The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
DREAM TRIPS
Seek out new worlds of wonder on faraway islands and in Africa’s untouched reaches
A distant location, exceptionally private villas and sterling service – newly opened Raffles Meradhoo is the epitome of seclusion.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL
Just 40 miles from the equator, in the southern tail of the Maldives, Raffles Meradhoo feels deliciously remote. With just 37 villas, it’s a place for stealth luxury: cavernous beach villas are hidden behind high stone walls, a large swimming pool is enclosed by gardens and pearly white sands; overwater villas come with living rooms, four-poster beds, split-level decks and steps leading into the sea. There’s more overwater action at the spa, where couples’ treatment rooms overlook the ocean. Other amorous escapes include hopping on jet skis for a breakfast of champagne and caviar scrambled eggs on a sliver of a sandbank, sunset cruises skimming the equator, outdoor movie nights in your villa and private dining experiences. What’s not to love?
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET...
Being immersed in nature in one of its most beautiful forms. This still pristine reef is a vision of blues and greens, wondrous marine life and glitter bomb night skies.
INSIDER TIP
Wander to the north-western end of the island in the morning to catch a glimpse of a fever of stingrays fluttering elegantly along the shore.
HOW TO DO IT
British Airways flies from the UK to Malé direct, Nov-March (ba.com). Doubles from £1,476. 360 Private Travel (360privatetravel.com) has seven nights from £9,820, including flights, B&B and transfers.
Renowned for its big cats and great herds of elephants, Hwange – Zimbabwe’s premier game park – guarantees the safari of a lifetime.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL
Spread across a wilderness the size of Yorkshire is an entire lexicon of mammals – everything from aardvarks to wild dogs – including the Big Five (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard) and some of Africa’s noblest antelopes: kudu, roan and sable. The habitat, too, is immensely varied: sandveld scrub, ancient teak forest, open plains scattered with islands of terminalia and camelthorn acacia trees. Each vegetation zone attracts its own species, which makes for tremendous game viewing by 4WD or on foot in the company of Africa’s finest professional safari guides. To complete the picture, Hwange has an outstanding selection of authentic bush camps, including Somalisa.
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET...
Chilling safely on your lounger at Somalisa while elephants drink and bathe just a few feet away.
INSIDER TIP
July is a wonderful time to visit, when the ordeal trees turn to gold and the buffalo gather in their thousands.
HOW TO DO IT
It is hard to envisage a more stunning camp than Somalisa. Bedouin-style tents with en-suite bathrooms and copper bathtubs are set on a shady acacia island beside seasonal floodplains deep inside the park. It has two pools: one for guests and the other for the elephants that come to drink every day. Book with Audley Travel (audleytravel.com).
Carved into the honeycomb cliffs and plateaus of northern Ethiopia’s Gheralta mountains, a collection of remote rock churches tells a story rarely explained in history books.
Myth and mystery shroud Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where the faithful believe the original Ark of the Covenant is locked away in a Christian church. Although the sacred tablets are hidden from view in the ancient city of Axum, it’s possible to have an Indiana Jones-style adventure learning about their significance, by hiking through Gheralta’s sandstone mountains. There are 28 frescodecorated churches. Although popular sites Maryam Korkor and Abuna Yemata Guh can be combined in a day trek from Megab, a more enriching option is to travel by foot, camping along the way. Rest beneath the sprawling boughs of a sycamore tree in the Debre Zion Valley; pitch a tent in an overhang used by political rebels as a hideout in the Eighties; and share flatbread with local farmers in Agoza.
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET...
The knee-trembling fear of tackling a vertical climb to reach Abuna Yemata
Guh. Play safe with ropes and harness or attempt the ascent freehand.
INSIDER TIP
Combine the trip with the historic city Lalibela, where 11 medieval monolithic rock churches have Unesco status.
HOW TO DO IT
Gateway airport Mekele is a one hour 20 min flight from Addis Ababa. It’s another two-hour, four-wheel drive to Gheralta Lodge; the hotel can book a local guide and driver (gheraltalodgetigrai.com; doubles from $50 B&B). Yellowwood Adventures (yellowwoodadventures. com) offers an eight-night trip combining Lalibela with several days’ hiking and camping between churches in the mountains, from £1,299pp (international flights extra).