BLACKBOOK ESCAPE PLAN
BLACKBOOK ESCAPE PLAN Okavango Safari Lodge in Botswana (andbeyond. com) is constructed within unexpectedly sinuous architecture, inspired by the lily pads and basketware of the area. Like Sandibe, Zimbabwe’s new sizable Changa Safari Camp (changasafaricamp.com) is set beside water: the Wales-sized Lake Kariba, on whose shores great herds of elephant and large Matusadona lion prides gather – and which can be viewed from the comfort of an outdoor bathtub. There is expansion in East Africa, too: Legendary Expeditions (legendaryexpeditions.com) has created Mwiba Lodge between granite boulders on a rocky kopje overlooking the Serengeti plains, and Asilia (namiriplains.asiliaafrica.com) set up the tented Namiri Plains in an area closed for 20 years and now thronging with game, particularly during the migration. Highly anticipated this year are the new selfdrive Land Rover safari with Abercrombie & Kent (abercrombiekent.co.uk), a 34- day flying safari with Aardvark Safaris (aardvarksafaris.co.uk), as well as the openings of Zimbabwe’s Linkwasha Camp (wilderness-safaris.com/camps/ linkwasha-camp), in Hwange National Park, and Angama Mara (angama.com), perched high up in the Kenyan hills where Denys Finch Hatton is buried. Above clockwise from top left: a playful cheetah, one of the sights of the Namiri Plains; the infinity pool at Anantara Bazaruto Island Resort & Spa; inside the Tartaruga Private Villa on Vamizi Island; the tented accommodation of Hoanib Skeleton Coast Below, left: the distinct design of &Beyond’s Sandibe Lodge; right: Anantara Bazaruto Island nestled in the trees behind a beautiful white-sanded bay Previous page: the Rift Valley’s Oloololo Escarpment, spectacular site of Angama Mara’s tented suites ... and on the beach The continent’s fringes are at long last being recognised as desirable destinations for sophisticated seaside holidays, not only because beaches – particularly those on the Indian Ocean – are long, powdery and white, but because new hotels have opened from Cape Town to Kenya. Some of the area’s highest-profile launches have been on islands: Fregate (fregate. com) in the Seychelles boasts 16 villas and Rock Spa, which have been given a slick makeover by the Oetker Collection, and North Island (north-island.com) has been totally refurbished with sinuous furnishings and marineinspired fabrics. In Mozambique, Anantara Medjumbe Island (medjumbe.anantara.com) opened in October in the remote Quirimbas Archipelago, with 12 shabby-chic thatched pool villas and a beachfront spa offering Thai-inspired treatments, while nearby Vamizi Island (vamizi.com) opened its largest private villa, sleeping 16, in December, alongside a new wellness centre. In Kenya, Saruni Ocean (saruniocean.com) has created seven light, bright beachside villas and East Africa’s first thalassotherapy spa on the long, undeveloped Msambweni beach. And throughout South Africa, Perfect Hideaways (perfecthideaways.co.za) has added some of the country’s finest private homes to their rental books, from charming family cottages to high-tech glass penthouses. This year, all eyes will return to Mozambique, when in the Bazaruto Archipelago the refurbished Benguerra Island (andbeyond. com/benguerra-island) re-opens in April and the old Indigo Bay opens its doors as the Anantara Bazaruto Island Resort & Spa (bazaruto.anantara.com), followed by, later in the year, Singita’s (singita.com) first property in the country, on a nearby peninsula to which guests in their Kruger lodges will be able to jet in directly. PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: © ANANTARA, © VAMIZI, IAN JOHNSON, © &BEYOND, DANA ALLEN, ALLAN EARNSHAW 24 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM CONTACT CENTURION SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS
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