers, six nights at the luxury Hotel
Kia Ora in a beach bungalow with breakfast,
plus a package of six dives per person, travelling
year-round.
TREASURE ISLAND
Upolu, SamoaThere are many things to admire about the author
Robert Louis Stevenson, but perhaps the greatest
is that when he went travelling in the South Seas
he took his widowed mother, Maggie, with him.
Villa Vailima, the splendid home he built in 1890
on the north coast of Upolu for his extended
family, is one of the chief attractions in this green
and welcoming two-island nation. A former
German colony, Samoa is one of the best places
to tune into modern Polynesian culture – it hasn’t
sold out to tourism, but there are decent beach
resorts and you can have great fun exploring by
hire car. The flower-filled country lanes are clean
and the heavily tattooed Samoans manifest a
deep love for family values, rugby and corned
beef, with 95 per cent of islanders going to church
every Sunday dressed in blazing white.
Transpacific Holidays (01342 840 555;
transpacificholidays.co.uk) offers 10 nights at the
Sinalei Reef Resort from £2,929 per person
including flights via Auckland, transfers and
breakfast, travelling from May 1.
ROUND THE WORLD WITH
THE FAMILY
Vanua Levu, FijiThe South Pacific is so far away it provides a
perfect excuse to circle the globe – and why not
take the kids along? Try an adventure for the
summer holidays that begins with three nights in
Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and concludes with
another three in Hong Kong, staying at the
InterContinental Hong Kong. In-between is a week
at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort
(above) in Vanua Levu, Fiji, a former coconut
plantation with a spa, diving, a marine biologist
and a free kids club. Rooms are thatched bures.
The trip costs from £5,490 per adult and £4,998
per child from Exsus (0207 337 9010; exsus.com),
and includes full board and transfers in Fiji, and
flights with British Airways and Fiji Airways,
travelling between June 1 and August 31.
Water world Clockwise from above: diving in Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa; a canoeist
off Moorea, near the island of Tahiti; and a beach sign in the Cook Islands
ISLAND-HOPPING BLISS
Yasawa Islands, FijiSprinkled to the northwest of Viti Levu, Fiji’s main
island, the Yasawas are a 55-mile chain of rugged
volcanic peaks that can be cruised in comfort
aboard the 34-cabin Fiji Princess. Primarily adult
only, with some family departures, voyages last
three, four or seven nights, with the longest
venturing as far as Tamasua. Hiking, snorkelling
and cultural activities are mixed, with on-board
spa treatments and a beach barbecue on a private
island. The archipelago is also home to the five-
star Yasawa Island Resort, with 18 luxury
bungalows, unspoilt beaches and a private airstrip.
Audley Travel (01993 838 800; audleytravel.com)
offers a 10-day trip to Fiji, combining three nights’
b&b on Viti Levu with a seven-night Yasawa
Islands cruise (full board) from £4,320 per person,
including flights and transfers, travelling in July.
SOUTH PACIFIC ODYSSEY
Easter Island to TahitiAlways wanted to sail the South Seas? You can
fulfil this dream on a 22-night “In the Wake of the
Bounty” voyage aboard the 57-suite MS
Caledonian Sky. After flying into Easter Island,
with its colossal and enigmatic moais, the ship
sails west to the remote Pitcairn Islands, where
Bounty mutineers set up home in 1790. Later
ports of call include the rarely visited Gambier
Islands in French Polynesia, and the Marquesas,
which is the island group farthest from any
continental land mass.
Noble Caledonia (020 7752 0000; noble-caledonia.
co.uk) offers a trip departing on November 14
2015, from £10,495 per person including flights,
full board, excursions, transfers and hotel
accommodation with breakfast.
SOUTH PACIFIC HOW TO DO IT
GETTING THERE
Los Angeles is the principal
gateway to the South Pacific.
From here, there are onward
flights to Tahiti with Air Tahiti Nui
(0844 482 1675; airtahitinui.co.
uk), to the Cook Islands with Air
New Zealand (0800 028 4149;
airnewzealand.co.uk), and to Fiji
with Fiji Airways (001 800 227
4446; fijiairways.com). Lan Chile
(0845 098 0140; lanchile.com)
flies from Santiago to Tahiti via
Easter Island. Routes via Asia to
Fiji include departures from
Seoul with Korean Air (00800
0656 2001; koreanair.com) and
Hong Kong with Fiji Airways.
Samoa can be reached from
Auckland with Air New Zealand,
from Fiji with Fiji Airways, and
from Australia with Virgin Samoa
(0800 051 1281; virginsamoa.
com). When booking flights, note
that the Cook Islands are on the
other side of the International
Date Line to New Zealand.
WHEN TO GO
The weather is generally
best from May to September.
June to August is high season,
when flights and hotels need
to be booked well in advance.
MONEY
Sterling is not easily exchanged,
and it can be hard to change
back local currency when
leaving. Take euros (for French
Polynesia), New Zealand dollars
(for the Cook Islands) and
US dollars.
MORE INFORMATION
South Pacific (£19.99, Lonely
Planet) covers the region in
depth. Useful websites
are tahiti-tourisme.co.uk,
samoa.travel, cookislands.travel,
fiji.travel and spto.org.
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1OTH
special ANNIVERSARY
Plane sailing Traversing a sea
of dunes in Namibia, where
there is nothing but sand, whale
skeletons and shipwrecks
LCKI8KI8M<C���
Over the past decade, our contributors have traversed the globe in search of
extraordinary experiences. Here they select their most thrilling, from soaring above the
Namib and hearing a lone Arctic bird sing to driving a classic car from Peking to Paris
YEARS OF ULTRATRAVEL
LCKI8KI8M<C���
Hearing a songbird sing in the Arctic SARA WHEELER
It was one of those perfect Arctic days when
ocean and sky compete to achieve the most
vulgar blue. My Russian ice-breaker had anchored
off the western extremity of Franz Josef Land, a
chain of uninhabited islands crouched along the
rim of the Barents Sea. A Zodiac ferried me to
land and, as my boot crunched on to the tundra,
I heard a snow bunting sing. I had spent many
years writing about the Antarctic, and thought
it was a love affair that its northern counterpart
could never break. But the trill of a small
black-and-white bird changed everything. The
Antarctic is too cold for a single songbird to
breed. The Arctic, I realised, is about life – and I
was a faithless lover. quarkexpeditions.com
Taking the train to Ulan Batur JOHN SIMPSON
After a lifetime’s travel, one journey stands out
with particular prominence: taking a luxuriously
fitted-out Russian train (right) from Yekaterinburg
to Ulan Batur. Merely setting down the names
brings back the memories: the calm, determined
movement of the train through the Siberian night,
the brilliant food, the amusing fellow travellers,
the trips to extraordinary places, the blue ice of
the world’s most beautiful lake, Baikal. My wife
and little boy and I still reminisce about it
endlessly. One day we’ll do the full journey, from
St Petersburg to Vladivostok. That’s a lot of
zakuski, quite a lot of Russian novel-reading, some
excellent conversation, and a certain amount of
vodka. I can’t wait. goldeneagleluxurytrains.com
Flying above NamibiaSOPHIE CAMPBELL
I wouldn’t call myself a private plane sort of gal,
but I won’t forget buzzing along in the blue above
Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, nose pressed to the
window, and far below a deadly frill of surf and
the rib cages of wrecked ships rammed nose-first
into the beach. Every so often, through big fat
headphones, crackled the German accent of the
one of the Schoeman brothers piloting the plane,
pointing out fat seals and dashing ostriches,
a 19th-century diamond concession, an oxcart,
a line of wheelbarrows. It was romantic and
exciting and our Centurion II was a proper bush
plane. We skittered down to see things and slept
in camps with bucket showers, outdoor loos and
skies full of stars. There’s luxury for you.
cazenoveandloyd.com
Revisiting the pagodas in Bagan CHRIS CALDICOTT
Standing alone at dawn in 2010 on the highest
platform of one of the mighty ancient pagodas
in Bagan (above), watching the tropical sun do
battle with the morning mists to reveal another
hundred pagodas scattered over the Irrawaddy
floodplain, I was moved to tears. The last time
I had seen this unforgettable sight had been
30 years previously and it had lost none of its
magic. In fact, this time it was even better, as
Burma itself was experiencing an optimistic
new dawn: the monks had defied the generals
and Aung San Suu Kyi had just been released.
It was a moment of pure joy.
theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk
Living like Gatsby in NantucketDOUGLAS ROGERS
In the summer of 2012, as Baz Luhrmann’s
version of The Great Gatsby was about to be
released, I visited New York, Newport and
Nantucket in search of the playgrounds of
21st-century Gatsbys. On Nantucket on my last
evening I found myself in the crowded bar of The
Summer House, a rose-splashed, Twenties-style,
cedar-shingle hotel in the quaint village of
Siasconset. Regulars sipped gin gimlets at
the bar, a musician played Cole Porter tunes on
a white piano, and at midnight a group of preppy
girls in sequined dresses, with feathers in their
hair, arrived from a party, sipping champagne
from the bottle. I walked outside to the cliffs
overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. A vintage car
hooted as it drove past me, the couple inside
laughing and waving, lit by moonlight. It was
a dreamlike experience, a scene straight out
of Fitzgerald. I had found the playground.
scottdunn.com
Visiting Captain Scott’s hut PETER HUGHES
Two thick, blue-bound volumes dominated my
childhood bookshelves. Scott’s Last Expedition
embodied the values of my parents’ generation.
So to travel by Russian ice-breaker to Antarctica
from those rough-cut pages was for me a
pilgrimage. At Cape Evans, half buried in snow,
squatted the wooden hut from which in 1911
Captain Scott set out for the South Pole, never
to return. Inside were the long mess table and
Burmese days: The magnificent Buddhist temple complex in Bagan, Mandalay, in Burma, which dates from the 9th century. Globetrotter Chris Caldicott found the site even more astonishing on his second visit
I HAD LAST SEEN THESE TEMPLES 30 YEARS AGO;
THEY HAD LOST NONE OF THEIR MAGIC
1OTH
special ANNIVERSARY
Leave the work to us,
so you can savour
what really matters.
U N F O R G E T TA B LE MOMENTSon the water
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wooden bunks – “tenements” Scott called
them – that illustrate his journals. Fry’s Cocoa,
and Colmans Mustard stocked the shelves. There
was a faint smell of habitation, leather and soot.
In his final diary entry Scott wrote: “Had we lived,
I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood,
endurance and courage of my companions
which would have stirred the heart of every
Englishman.” It stirred mine.
theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk
The Peking to Paris classic-car rally MICHELLE JANA CHAN
Driving a 1940 Ford Coupe, my co-driver Mike
Reeves and I crossed the start line at the Great
Wall of China. Ahead were 33 days across the Gobi
Desert, the Mongolian grasslands, the Russian
Steppes and the Alps – to Paris. This was a simple,
uncluttered life dominated by the measurements
of time and distance, and finding the strength and
stamina to fix a broken car every night. Driving
down the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, placed
third, I remember already missing the rally and the
rhythm of life on the road. endurorally.com
Back to nature in Versailles ALAIN DUCASSE
Although the Château de Versailles is a
mainstream tourist destination, just off the
beaten path is the Hameau de la Reine, built
for Marie Antoinette: a hamlet of about a dozen
country-style cottages, built at the request of
Louis XVI’s spouse. Each is surrounded by a small,
delightful garden. I never thought this place would
be interested in growing local organic vegetables.
But I was wrong. When I opened my restaurant at
the Plaza Athénée, I asked Versailles’ chief
gardener, Alain Baraton, whether he would
consider turning these ornamental gardens back
into working vegetable gardens to supply my
kitchen and, to my surprise, he said yes. So today,
when you visit these charming kitchen gardens,
they are again carefully cultivated with tomatoes,
potatoes, carrots, peas, turnips… the nicest and
most delicious vegetables. Seeing them, to me, is
equally as pleasurable as the château (right) itself.
chateauversailles.fr/jardins-parc
A heli-picnic in New ZealandLISA GRAINGER
I had already been won over by the generosity of
the South Island’s people by the time I got to
Queenstown. Stopping for petrol on the winding
road from Christchurch, I’d been offered still-warm
cake by the garage-owner. At lunch, picnickers
had offered me a mug of steaming clam chowder
when I stopped for a roadside break by a beach,
which I happily sipped while watching dolphins
out at sea. When that afternoon I met my partner
beside Lake Wanaka, and the cheerful Louisa
“Choppy” Patterson offered us a ride in her
helicopter (right), dropping us off on a mountain-
top with a blanket, picnic basket, iced bottle of
wine and gramophone player, with a stack of jazz
records, my day had been made. She left us there,
alone, for 40 minutes, with only eagles swirling
above us, crackling music echoing in the air and
an occasional cloud passing by as we grinned,
then giggled, then raised our glasses to the
kindness of strangers. flynz.co.nz
Dog-sledding in NorwayJOHN O’CEALLAIGH
That winter morning, sailing in the Arctic Sea, we
had seen humpback and killer whales, but by
midday darkness was falling. It was time to return
to Tromso, Norway’s northernmost city. But first a
detour. The adventurer Tore Albrigtsen leads
dog-sledding treks through the valleys
surrounding his cabin and we would be his last
customers of the day. We glided through
unblemished mountain paths, transported from
our daily lives – no noise, no traffic and, then, no
light. Albrigtsen quenched our head lamps so the
full moon and blaze of stars could illuminate our
path. And then another unsettlement: a milky hue
swirled into life behind a snow-capped peak. The
Northern Lights had switched on to guide us
home. activetromso.no
Hiking in North DevonFIONA BRUCE
As we set off up the very steep hill leading
skywards from the centre of Lynmouth on the
Devon coast, I began to regret that I’d agreed to
come on a detox with nine girlfriends. Four days of
no carbs, no dairy, no meat, no sugar and no
caffeine plus lots of exercise was taking its toll.
With much grumbling I trudged up and up and up,
and at the top emerged on to the South West
Coastal Path with a view all the way to Wales. The
sun blazed on to a sea so blue it could have been
the south of France. For the next four hours we
trekked through the Valley of the Rocks, past wild
goats grazing on gem-green pasture, through
waist-high ferns, brushing past heather studding
the hillside with bursts of colour. It was
breathtakingly beautiful. As I perched on Castle
Rock, 1,200ft above sea level, and tucked into my
meagre detox snack of three dried apricots and
five walnuts, I decided the self denial had been
worth it, just to experience this moment.
yeotown.com
Touring the Deep SouthGRAHAM BOYNTON
Anyone who has grown up with the sounds of the
Everly Brothers, Muddy Waters, Elvis and Otis
Redding ringing in their ears will understand why
a driving trip through the America’s beautiful
South was my perfect road trip of the past decade.
This drive took in Alabama’s Muscle Shoals and
Tupelo (where Elvis was born), Clarksdale where
Robert Johnson did a deal with the devil and thus
created the blues, and Memphis and Nashville,
those hothouses of 20th-century popular music.
The music is still there today in concert halls,
honky tonks and gospel churches, and these great
centres are connected by wonderful rolling
countryside and populated by the friendliest
people on earth. clevelandcollection.co.uk
A road trip along Ruta 40, ArgentinaCHRIS MOSS
I’d always longed to drive the Ruta 40. When I lived
in Buenos Aires in the Nineties this long, lonely
highway – which skirts the Andes mountains and
runs the length of Argentina – was the source of
many fables: there were no petrol stations,
a breakdown was fatal, the road just disappeared
in places. In 2012, I flew to Bariloche and drove the
southern section. My 1,000-mile road trip took in
the Welsh settlement, the town where Butch and
Sundance ranched, the Perito Moreno glacier, the
Strait of Magellan, and a string of lakes and
towering mountains – including the pinnacles of
the beautiful Fitz Roy Massif. It was my greatest
Patagonian experience to date; now all that
remains is to go back and drive the northern
bit – 1,900 miles all the way to Bolivia.
audleytravel.com
Hiking to Machu PicchuANTHONY HOROWITZ
Nothing has quite beaten the excitement, the
magnificence and the sheer exhaustion of
my journey to Machu Picchu with my (then)
teenage son, Nicholas. The spectacular scenery
of the Andes, the sheer impossibility of the city
itself, reached on foot after three days’ walking –
these were the climax of a wonderful trip to Peru.
The journey was part bonding experience, part
research for a novel, but every part of it was an
adventure. Some of the highlights? A tree in our
camp in the jungle coming alive at night with
giant tarantulas; the Inca city of Huinay Huayna
with its narrow staircase at the end of which
prisoners were forced to throw themselves to
their deaths; flying over the Nazca Lines: one of
the greatest mysteries in the world. And staying
at the gorgeous Belmond Hotel Monasterio in
Cusco. We both loved every minute.
belmond.com
Canoeing the MississippiMAX DAVIDSON
Very few canoeists venture on the southern
Mississippi, one of the last great wildernesses
in America. But in 2007 I was lucky enough to be
one of them, paddling south from Clarksdale,
home of the blues, with John Ruskey, founder of
the Quapaw Canoe Company, and his brother. Like
Huckleberry Finn before us, we spent an idyllic
few days meandering through the Mississippi
Delta, camping on sandbanks, cooking over open
fires, skinny-dipping and admiring the pristine
landscape. Eagles, beavers, white-tailed deer,
exotically-coloured butterflies – all were drawn
to the vast, mysterious river, gliding past
in ghostly silence. I have never felt farther from
home or closer to nature. island63.com
1OTH
special ANNIVERSARY
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Walking Matera by moonlightTIM JEPSON
I lived in Italy for years before visiting Matera, a town in
Basilicata, in the country’s deep south. How I wish I’d found it
earlier. It’s known for its sassi, ancient caves inhabited until
a generation ago, and part of a townscape as extraordinary, in
its way, as Venice. A balmy night spent exploring its labyrinth
was one of the most enchanting of my travelling life. All was
silence and shadows, full of dead ends, courtyards and sudden
vistas. Wonderfully lost, I stumbled into moonlight and
darkness, footsteps echoing, not a soul in sight. One minute all
was golden stone and timeworn cobbles, the next, sinister
facades and the black of abandoned caves. I could have walked
until dawn. baileyrobinson.com
I STUMBLED INTO MOONLIGHT AND DARKNESS, FOOTSTEPS ECHOING
City of lights Matera, in Italy’s
Basilicata. Below: Sextantio Le
Grotte della Civetta, a luxury hotel
within the city’s sassi, or cave
dwellings. Below right: Palazzo
Margherita, a nearby hotel owned
by director Francis Ford Coppola
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Exploring Papua New GuineaNIGEL TISDALL
“Does England have the sea?” ask the Huli
Wigmen. Adorned with feathers, shells, bones
and tin-can lids, the tribes of Papua New Guinea’s
Southern Highlands guarantee an entertaining, if
anarchic, encounter. Until the Thirties, when an
Australian gold prospector ventured into this
mountainous interior, no one knew it was home to
a million people with a near-Stone Age lifestyle.
Now the digital age has arrived, but this wild, hot,
damp and exuberant country still feels
exceedingly raw and untamed. Search for birds of
paradise in the Tari Valley, trek the Kokoda Track,
with its gruesome memories of the Second World
War, disappear into the remote backwaters of the
Sepik River, climb the active volcanoes of New
Britain – wherever you go, it will undoubtedly be
an adventure. originaltravel.co.uk
Learning to be a cowboy in WyomingCHARLES STARMER-SMITH
Brochures often paint a romantic picture of the
Wild West, of days spent in the saddle as you drive
cattle over mountain, pasture and plain, and
spend evenings huddled around camp fires. But
few can deliver anything more than a sugar-
coated pastiche of the real thing. The Hideout in
Wyoming (below right), was one of the rare
exceptions. The ranch may offer salubrious
surroundings, but here under the big skies of the
Big Horn mountains, wranglers are still born into
the saddle-and-spurs life of the Old West. Cattle
are branded and castrated, and the herding work
every guest takes part in is very real and very
necessary. It is also very likely the most magical
experience of my travelling life. thehideout.com
Dinner on a sandbarPIERS MORGAN
My wife, Celia, and I had dinner on a sandbar in the
middle of the ocean in the Maldives on the night
Obama got elected. The sandbar (top) appears only
once every six weeks and the staff of Baros resort
drove us out in speedboats, then prepared
a lavish meal right there. At 11pm, the water started
lapping in and we had to make a dash for it. Within
15 minutes, it was gone. baros.com
Camping in the AndamansFRANCISCA KELLETT
It was like that scene in The Beach, where
Leonardo DiCaprio first sets eyes on the white
sand and turquoise water and realises he’s found
paradise. The only things missing were the granite
cliffs and the hippies. We were on Long Island in
the Andamans, and we were alone. Just us, the
perfect beach, the odd thump of a coconut,
and little scuttling hermit crabs. We strung up
hammocks, slung our food in the branches (to
keep it away from the crabs) and settled in. Days
were spent snorkelling in a kaleidoscope of tropical
fish and hacking open coconuts. And staring at
the hypnotic wash of the waves, the shimmering
sand, the waxy leaves overhead. It was the most
magical week. andamans.gov.in
Camping at Lake Baringo in KenyaALICE TEMPERLEY
For me, the ultimate luxury is to be remote and
unconnected: at one with nature. My favourite
memory is waking up as a child in an open hut
with a thatched roof, in a huge bed on a little
island on Lake Baringo, Kenya. It was the middle
of the night and hippopotamuses were grazing
on the grass a few metres from our bed. My father
whispered that we were not to move. In the
morning we woke to tiny hummingbirds eating
from a sugar bowl and later that day swam in the
lake with freshwater crocodiles that we were
(wrongly) told were friendly. Memories and
magical experiences like this I will treasure for
ever and always try to create for my son, Fox.
elephantwatchsafaris.com
Viewing Etna by helicopterJOHNNY MORRIS
Fire and water, the rough with the smooth – it is
the contrasts that make the best trips. In western
Sicily I left the comforts of the Don Arcangelo
all’Olmo villa for a helicopter ride over the craters
of Mount Etna. Flying above the molasses-black
lava I could stare under the skin of our planet and,
through the swirling fury of gases, enjoy a peek
into hell. The volcanic day continued as I sailed
over warm water fumaroles in the Tyrrhenian Sea
to the Aeolian Islands. On Stromboli I joined an
evening climb to the mouth of the fire mountain.
At the top, Stromboli boomed and hurled huge
fireballs into the inky sky. Later, safely back on the
boat with fellow summiteers, we watched
Europe’s best fireworks display and toasted the
volcano with sweet Malvasia wine as ash fell like
snow into the sea. Visions of heaven and hell all in
one day. thinksicily.com
Watching penguins in South GeorgiaMARK CARWARDINE
The highlight of any visit to the remote and
staggeringly beautiful island of South Georgia – a
mere cartographic speck in the immensity of the
Southern Ocean – is St Andrews Bay. Against a
phenomenal mountainous backdrop, 150,000
breeding pairs of king penguins crowd the beach
in a spectacle that takes your breath away. The
first time I set eyes on this avian Glastonbury
I knew immediately that South Georgia was going
to become one of my favourite places on earth.
With 50 million seabirds and more than five million
seals crammed on to an island the size of Essex,
it bombards you with sensory overload at
every turn. wildlifeworldwide.com
Sailing in GreeceAMANDA WAKELEY
Recently we fell under the spell of the island of
Delos – the mythical birthplace of Apollo and
Artemis and an island of incredible magnetism to
ocean voyagers for five millennia. Over the
summer we sailed there on our 98ft Savannah, but
stayed too long, and when we decided to leave,
had the full force of a 60-knot Meltemi gale to
contend with. Boy, did we sail! At times we were
going 15 knots and were occasionally airborne, in
spite of our boat weighing 60 tons. As we drew
closer to Sounion, 42 miles from Delos, the wind
dropped and we coasted into the beautiful and
deserted bay in time to climb up to the 400BC
Temple of Poseidon to admire a perfect sunset.
Although our boat is kept in St-Tropez, it’s to
Greece we keep returning. It’s always incredible.
visitgreece.gr
Climbing a volcano in VenezuelaRICHARD MADDEN
Reality rarely lives up to the imagination. But in the
case of the Venezuelan tepuis, those magnificent
flat-topped table mountains towering 2,000ft
above the rolling pampas below, it most certainly
does. The Lost World, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s tale
of a pterodactyl-infested wilderness where
evolution came to a full stop in the Jurassic age,
was a noir flight of fancy based on the reports of
the first European explorers. Canaima National
Park, as it’s now known, still feels like a parallel
universe, but you no longer have to fear being
eaten alive. The walking is easy, but the six-day trek
to the summit of Mount Roraima and back is
a more authentic wilderness experience than
many crowded Himalayan trails. exodus.co.uk
WE ATE A LAVISH MEAL ON THE SANDBAR, AND THEN MADE A DASH FOR IT
Cocktail hour Top: Baros island in the Maldives.
Above: Mount Etna in Sicily erupting. Below:
a cowboy herding on a ranch in Wyoming
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A new self-drive, off-road adventure through the northern Serengeti is a thrilling way
Hoofing it across the plains
Wildebeest charge by a Land Rover,
main image. From right: The
Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater
Camp; Maasai shepherds;
elephants stop to feed
LCKI8KI8M<C���
to see Tanzania’s magnificent migrating wildlife, says Charles Starmer-Smith. Pictures by Simon John Owen
GAME DRIVE
In gear for the ultimate
An English Original...
New Forest Hampshire BH25 6QS Tel: 01425 282212
[email protected] www.chewtonglen.com
For further information visitwww.chewtonglen.com
LCKI8KI8M<C���
he storm clouds had been gathering for some time
but we were just a few hundred metres from our
camp when the first droplets of rain finally spattered
against the windscreen. When you hail from Blighty you rarely
welcome a downpour on your travels, but this was one of the
few exceptions. The rains had come early to the plains of
northern Serengeti and they had attracted quite a crowd.
As we bounced through the scrubland the clipped
Zimbabwean voice of our guide, Glen Dennis, came over the
radio. “OK, guys, just stop there,” he said, as we duly slowed to
a halt. “Switch off your engines and stay still.”
Dusk was approaching, but ahead the dark silhouettes of
thousands of wildebeest were unmistakable, filling every inch
of the dusty landscape. The migration had made an early return
from the Masaai Mara in search of the fresh grass shoots of the
Serengeti – and we had front-row seats to witness it.
Everywhere we turned wildebeest snorted, bleated and
scraped at the earth, staring quizzically at our fleet of sparkling
white Land Rovers.
The distant clap of thunder was enough to spook one of the
herd. He bucked and charged, prompting a chain reaction.
Within seconds the Serengeti soil was shaking with the sound
of pounding hooves as the herd thundered south, following
their inner compass, dust clouds rising in their wake. I let the
camera, which until now had been engaged in a flurry of
furious clicks, zooms and whirrs, fall in to my lap. Some of
life’s great spectacles are better etched into the memory than
on to the memory card.
The tell-tale signs of the migration had been there when we
spotted large numbers of zebra and impala the previous day,
but you never know in the Serengeti – a few thousand
wildebeest can disappear in an area bigger than Northern
Ireland and four times that of the mighty Masaai Mara. Within
Mass movement More than a million wildebeest migrate from the
Maasai Mara to the Serengeti in rainy season. Above: Arriving at camp
THOUSANDS OF WILDEBEEST WERE FILLING EVERY INCH OF THE LANDSCAPE
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a few weeks the siringet (endless plain) would be teeming
with a million and a half wildebeest and 200,000 zebra
and gazelle (each feeds on different section of the grass
in this complicated ecosystem). Here they stay to mate
and calve in the early months of the year before starting
their migration again.
The rain was also welcome because it gave us a chance
to put our vehicles through their paces. A new partnership
between Land Rover and Abercrombie & Kent had seen
the purveyors of the quintessential off-road vehicle link
up with the travel company which made its name in
Africa when Geoffrey Kent first headed in to the bush with
a Bedford truck and his mother’s sterling-silver ice bucket.
Fifty years on and the formula has not changed – real
safaris in real style.
So this was glamping – think electricity, hot water, real
beds and butlers – but it still felt authentic. You may be
able to find more luxurious camps, but you will not find
better locations. Each of the Sanctuary camps was set up
in the heart of the bush – you dine by candle light and
drift off to sleep to the cackle, growl and bleat of hyena,
lion and wildebeest. Our vehicles, a fleet of the latest Land
Rover Discoverys, combined high-tech, leather-lined
comfort with high performance.
So can anyone do it? Yes, if you have a licence and a
thirst for adventure. With constant instruction and
encouragement over the radio, the basics of off-road
driving quickly become second nature. What is more, the
cars are incredibly forgiving. Whether it was careering over
unseen rocks or heading through deep mud that followed
the rains, the car would correct itself, making the driver
feel as if a rally career might be on the cards.
We had flown in to Kilimanjaro and spent the first night
at Arusha Coffee Lodge, from where we set off the next
morning. It was a fairly inauspicious start: traffic clogged
the tarmac road into Arusha as we dodged swarms of piki
pikis, the local name for the ubiquitous motorbikes that
buzzed around us like pesky mosquitoes. The loquacious
Glen, who was leading our seven-strong convoy, called it a
town of “misfits, mercenaries and missionaries”, and it
certainly had that frontier feel.
Glen has criss-crossed Africa as a guide and ranger, but
maintains that nowhere compares with the Serengeti.
Unfailingly enthusiastic and informative about its flora and
fauna, he was complemented by Phillip Koimere, a Masaai,
and A&K’s representative, who explained the cultural and
social challenges that his people face. This is the point of
these trips – combining the thrill and spills of a self-drive
adventure with the insights of expert guides.
The urban concrete sprawl of Arusha was soon replaced
by traditional wooden bomas and the cherub-like faces of
impossibly young Masaai boys shepherding their goats.
We skirted Lake Manyara before crossing the floor of the
Great Rift Valley. Phillip explained that urbanisation and
access to education had put the squeeze on the Masaai’s
pastoral way of life, with young men seeking new lives in
the city, leaving boys as young as five to tend to the herds.
But it was only when we climbed up on to the escarpment
of the Ngorongoro Crater that we felt the adventure had
begun. Beneath us lay an amphitheatre of African life. This,
the world’s largest caldera, is rich in wildlife: lion, elephant,
hippo and rhino and myriad species of birds roam its
plains, savannah, lakes and forests.
No sooner had we descended on to the caldera’s verdant
floor than we’d spotted a lioness and her cubs basking in
the sun. The female strolled right by us, while one of the
youngest cubs took shade against the wheel of our vehicle.
It set the tone for the coming days as we covered some
500 miles in the cars, enjoying our fair share of off-road
high jinks as we climbed over kopjes (little hills), churned
through mud pools and bounced across riverbeds. We
witnessed nature at its most beautiful – herds of
elephants trundling through woodlands at sunset, packs
of hyenas stalking their prey at dawn and waterholes
teeming with hippo. We witnessed the ever-changing
landscapes from Kilimanjaro in the east to the uplands
near the Masaai Mara border in the north, from lush
rainforest and pungent soda lakes to arid plains and
towering cliffs. We passed Simba kopje, which inspired
Pride Rock in The Lion King, and spotted several prides of
lion. (Such was the success of the film that the Masaai
have felt the need to create a new word for lion. It still
remains a secret, unless Disney hijacks that one, too.)
Heart rates rose as we nearly got charged by one of the
most dangerous animals in the bush – the Cape buffalo.
“They remind me of my bank manager,” quipped Glenn,
“aggressive, angry and never pleased to see me.”
We also witnessed nature at its most raw. A lone
baby elephant wandered lost on the roadside.
Our hearts sank when we saw a flock of vultures
circling above a large carcass a short distance away. There
was only one conclusion: the baby elephant had been
orphaned and rejected by the rest of the herd – a scene
that is all too familiar in the poaching-ravaged world of
Africa. But we did not see everything – leopard and rhino
remained unmarked on the card. And rightly so. For me, it
is the thrill of the unknown that makes a safari special –
the small private reserves where the Big Five are available
on tap hold little appeal.
Back in Sanctuary Serengeti Migration Camp we were
greeted by butlers carrying platters of cold towels, and
even colder gin and tonics, as we settled around the
campfire to recall the day’s events.
If being behind the wheel gives you a better feel for the
changing landscape and terrain of the Serengeti, it is only
from the air that you can understand its scale.
We awoke long before first light to a welcome flask of
fresh coffee that had been slipped in to each tent, before
clambering into our vehicles for the short journey to the
take-off zone where our balloon’s giant canopy was
already stretched out on the grass. Our madcap pilot
strolled over – Captain Kim from South Korea.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I have been doing this for 27
years and am still alive. Hah!” We smiled nervously. He
later told us that he learnt his craft entirely from a manual
– the first time he soared 10,000ft before crash-landing
into a tree. The second time he took the roof off a house.
But we needn’t have worried. We barely noticed the
take-off, silently gliding upwards, except for the occasional
roar of the gas-powered flames.
We had risen early for a very good reason. Slowly, the
sun inched over the horizon, its warm fingers bringing the
bushveld to life. Below, a family of warthogs scurried across
open scrubland, a kori bustard enjoyed an early morning
stroll, two young impala played tag while their skittish
parents looked on, seeming to instinctively know that dawn
means dinner-time for predators. Nearby, a giraffe bent to
drink from a stream, eyes scanning left and right as a pair
of elephants lumbered through the undergrowth. A pair of
hyenas trotted across a dry riverbed, and a pride of cats sat
licking their chops at the sight of a black river of wildebeest
flowing across the plains ahead.
An hour and a half slipped by in a heartbeat, but as we
came in to land at Seronera we were treated to a glorious
finale. A cheetah tore out from the undergrowth chasing a
wild hare, arching its body as it cornered sharply, its tail
acting as a rudder to help it balance. It came within a
whisker of its prey.
With broad smiles, we climbed down from the balloon
to be whisked off for a champagne bush breakfast and to
toast what was one of life’s real bucket-list experiences.
In fact, the same could be said of this whole Serengeti
adventure. Just one word of warning: a game drive might
never be the same again.
A LIONESS STROLLED PAST, WHILE HER CUB TOOK SHADE BY THE WHEEL OF OUR CAR
An eight-day, seven-night Land Rover Adventure
Travel safari by Abercrombie & Kent (01242 858 279;
abercrombiekent.co.uk/landrover) in Tanzania costs
from £7,995 per person, plus park fees (from £475
per person). The self-drive route takes in the
Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and
Tarangire National Park. The price includes Land
Rover vehicle hire (based on two sharing),
accommodation on a full-board basis (including
two nights at the exclusive Sanctuary luxury mobile
camp at Ngorongoro Crater), guiding and all
technical support. International flights with KLM,
flying to Kilimanjaro via Amsterdam, cost from
£650 per person.
HOW TO DO IT
Natural high From top: a hot-air balloon trip gives a bird’s-eye view
of the Serengeti at dawn; a lion cub seeks shade by the car; Charles
Starmer-Smith, centre, enjoys sundowners around the campfire
GE
TTY
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CAPE ROYALE LUXURY HOTEL & SPACape Town, South Africa
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LUXURY UNDER SAIL WITH NOBLE CALEDONIA – BOOK EARLY AND SAVE £500 PER PERSON
Island Hopping in the West Indies A voyage under sail from Barbados to Antigua aboard the magnifcent Sea Cloud II - 18th February to 3rd March 2016
the island including the Botanical Gardens and see
Diamond Rock, captured by the British in 1804 and
held against repeated French attacks. The afternoon is
will be at leisure to explore the island independently
or relax onboard.
Day 7 - Dominica. Dominica, nicknamed the “Nature
Isle” of the Caribbean, is one of the most untouched
of the Windward Islands. It boasts some of the
highest mountains in the Lesser Antilles, as well as
many beautiful national parks. This afternoon we
hope to berth in Cabrits and visit the beautifully
restored Fort Shirley which successfully repelled a
French attack during the Trafalgar campaign in 1805.
Day 8 - Iles des Saintes. The eight island Iles des
Saintes archipelago dots the waters off the southwest
coast of Guadeloupe. This morning tender ashore
and explore the charming town of Tere-de-Haut at
leisure or walk up to Fort Napoleon and visit the
museum focusing on the Battle of the Saintes.
Day 9 - St Kitts. Untouched by large tourist
developments, the island of St Kitts boasts some of
the loveliest scenery in the West Indies and an old
world charm. This morning we will tender ashore and
on our tour of the island, including the Romney
Gardens and Fairview Great House, we will receive
the friendliest of welcomes.
Day 10 - Tortola, British Virgin Islands. This
morning sail through the beautiful island dotted
waters of the British Virgin Islands. Anchor off Tortola
and Zodiac into the beautiful harbour of Road Town,
the busy centre of island life and marine activity. Our
afternoon tour will include a scenic drive of the island
including a stop at Cane Garden Bay one of the
island’s spectacular white sandy beaches.
Day 11 - Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands. Jost
van Dyke, the smallest of the main islands in the
British Virgin Islands, is a mountainous volcanic object
of beauty with fewer than 300 inhabitants. One of
them, Foxy, has been mixing his cocktails since 1968
and the bar of the same name enjoys a legendary
reputation as perhaps the most famous beach bar in
the Lesser Antilles. This morning enjoy relaxing on
the beach, snorkelling or perhaps visit Foxy’s Bar.
Day 12 - Anguilla & Prickly
Pear Cays. The most northerly of the British Leeward
Islands, Anguilla is where you will fnd some of the
most stunning beaches in all the Caribbean. This
afternoon we will clear the ship in Anguilla before
making our way to Prickly Pear Cays where we will go
ashore by Zodiac. Prickly Pear is completely deserted
apart from two small restaurants and no one lives on
the island so it makes for a perfect location to relax or
to enjoy some swimming or snorkelling.
Day 13 - St Barts. This tiny French West Indian island
is proud of its reputation as a stylish and exclusive
tropical resort. It is a very top drawer place and the
island’s capital of Gustavia offers gourmet restaurants
and smart shops which would not be out of place on
the French Riviera.
Day 14 - Antigua to London. Disembark after
breakfast and transfer to the airport for your return
scheduled fight to London.
Day 15 - London. Morning arrival.
Sea Cloud IIWhilst there are many large sailing ships offering
passages around the world there are few if any that can
compare in terms of luxury to Sea Cloud II. Watching
the 29,600 square feet of sails being set by hand is a
truly magical sight. Standing on the dock and looking
up at the vessel you cannot help but be impressed by
the sheer majesty of the vessel. Walk up the gangway
and on to the deck and it is even more impressive.
And, the splendour does not end here; below deck is
a sumptuous world of traditional maritime infuences
with 21st century luxuries. Well appointed cabins and
public areas create a restful atmosphere totally in
keeping with the overall grandeur of the vessel.
Built to accommodate 96 passengers in fve star
luxury, she offers a range of beautifully appointed
suites and cabins which are furnished with great
style. All accommodations have outside views and
the bathrooms are unusually spacious and extremely
comfortable. No expense has been spared to create
a sympathetic ambience in both the accommodations
and public areas and this is refected throughout the
vessel. Public areas include an elegant lounge, library,
ftness centre, boutique, lido bar and hospital. The
single sitting dining room is airy and modern and the
quality of the cuisine and service will be to the highest
of standards, as one would expect on a Sea Cloud
II cruise. Relax on the Lido deck and experience the
natural grandeur of travelling under sail, rekindling
memories of a bygone age.
The Itinerary Day 1 - London to Barbados. Fly by scheduled fight.
Upon arrival transfer to Sea Cloud II and embark. Set
sail after dinner.
Day 2 - Grenada, Lesser Antilles. Spend the morning
at sea and this afternoon moor in the picturesque
capital of St George’s to explore this wonderful
windward Island which many regard as the most
beautiful in the Caribbean. It is a lush and verdant
island with spice plantations, tropical forests, secluded
coves, nature trails and select hotels which cling to the
hillsides overlooking the ocean.
Day 3 - Tobago Cays & Union Island, Grenadines.
Right in the south of the Grenadines are Union Island
and the Tobago Cays. Four small uninhabited islands,
surrounded by a protective horseshoe-shaped coral
reef, form the Tobago Cays which has been
designated a National Marine Park. Union Island is
nicknamed the ‘Tahiti of the West Indies’ due to its
volcanic silhouette. This morning enjoy a catamaran
tour of the Tobago Cays which will include time for
snorkelling and swimming and then before lunch our
Zodiacs will take us ashore to the beautiful and
deserted beach at Chatham Bay for a beach BBQ.
Day 4 - Bequia, Grenadines. This delightful Grenadine
island is totally unspoilt, a place of pure escapism in a
charming old world atmosphere. This morning we will
tender ashore and visit the Hegg Turtle Sanctuary
followed by time to relax on one of the stunning
beaches or for some swimming or snorkelling.
Day 5 - St Lucia. Morning visit to St Lucia, a splendidly
rugged island of towering Mountains, lush green
valleys and acres of banana plantations. Because of its
strategic position, it was fought over repeatedly by the
French and British and changed hands fourteen times.
We shall anchor off the island insight of its best known
feature, the twin peaks of the Pitons, which rise
dramatically from the sea to more than 2400 feet.
Tender ashore and explore the island independently or
on a guided tour including the volcano.
Day 6 - Martinique. Today call into the lovely island of
Martinique, birthplace of Napoleon’s beloved
Josephine. From our berth in Fort de France explore
Just when winter seems to be endless, it is the perfect time to escape to the warmth and beauty of the West Indies.
There is a reason why people continue to visit the Caribbean, it is because, quite simply nothing else compares.
From the stunning Pitons of St Lucia, rising majestically from the sea, to the captivating charm of IIes des Saintes,
each island we visit will offer the opportunity to experience something new and unique, and by and large we will
head for the smaller less visited places. Occasionally our paths will cross with the mega-factory like cruise ships and it is at
such times we will appreciate even more how fortunate we are to be enjoying our classic ship that embodies all the best sailing
traditions. Having operated voyages in the region for many years aboard Sea Cloud II we know the waters between the Grenadines
in the south and the British Virgin Islands in the north provide the perfect sailing conditions for such a vessel and we have therefore
planned the itinerary to ensure ample sailing time allowing you to relax on deck in the warmth and enjoy the majesty of the vessel.
Prices and InclusionsSpecial offer prices per person based on double occupancy range from £6895 for a deluxe double cabin to £8995 for a luxury owner’s suite. Staterooms for sole use from £6895.
Price Includes: Economy class scheduled air travel, 13 nights aboard Sea Cloud II on a full board basis with
house wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, Noble Caledonia tour manager, guest speaker, shore
excursions, gratuities to crew and whilst on excursions, transfers and port taxes.
NB. Ports subject to change and weather conditions. All special offers are subject to availability. Travel
insurance and visas are not included in the price. Our current booking conditions apply to all reservations.
New Brochure Now Available For details pertaining
to this voyage and all
our voyages aboard
Sea Cloud II, please ask
for a copy of our new
brochure or view online.
LCKI8KI8M<C���
EDITED BY LISA GRAINGER
intelligence
PRAGUE
Browse the Czech capital’s cobbled streets
and take in the views from the Charles Bridge
without having to share them with dozens
of hen parties. Visit the serene museum of
medieval art, the Convent of St Agnes
(ngprague.cz). Avoid the city at Easter.
Stay at Mandarin Oriental (mandarinoriental.
com), housed in a beautiful 14th-century
monastery in the heart of the capital.
PARIS
The city is just coming into bloom in early
spring, and you have space to enjoy the
galleries. See an exhibition by painter Pierre
Bonnard at the Musée d’Orsay from March 17,
followed by lunch in the pretty dining room, and
macaroons at the nearby Boulangerie Gosselin
(boulangeriegosselin.com).
Stay at Peninsula Paris (paris.peninsula.com),
close to the Arc de Triomphe.
BARCELONA
Barcelona is best after Easter and before
June. Even the Museu Picasso, which is packed
in summer, is bearable in May. Take advantage
of the quieter vibe for a leisurely browse around
the city’s slick fashion boutiques, such as
Coquette (coquettebcn.com) and La Comercial
Hombre (lacomercial.info).
Stay at Hotel Arts Barcelona (ritzcarlton.com),
right, filled with hip Spanish artworks.
ST TROPEZ
Come before the superyachts and crocodile
tans arrive. Just ahead of the summer season,
the weather is warm and there’s a frisson in the
air, but the town still feels authentically French
and pleasantly relaxed. Watch boules in the
Place des Lices and savour a lobster lunch at
Senequier café (senequier.com).
Stay at The chic boutique bolthole
White 1921 (white1921.com).
VAL D’ISERE
Although this is, for many, the ultimate winter
playground, this French resort is sensational in
summer, too. Go canoeing (left), canyoning and
climbing, white-water rafting and hydro-
speeding (body-boarding down rapids).
Europe’s highest race – the Ice Trail Tarentaise,
a gruelling high-altitude marathon – takes
place from July 11-12.
Stay at The sumptuous Marco Polo chalet,
which sleeps up to 14 (akvillas.com).
VERBIER
The lift queues can be horrific in winter, but
after the snows melt this village slows down
and attracts hikers and bikers. And no wonder –
Verbier has 28 marked cross-country itineraries
(verbinet.com), and more than 300 miles of
mountain-bike routes (en.verbier.ch). Enjoy
Valais home-cooking at Le Namaste
(namaste-verbier.ch) in Savoleyres.
Stay at The funky W (wverbier.com),
which is open throughout the year.
TUSCANY
The children are back at school, the tour buses
have gone and the fields have taken on an
autumnal hue. September, when the grape and
olive harvests begin, is a beautiful month.
Watch a thrilling palio (horse race) in Castel del
Piano on September 8 – an alternative to
the famous, but packed, one in Siena.
Stay at Monteverdi (monteverdituscany.com),
a restored 12th-century village hotel in
Castiglioncello del Trinoro.
FLORENCE
Stroll beside the Arno at the only time of year
when locals outnumber tourists. The city offers
fine winter gastronomy: try risotto with
cauliflower and quail at Il Santo Bevitore
(santobevitore.com) and savour fine wines at
Cantinetta Antinori (cantinetta-antinori.com).
Stay at Four Seasons (fourseasons.com)
with its Renaissance bas-reliefs.
MICHELLE JANA CHAN
CYPRUS
The sea is still warm enough to swim in –
Cyprus is blessed with one of the longest
summers in Europe. Explore the hiking trails in
the Troodos Mountains, which have dozens of
Byzantine churches, such as Asinou with its
magnificent 12th-century frescoes (right),
which you can enjoy in solitude.
Stay at Anassa (anassa.com.cy),
overlooking the sea on the Akamas peninsula.
IBIZA
After the superclubs shut their doors, a quiet,
laidback, natural vibe reigns on this Balearic
isle. Explore Ibiza Town, with its 13th-century
castle and boho galleries, in peace, and go
bird-watching in Salinas National Park, where
you can see flamingos, black-winged stilts,
marsh harriers and snowy plovers.
Stay at Atzaró (atzaro.com), a country hotel
and spa surrounded by orange groves.
2015THE SMARTEST TIME TO VISIT EUROPE’S HOTSPOTS? THE OFF-SEASON
JANUARY
ROME
The tourist bottlenecks have cleared, so it’s a
great time to see exhibitions. Catch the final
month of the Chiostro del Bramante’s
(chiostrodelbramante.it) superb retrospective of
Dutch artist MC Escher, and fill up on pizza
ebraica (fruit and nut cake) at Roman-Jewish
bakery Il Boccione (Via del Portico d’Ottavia).
Stay at The calm, elegant Hotel de Russie
(roccofortehotels.com).
VENICE
Before Carnevale, Italy’s waterside city (right),
has fewer crowds on its streets and bridges. It
also has a melancholy beauty in this misty
month and, on January 5, hosts the traditional
Regata delle Befane, a boat race for over-fifties,
who dress up as La Befana, a folkloric witch.
Stay at Aman Canal Grande Venice
(amanresorts.com), where the Clooneys spent
their wedding night in September.
APRIL
FEBRUARY MARCH
JUNEAPRIL MAY
JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER
ULTRA
ALA
MY; F
OU
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OR
NE
RS; G
ETT
Y
� �LCKI8KI8M<C�
Malik Fernando, who was born and raised in
Sri Lanka, is a director of Dilmah, the tea
company. He is also managing director of Ceylon
Tea Trails, Sri Lanka’s only Relais & Châteaux
property, and a new hotel in Cape Welligama
(resplendentceylon.com)
How do you make the perfect cup of tea?
Bring fresh cold water to a boil. In a clean, dry
pre-warmed teapot, add 220ml of water per
teaspoon of tea. Brew for a minimum of two
minutes, and, if desired, add warm milk and
honey. Don’t use reboiled water. Carbon dioxide
is gradually released during the boiling process
and reboiling will further reduce it, resulting in a
decrease in acidity, which will alter the ionisation
of the polyphenols, and the flavour of the tea.
What’s the difference between green and
black tea?
They are both made from the same bush,
Camellia sinensis, but green tea is unfermented,
steamed immediately after plucking and retains
a lighter colour and flavour. Black tea is allowed
to ferment, then dry, darkening the leaves and
resulting in a stronger flavour and aroma.
How are jasmine and Earl Grey teas made?
Earl Grey is a black tea flavoured with bergamot,
whereas jasmine tea is green tea scented with
jasmine petals.
Does the temperature of the water matter?
Yes. Black teas and herbal infusions can be
made with water that is at 100°C, whereas more
delicately flavoured green, white and oolong
teas should be made with water at 70C to 80C.
Which are the most precious teas?
White tea – also known as silver tips – is made
of just the tea bud and is extremely limited in
production. Just a few hundred kilos are
produced per year, all by hand, and sold to
merchants from £50 for a pound.
Are all loose teas better than tea bags?
Yes. The larger leaf is more flavoursome and
brewing in a teapot allows the leaves to “dance”,
unconstrained by a tea bag, which results in a
better brew.
Is there research proving that tea is
good for you?
Modern clinical studies have proven what
Chinese Emperor Shennong believed 5,000
years ago when he first documented tea as
medicine: that tea is beneficial in countering
cardiovascular illnesses, dementia, viruses,
stress, cholesterol and protecting against
cancers and diabetes.
Your favourite places to have tea?
I love Bettys in York (bettys.co.uk), Brown’s
Hotel in London (roccofortehotels.com) and the
Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town (belmond.
com) – and, of course, our own century-old
colonial tea planters’ bungalows in Sri Lanka
(teatrails.com).
Favourite places to buy tea?
Harney & Sons in New York (harney.com) and
Mariage Frères in Paris (mariagefreres.com).
MASTERCLASS
12,000,000Croissants, per year, used by
Emirates airline
12 Number of minutes to empty the Bugatti Veyron’s 26-gallon
fuel tank at full speed (253mph)
90Percentage of world’s blue
whale population killed in the past 100 years
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS
59,000,000 Value in dollars of champagneconsumed in Nigeria in 2012
LESSONS FROM GLOBAL EXPERTS
TIME FOR TEA
Castles are not an obvious
gift to give a little girl. But
then Margaret Carnegie
wasn’t any little girl. She
was the daughter of one of the world’s
wealthiest industrialists, Andrew
Carnegie, who was determined to give
his daughter the gift of a Scottish
childhood. No sooner had she been
born in 1897, than her parents set
about creating a fairy-tale castle:
panelling walls with oak, lining
bathrooms with marble, commissioning
stained-glass windows, installing an
organ and filling a library with precious
first editions. In the first few years of
Margaret’s life, Rudyard Kipling, the
Rockefellers, King Edward VII and David
Lloyd George were all house guests.
After the heiress died, the castle
was bought by a series of millionaires,
most recently Ellis Short, the owner of
Sunderland FC, who runs it as a private
club for a maximum of 400 members.
Normally private members’ clubs are
that – private. However, when a few
membership spaces arise (as just have)
the manse doors are opened for
prospective members to trial it as their
new weekend home.
And what a home. Within the 7,500
acres are the handsome turreted castle
with its 22 panelled bedrooms, and 11
lodges and cottages from which guests
can take their pick. On one stay they
might take up residence in the castle’s
main suite, with its four-poster bed,
oak-panelled walls and lion-claw bath.
Another week they might choose a
wooden lodge, which comes with its
own Land Rover, overlooking Dornoch
Firth. Days can be spent golfing on the
Donald Steel-designed course,
swimming in the glass-roofed pool
house overlooking the loch, mastering
clay-pigeon or grouse shooting, riding
over the estate, fishing, listening to the
resident organist, or just chatting to the
staff. They include Peter Crome, the
tweed-clad managing director (ex
Chewton Glen and Savoy) and the
tousle-haired Alan Grant, the
“Ambassador” at Skibo – in other
words, a genial host-cum-storyteller.
Guests are encouraged to live in
Skibo Castle as they would in a private
home – reading in the library, playing
pool in the games room, or joining in
the house party, which might involve
singing songs round the Bechstein
piano, dancing at Saturday night
cèilidhs, or chatting over cocktails with
fellow guests (businessmen, oligarchs,
heiresses and wealthy expats who use
it as their British base).
It’s unlike any home we’ve been to
(which is presumably why Madonna
chose it as a wedding location). Where
else are guests roused for breakfast by
an organist and then introduced to an
owl-handler by a man wearing green
glitter-strewn shoes? It’s gloriously
eccentric, utterly decadent – and, sadly,
it costs £24,000 to become a member.
Skibo Castle, Dornoch, Sutherland
(01862 894600, carnegieclub.co.uk;
doubles from £2,600 a night,
all-inclusive, plus £8,000 annual dues)
A LITTLE PLACE I KNOW
SKIBO CASTLE DORNOCH, SUTHERLAND, SCOTLAND
King of the clubs
The magnificent library
at Skibo Castle, above.
Left: A falconer
demonstrates his craft
L U X U R Y
Winter / 2014
NEW ISSUE
OUT DECEMBER 6
���LCKI8KI8M<C�
SUITE DREAMS
MAPPING YOUR BELONGINGS
PONTE VECCHIO SUITE,
PORTRAIT FIRENZE
Lungarno degli Acciaiuoli 4, Florence, Italy
(00 39 055 2726 8000, lungarnocollection.com)
Opened 1 May 2014
Price €2,800/£2,205 per night
Size 1,292 sq ft
USP Florence’s luxury hotel scene is as crowded
as the Uffizi Gallery, but Portrait Firenze has both
location and pedigree – it is owned by one of
Italy’s first families of fashion, the Ferragamos.
Set on the sixth floor, the Ponte Vecchio suite is
the ultimate Florentine room with a view, with an
unimpeded sweep of the city’s famed crossing
over the River Arno. The suite can also connect
with three adjacent rooms to create a penthouse.
When it comes to service, nothing is too much
trouble. Before check-in, guests are sent a
questionnaire to determine their preferences –
whether that’s a specific newspaper or drink in
the minibar, or whether they want a private tour
of the Vasari corridor, a peek inside someone’s
palazzo or to flex their credit cards on the Via
Tornabuoni with a personal shopper. That is, if
they can drag themselves away from the view.
Details The Ferragamos wisely turned to the
Florentine architect and designer Michele Bonan.
Taking his design cues from Fifties Florence, the
look is a sophisticated mingling of mid-century
modern and La Dolce Vita: more stylish home
than hotel. The suite is a gorgeous,
bright space of dove-grey wood-
panelled walls, white-beamed
ceilings, silvery upholstery, teak
floorboards and glamorous flashes of
gold. Like the onyx-topped console
table flanking one wall, most of the furniture is
custom-made, designed by Bonan and inspired by
the Fifties and Sixties. Walls are sprinkled with
black-and-white photographs dedicated to
shoemaker-to-the-stars Salvatore Ferragamo, and
scenes of Florence featuring celebrities such as
Audrey Hepburn. There are two double bedrooms
at each end of the suite, with beds decked out in
snow-white Italian linen and houndstooth throws.
In between are an airy living room and a cleverly
designed kitchen. Bathrooms are bedecked in
Carrara marble, with Salvatore Ferragamo
toiletries beside the roll-top bath, and views
through huge windows over the rooftops. But the
real showstopper is the suite’s private terrace, on
which guests can breakfast in the morning or sit,
glass of Chianti in hand, and watch the sun slip
behind the Tuscan hills.
Ultratravel’s guide to the world’s most sumptuous new hotel rooms
Positively palatial
View from the private
terrace of the Ponte
Vecchio Suite, whose
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I LIKE MINE RARE
Waris Ahluwalia, the Indian aesthete-cum-
philanthropist-cum-actor (who played a concierge
in Hotel Budapest), is well known among magpies
for his exotic collections of jewellery. Since he
opened his own Rare boutique in the Explorer’s
Library of the Gritti Palace in Venice, though, he’s
also become the go-to man for all things
handcrafted. Rarities, made by 40 artisans in
14 countries, range from Haider Ackermann’s yak
scarves and Venetian glass to rainbow-coloured
boules. houseofwaris.com
H
���LCKI8KI8M<C�
he 56-year-old creative director
of the Italian fashion and homeware brand has
travelled extensively since she was a child. Her
parents, Ottavio and Rosita, were always, she
says, “incredibly curious and imaginative”.
Although she spends a considerable part of her
year in hotels, her favourite places are simple,
quiet houses “always with a view – everyone in
my family needs to look out from high up”.
She lives in a Modernist house near the fashion
factory her parents opened in the Fifties in
Lombardy, but the family also has holiday homes
in Venice and Lake Como.
How many holidays do you take a year?
Two or three, ideally at Christmas, Easter and
summer, often to somewhere I have never been.
I’m very inquisitive.
To what sort of place?
Somewhere by the sea where I can explore a city,
enjoy natural beauty and sightsee. It’s usually a
place that’s warm: Morocco, India, Oman, Mexico,
or, in Europe, Spain, France, Portugal…
Do you ever go away just to relax?
Last Christmas was a tough year for our family.
[Her brother, Vittorio, was killed in a plane crash in
the Caribbean and her father, Ottavio, died before
the plane was found.] So my boyfriend, Bruno,
and I went to Jamaica to get away. We stayed in
Jamaica Inn (jamaicainn.com), which was very
English and relaxed, and surrounded by real
Jamaican life, which I liked, and Goldeneye
(goldeneye.com), which was probably more
charming before they renovated it.
Do you enjoy spas?
Bruno and I try and go to Bretagne, in France,
every year to a thalassotherapy spa called
Quiberon (sofitel-quiberon-thalassa.com). It is in
an incredible position, out on a peninsula, and
surrounded by Stonehenge-age monoliths. There’s
a powerful energy there and really strong
therapists, which is why it’s a spa that men like,
too, and fantastic seafood, from oysters to
lobsters. It also gets more than 300 days of sun
a year, so you can sunbathe even in November.
Where would you like to go next?
India, because last year I organised a trip for my
daughter, Teresa, and her friends to go with my
mother to Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur and the rest of
Rajasthan, but I never got to go myself.
Do you travel light?
On the way out, yes. On the way back, never.
I always come back with tons of luggage. I used to
take Tumi (tumi.com) but they are too heavy. And
I love Globe-Trotter (globetrotter1897.com) but
they get ruined if you check them in. So now I use
light polyester Rimowa (rimowa.com) suitcases.
Your favourite city for a weekend away?
Venice, where we have a house. Not only can you
eat very well there, but it has wonderful galleries
and restaurants. Favourites include Antiche
Carampane (antichecarampane.com), where the
fish is incredible, and Trattoria Da Fiore (dafiore.it),
which does special Venetian dishes such as soft-
shelled crabs, little grey canocchie shrimps and
vegetables like bruscandoli [hop shoots] in risotto.
Favourite restaurants in other cities?
Caviar Kaspia (caviarkaspia.com) in Paris because
it’s always the same: it looks the same, you eat
the same things, and it’s exactly what you expect.
What next?
I would love to go on a six-month trip through
Italy. Where else can you find totally different
kinds of food every half an hour? So many
beautiful things? So much history? And such
variety? When visitors say they’re going to Venice,
Florence, Rome, I say what about Bologna?
Parma? Piemonte? Puglia?
Your favourite place?
Home, in Sumirago. We are so lucky: I have views
of the country from my house and my office. We
can drive to our house on Lake Como in 40
minutes. We can go skiing in the Alps in an hour
and a half, or Portofino, or be by the sea in Venice
in just over two, and have an airport 15 minutes
down the road, so I can go to Dubrovnik, where
I went many times with my father: a wonderful city.
What’s a perfect holiday to you?
Time to do nothing but read, ideally on the beach
or on a boat. Last weekend I went with Bruno to
Sardinia and we read in the day and admired the
views in the evening. It was amazing.
Any particular places you love to shop?
Markets. Seeing what food people eat is very
important. Once you know the food, you
understand the culture. They are also great places
to see craftsmanship – whether that’s woodwork
in the souks of Fez or antiques in Porte de
Clignancourt and Porte de Vanves in Paris.
The most romantic hotel?
I love the idea of cave hotels, like they have in
Cappadocia or in Matera (sextantio.it) in Italy.
It’s wonderful thinking about the people who have
lived there before you.
What do you always travel with?
A Missoni cashmere blanket to use on the plane
if it gets cold. Basics, so I can survive for 48 hours
if they lose my baggage. A comfortable sweater.
Plus Carta d’Armenia – or Armenian burning
paper – which you burn to purify the air. I bought
my first ones when I was about nine on a trip to
Florence with my mother, from the Santa Maria
Novella pharmacy (smnovella.it).
Where next?
I’d love to stay in a treehouse. It’s a fantasy I’ve
had since I was a child. There is a treehouse hotel
in Sweden (treehotel.se), so perhaps there.
The most remote place you’ve travelled to?
From the ages of five to 19 I spent all my holidays
on a tiny island in Dalmatia, just opposite Hvar, in
a little house with no lights and water from a well.
Do you like adventure holidays?
Adventure is part of my life: I like exploring.
But I also like comfort, which to me is a beautiful
view and a good bed.
Interview by Lisa Grainger
TRAVELLING LIFE Angela MissoniThe Italian designer on her favourite seaside spa, secret Venice trattoria, and where to buy Armenian burning paper
T
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‘I love the idea of cave hotels: thinking about
the people who have lived there
before you’
© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2013. Published by TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT, and printed by Polestar UK Limited.
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charities use our investment expertise Mortgages over £1million Specialists in foreign exchange, interest rates, cash and commodities
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eign exchange, interest rates, cash and commodities Putting investment management on your
doorstep Managing £40bn globally on behalf of private clients Looking after the wealth of 50,000 private clients Lending over £17bn* to
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commodities Putting investment management on your doorstep Managing £40bn globally on behalf of private clients Looking after the wealth
7bn* to clients worldwide Looking after £23bn* in cash for our clients Private Banking Helping 100,000
Over 1000† charities use our investment expertise Mortgages over £1million It’s what we do
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