Departures United Kingdom Spring 2021

DEPARTURES TRAVEL WELL

DEPARTURES TRAVEL WELL INFORMED 28 Cold-water diving with Cookson Adventures in Greenland The Art of Adventure World-class experts offer personal attention in utterly unique settings on these expert-led trips that are in a class of their own. by Jemima Sissons WITH COCONUT PALMS cocooning your regal jungle abode and nothing but turquoise ocean stretching far into the horizon, the first decision of the day at Beran Island Resort in the Bikini Atoll is when to tackle its infamous left break. Luckily, help is at hand, under the watchful eye of Jamie Mitchell, the world’s leading big-wave surfer. For this is one of the world’s few super-luxe dedicated surf hotels (Nihi Sumba in Indonesia is another) and the far-flung destination of an expertled trip by sporting members’ club Somerton (somertonsc.com). Here, on the private 18ha island estate, a fivehour flight west of Honolulu, carves, cutbacks and rodeo flips are perfected over two weeks. Somerton specialises in highly exclusive Olympian-led trips, from scaling Iran’s second-highest peak to kitesurfing glaciers in Patagonia, offering unparalleled access to worldclass athletes. It is one of a handful of distinguished operators that is offering a truly bespoke experience, going beyond the standard group offerings to broaden one’s horizons meaningfully while on the go. For some skiers, the thirst for the next big thrill is ceaseless. That’s where Cookson Adventures (cooksonadventures.com) kicks in with its superyacht heliskiing tour of Greenland. Here, days on the SY Ragnar icebreaker are spent seeking out the elusive narwhal, walruses and seals as well as tackling some of the TOBIAS FRIEDRICH

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: KELVIN TRAUTMAN, © JUVET LANDSCAPE HOTEL, RICHARD HALLMAN A hike across Antarctica’s icy wilds with White Desert most exciting skiing opportunities in the world, all led by adventurer Henry Cookson himself. After returning to the superyacht and an afternoon of polishing survival skills with Inuit hunters, there is time to relax over a Macallan 25 – chilled (why not?) with a nugget of iceberg – watching the pirouette of the aurora borealis. To be an explorer in the true sense of the word, you must traverse to the other side of the world with White Desert’s (white-desert.com) Virgin Summit Tour, taking place in January 2022. Flying into the interior of Antarctica on a private Gulfstream, the highlight of the trip will be the ascent of a virgin peak in the Drygalski Mountains, home to a handful of unclimbed summits Riding the waves off Oahu’s northern shore with Somerton – a rarity in today’s world of exploration. Led by the Antarcticafocused firm’s IFMGA-qualified guides, guests trek to the base of the mountain and, after a night on the glacier, 24 hours of daylight allows a chance to scale a peak where no human has stood before. Those yearning for erudition rather than adrenaline should seek out Altana Europe (altanaeurope.com), which encourages a deeper connection to the land with conservation-focused trips, whether its tracking migratory birds in the lowlands of Cádiz or foraging for wild bounty on England’s Jurassic Coast with chefs Mark Hix and Valentine Warner. For pedagogic crusades with an edge, Political Tours (politicaltours. com) leads the charge with a global spread of enthralling, plugged-in itineraries. For instance, New York Times correspondent Joe Parkin Daniels takes the curious across Colombia, a diverse country that is trying to put the troubles of civil war and the drug cartels behind it. Former members of the FARC offer insights into why they agreed to down weapons, police chiefs and local mayors explain how they managed to regain control of the streets of Medellín, and there are high jinks to round it off with a speed-boat ride to the island off Cartagena once owned by Pablo Escobar. Inside Juvet Landscape Hotel in Norway’s Fjord municipality – a stop on Brown + Hudson’s new Scandinavian itinerary Of course, some teaching is less black and white. What about happiness? Can that be taught? Philippe Brown of immersive travel company Brown + Hudson (brownandhudson.com) thinks so, and is offering a philosophically inspired trip through Denmark and Norway, aptly titled The World’s Happiest Trip. Meik Wiking, author of The Key to Happiness, leads this eightday jaunt exploring the mechanics of happiness, how hygge really works and the role of tech versus nature in finding optimum contentment. There is no denying the need for a strong dose of that right now. DEPARTURES 29 PLEASE CHECK THE LATEST GOVERNMENT ADVICE BEFORE BOOKING TRAVEL OR DEPARTING ON ANY TRIP