Summer Family Package at Amanyara
Singapore-based Amanresorts group has announced that their lone Caribbean property,
Singapore-based Amanresorts group has announced that their lone Caribbean property,
It’s hard to forget our last stop on Abercrombie and Kent’s trip to Botswana and Victoria Falls, the Sanctuary Sussi and Chuma on the banks of the Zambezi River. On the outskirts of Livingstone, Zambia, we spent the days touring Vic Falls, tracking rhinos in a nearby reserve, and paddling on the Zambezi River past hippos and crocs. If the hippo attacks the canoe, said our guide, swim as fast as you can to the shore. Yeah, thanks for that advice, buddy. Fortunately, the hippos were pretty mellow that day. If we were advising honeymooners or couples who want a romantic interlude on the Zambezi River, not too far from Vic Falls, we would recommend the Relais and Chateaux property, Royal Chundu. Stay at one of their four villas on a private island in the Zambezi. They not only will pick you up from the Livingstone Airport, but they’ll provide a guided tour of Vic Falls and all the adventure you desire on the Zambezi, including rafting, paddling, or flying high above the river and the falls. It’s ideal for a 3-day add-on to any safari in Botswana or Kruger.
Several ski writers who came into Boston last week for the Boston Ski Show mentioned that they loved their hotel, The Boxer. Formerly the Bulfinch Hotel, the Boxer is a nine-story, 80- room boutique hotel housed in a triangular 1904 building that’s Boston’s version of the Flatiron Building. Located on Merrimac Street, not far from the Boston Garden and the North End, The Boxer has a vintage feel, with an old-time room key rack behind the front desk and a circa 1860 map of Boston on the lobby ceiling. Their restaurant, Finch, serves regional fare like New England clam chowder and lobster mac n’ cheese. Rates start at $161 a night.
If Vienna, Paris, and the Florida Keys are on your wish list, and you fly in and out of Boston’s Logan Airport, you’re in luck. Beginning in February, American Airlines will launch a direct flight from Boston to Key West. Austria Airlines will begin Boston’s first-ever direct flight to Vienna beginning March 29. And bargain European airline Level, which we flew last April to Barcelona, will add flights between Boston and Paris in May, with fares beginning at $140. Love those direct flights!
If you happen to be in Miami and crave an authentic outdoor experience away from the trendy restaurants and clubs in South Beach, take an hour-long drive on the Tamiami Trail (Route 41) to Shark Valley Visitor Center in Everglades National Park. Try to get here on the early side (before 11 am), because the parking lot fills up quick, and bring water and sandwiches for lunch. Then rent a bike and head out on the 15-mile paved Shark Valley Loop. Far from the deafening noise of a propeller boat, a tourist magnet in these parts, you get to bike at your own pace along canals teeming with alligators, turtles, and an extraordinary amount of large birds. It took my family of four almost an hour to bike one mile because we had to stop every 50 yards to get a photo of that gator basking in the sun next to the bike trail. Don’t worry. They could care less about you and no one’s ever been attacked on the route. Usually near the alligator was an anhinga drying its wings on a branch and wood storks and white whooping cranes standing tall in the shallow water. There was every type of heron imaginable, from the stocky black-crowned night heron to the long-legged great blue heron. Another highlight were the pink roseate spoonbills resting in the dense sagebrush along the canal. Stop midway at the observation deck to get a good overview of the Everglades topography, a mix of sinuous waterways and tall swaying grass. This is also a good spot to have that sandwich or snack you brought before heading back.
On the second day of our safari, I woke up at sunrise to the cacophony of high-pitched bird calls. French-press coffee arrived at my lodge at Stanley’s Camp and I drank a cup overlooking the high grasses of the Okavango Delta. After breakfast, our group of six was driven to a clearing where we soon stared in awe at a massive 11 ½-foot high, 5 to 6 ton elephant named Jabu. A gentle giant, Jabu was joined by two other elephants, the playful Thembi, and the oldest of the trio, 40 year-old Morula. The elephants were led by American Doug Groves and his South African-born wife, Sandi, two zoologists who adopted the threesome when culling operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe left them as orphans more than 25 years ago.