Tag: explore

The White Continent: the Final Frontier

Posted on by James

Antarctica cannot help but to have a powerful effect on you. It is not just the beauty or unimaginably large landscapes; it is the reconnection to nature in its rawest form.

The land of Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton is now accessible to those who want to tread in their footsteps without risking their actual toes to the cold, as White Desert entertains small groups at their luxury camps, providing a deep sense of space and discovery. From emperor penguins to the geographic South Pole, iridescent ice tunnels and the seemingly endless High Polar Plateau — this is the final frontier on this planet we call home.

And we can’t wait to share it with you….

Journeying to Antarctica may seem crazy to most, but this inhospitable continent is now an option to adventure through in the most splendid comfort.

White Desert has three main camps on Antarctica; Wolf’s Fang, Whichaway and Echo.

Whichaway is the flagship camp and sits on the shores of one of the freshwater lakes of the ice-free Schirmacher Oasis.

The camp features six heated ‘polar pods’ with cutting-edge exteriors and old-world interiors that conjure up images of Antarctica’s rich heritage of exploration.

Each guest pod has a large glass-front conservatory, framing uninterrupted views of the dramatic ice landscape beyond. This new addition offers a warm, protected setting from which guests can take in the panoramic view of the lake and the encircling ice fall from the comfort of their duvet. Each of the six polar pods has its own ensuite shower, offering enhanced privacy – a first for Antarctica.

Savour gourmet meals prepared by your private chef, enjoy a sauna with a view of the glacier, take a moment in the wellness dome, and cross off bucket list adventures like visiting the South Pole, ice climbing, hiking over ice waves, and coming face-to-face with 28,000 emperor penguins.

Inspired by the seminal age of Space exploration, Echo Camp sits in quiet solitude encircled by pitted rock formations. Echo is as close as you can get to feeling like you’re off the planet without leaving Earth.

The space-age design of the ‘Sky Pods’ makes them look like they’ve been beamed down from Mars. Futuristic and luxurious, the six bedrooms are created from composite material with floor to ceiling windows allowing guests to soak in the moon-like landscape beyond.

Original photos taken from the International Space Station (ISS) by  former Commander, White Desert guest and retired astronaut, colonel Terry Virts will be featured in each pod. Says Virts of the Echo landscape,

“The mountains are the most beautiful I have seen across Earth, Venus and Mars.”

Perfect for exclusive-use groups and catering for up to 12 people, Echo allows guests to combine an ultra-luxury experience with a once in lifetime adventure on the 7th Continent. As with all White Desert’s camps, Echo is designed to be dismantled, leaving no trace on the Antarctic landscape.

Offering laidback yet sophisticated interiors that evoke the bygone age of explorers, Wolf’s Fang features six heated bedroom tents that are equipped with en-suite washrooms, replete with shower rooms. The relaxed lounge area is a haven of comfort and warmth, no matter what the conditions outside. The inviting dining area is the ideal space to revisit the day’s exploration with fellow adventurers.

Adrenalin seekers will enjoy a variety of exhilarating activities on this vast continent including abseiling, ice-climbing and rope-walks. Guests looking for peace and serenity will revel in gentle hikes, skidoo rides or simply taking in the dramatic vistas – guests can be as active or as relaxed as they wish during their stay.

Antarctica once seemed like the moon as far as visiting went – in that it would be impossible to get there for all but a few souls – but with flights to the White Desert camps out of Cape Town, South Africa suddenly turning this incredible landscape into an actual travel destination, it’s well within the bounds of possibility that you could visit too!

Get in touch with us through info@iconicafrica.com to start chatting about your polar safari…!

 

Shipwreck Lodge: Unfettered Wilderness

Posted on by James

The Skeleton Coast National Park is officially the least visited of all of Namibia’s parks. If it is true, unadulterated wilderness you ejoy, then this is the place to find it.
Shipwreck Lodge is located in the Skeleton Coast Central Concession Area, a critically important piece of land for protecting vulnerable wildlife species. The lodge is a joint venture between Natural Selection and local Namibian companies Trip Travel and Journeys Namibia, as well as the local communities that border the park. The future of African conservation lies firmly in fostering community involvement, and Shipwreck Lodge epitomises such an approach.

Uniquely designed around the enigmatic shipwrecks that line the coast, there’s nowhere on the continent quite like Shipwreck Lodge, which is certainly Iconic Africa’s pick of top lodge from which to explore this part of the world.
In fact, there’s nowhere on the continent quite like the Skeleton Coast. It’s a raw, rugged and impossibly remote slice of African wilderness, where towering dunes and wind-swept plains roll as far as the eye can see, buffeted by the icy Atlantic ocean.

But there’s much more to the area than just the isolation factor. Go on game drive in search of desert-dwelling fauna like oryx, springbok, desert-adapted lion and elephants; discover the enchanting desert flora (succulents and lichens); sit atop the dunes as the sun sinks below the horizon; spend the day beach-combing for whale bones and debris from centuries of shipwrecks; and marvel at the geologically-remarkable Clay Castles. This is truly a unique environment!

The words ‘eerie’ and ‘mysterious’ are often bandied around when it comes to describing Africa’s most interesting locations, but the Skeleton Coast has to be one place that truly deserves the metaphors. Shrouded in mist, the jaw-droppingly beautiful National Park begins at the Ugab River and runs roughly 500 kilometres up the Atlantic Coast to the Kunene River, which forms the border between Namibia and Angola for a few hundred kilometres inland.. Described by the San Bushmen as ‘the Land God Made in Anger’, the beaches are strewn with bleached whale bones and the wrecks of over a thousand ships, and the interior is an uninhabited desert of rolling, endless sand. But it’s magical and hauntingly picturesque, and, in our books, that makes it an absolute must-see.

Shipwreck Lodge itself is located in an unrivalled spot in the Skeleton Coast Central Concession Area, a piece of land between the Hoarusib and Hoanib rivers. The lodge is within the Skeleton Coast National Park and roughly 45 kilometres from Mowe Bay. The area contains irreplaceable and vulnerable wildlife habitat for species of the highest conservation importance, including elephant and the elusive brown hyena. Importantly, it also hosts the only other viable lion population in Namibia outside of Etosha National Park.

The Skeleton Coast is an area known primarily for its extraordinary landscapes and wide open vistas. Wildlife is not densely populated in this arid environment, so when do you spot something, it’s that much more special. Giraffes, mountain zebras, brown hyenas… creatures that just seem to belong and some that seem totally incongruous with this part of the world. Plants and insects survive from the moisture of the cold fog that drifts inland from the ocean, and the ocean itself is brimming with life. The nutrient-rich Atlantic supports a huge population of Cape fur seals, whose colonies dot the shoreline. Birdlife here features a number of special endemics, so make sure your binoculars are packed…

The lodge itself features ten rooms; 8 as twins or doubles and two family rooms. Each features an en suite bathrooms with indoor showers, and hairdryers are available on request. Charging facilities, a laundry service, and all the mod cons one would expect from a quality operation are found here, including wifi in the main area.

The Skeleton Coast stays relatively cool throughout the year, governed by the cool temperatures of the Atlantic, more specifically the Benguela current that comes sweeping up the coast from Antarctica, but venture away from the coast and temperatures can change just like that, going from freezing to boiling in a very short space of time. Always pack a jersey when heading on an excursion!

If you enjoy solitude, deep relaxation and the complete absence of time pressure, then Shipwreck Lodge is the place for you. The lunar landscapes will leave you both breathless and enchanted, and when it comes time to leave, it’ll feel like you’ve been there for both a day and two weeks.

Get in touch with us through info@iconicafrica.com to find out more about this unique destination, and the Skeleton Coast in general…

Sussurro: Indian Ocean Whispers

Posted on by James

Few places in the world can offer a true sense of peace.

Yet at Sussuro – Portugese for “whisper” – does just that, with the gentle lap of tiny lagoon ripples on its shoreline, birdsong in the trees around, and the soft creaking of ropes from the dhows moored just offshore all combining into a lovely susurration that fills one with a sense of calm.

The tropical breeze that ensures warm weather pretty much year round means this ocean paradise is a place of swimming costumes and bare feet, with the ever=present option of having a margharita in hand…

Sussurro’s private bungalows provide over a thousand square feet of personal space. Each suite includes indoor and outdoor bathing facilities and generous water front verandahs. Looking out over th lagoon sheltered by the Nhambue peninsula, it is not uncommon to see a school of dolphins moving by close inshore, and one feels completely immersed in nature.

Mozambican architecture weaves a natural canopy above billowing mosquito nets. Large apertures allow the colours of an ever changing landscape to permeate the space.

Rooms are dressed with furniture created and carved onsite and thoughtfully collected artisanal pieces from sub-saharan Africa.

As well as being a place of complete relaxation, where lounging sleepily with a book is the perfect way to pass the time before your next delicious seafood meal, Sussurro is also a place of activities.

Optional dhow trips into the bay or up the Govurha waterways can end in a snorkelling experience on a reef, or a cold Laurentina beer in an isolated cove.
A day trip to Santa Carolina Island in the Bazaruto Archipelago is also a wonderful cutural experience; as well as the thrill of the boat ride, and the natural beauty of the reef systems, one has the opportunity to wander into the Santa Carolina hotel ruin; a throwback to the days of the Portugese colonialists.

Beach picnics under a shaded tent, Stand-up paddleboards, simply lounging by the pool… Sussurro is a place where “urgency” is not part of the vernacular…

Whereas some resorts operate around set mealtimes, time tables and an idea of what they think should happen to make your stay that much better, Sussurro puts the decisions firmly in your hands.
They welcome you in, let you know what’s on offer, and leave it to you to how you want your tropical ocean resort experience play out…

Get hold of us if an idyllic warm-water ocean getaway is what you’re after (inder tip: it’s an amazing way to cap off an African safari…), then get hold of us on info@iconicafrica.com…

 

Kanga Camp: the Home of the Armchair Safari

Posted on by James

Most safari lodges have you feeling like you should be out and about, exploring the area, wondering what might be going on around the next bend in the road.
But Kanga Camp, set on a private concession in Mana Pools National Park of Zimbabwe, offers such prolific wildlife viewing from the comfort of an armchair on the camp deck, the only place you’ll feel you need to go is to the charging station to replace your camera battery.

Kanga is a seasonal camp, open between the months of April and November. The wet season when it is closed features surface water everywhere, which means animals aren’t drawn to the Kanga Pan itself, which during the dry months is essentially the only standing water for miles in any direction.
Elephants in particular are an almost constant procession to the valuable drinking water of the pan (the Zambezi River itself is almost 20 kilometres away), and there are few places on earth that you will be able to get as close to these magnificent creatures, at eye level.

Kanga Pan is a photographer’s paradise in particular. The unique, close-up angles you can get of all manner of wildlife coming down to drink at all hours of the day means that both that long lens and wide-angle will get their fair share of use. Meal-times are regularly punctuated by the rumble of breeding elephant herds only a few feet away, and the nocturnal roar of the local lion coalitions forms the most authentic African serenade you can have.

In line with African Bush Camp’s sustainability approach, the camp is solar-powered. It comprises six tents all raised on individual wooden platforms for an elevated view over the Pan and surrounding bush. The Meru-styled tents are elegantly styled, featuring floor-to-ceiling mesh windows that allow for refreshing air flow and make you feel completely immersed in nature, whilst keeping out any bugs that may be buzzing around (although there are very few to be found during the dry season).

All tents are replete with fans, en-suite bathroom, flushing toilet, outdoor shower, hot running water and a secluded veranda. Kanga also has a family tent which boasts a wraparound terrace facing the pan with private seating and dining areas. Children over seven years old are welcome at the camp, although waling safaris are restricted to kids over the age of 16. The camp plunge pool offers respite from the heat during the warm days at the beginning and end of the season.

It’s not all about out the Pan itself though. Experienced rangers take insightful game drives to explore the wider park, including trips down to the Zambezi River itself, which offers a completely different experience to the inland terrain around Kanga. The Ana tree forests of the Zambezi floodplain and the multitude of wildlife it attracts will leave you speechless.

All in all, Kanga offers the same dedication to hospitality that we’ve come to expect from the African Bush Camps portfolio. It is as comfortable as you could wish, the experience is unique, and in the context of a wildlife destination, especially in an area like Mana Pools, there isn’t a much higher accolade than that.

Our Iconic Africa

Posted on by James

Africa has been waiting for you all this time. And so have we…

The wildebeest are still spreading in their hundreds of thousands over the sea of grass that is Tanzania’s Serengeti and the leopards are still lounging on the marula branches of the Sabi Sand Reserve in South Africa.
Wild Africa is essentially unchanged.

And most spectacular of all is that these bucket list trips are more accessible than ever.

The last year and a half has been an interesting time in all of our lives, and while we can’t predict the future, what we do know is that the latest news on the African travel front has all been good.
Travel restrictions to multiple countries all over Africa have been lifted, and the continent that birthed mankind is opening up once again to the blank canvas of imagination.

We’re big fans of the clouds-with-silver-linings approach, and the beautiful lesson we’ve taken out of the last year is the recognition of our fundamental human need for experiences. The urge to be spontaneous and free. And above all, a deep desire we all have to understand our humanity through a wild reconnection with ourselves and with each other.

If that connection is something you are looking for, we can help you find it.

Come and rediscover your true wild self…