A family friendly Big Five property Thornybush is in the heart of the Thornybush Nature Reserve, a private 11,500 hectare game reserve near Kruger National Park. The small lodge faced north onto the dry riverbed of the Monwana River and offered spacious and comfortable rooms with a riverbed view, modern amenities, meals and twice daily game drives.
Our stay at Africa House, an exclusive use six bedroom house within a luxury Big Five safari lodge property in South Africa, was superb. While we much appreciated the well appointed and comfortable house itself, its décor and furnishings lovingly hand picked by the owner, and wireless WiFi connectivity it was the staff that made our stay special. They were always there at meal and game drive times when we might need something. Between activities and meals the staff allowed us private time alone to relax in our luxury bush home. More than once we were tempted to skip a game drive to just relax lazily by the pool and enjoy the house. We plan to return for a slightly longer stay when we can do just that without feeling we are missing out on precious few game drives.
As the core of the Habsburg Dynasty for over half a millennium, Austria developed a rich cultural heritage with two widely diverging personalities. First there is Vienna on the Danube in the eastern reaches of the country, which was home to the Habsburg court from the end of the Middle Ages until the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the First World War. Throughout the centuries it grew into one of the leading capitals of Europe, filled with grand palaces and monuments; and it became a beacon of the arts, especially music. Today, with a population of 1.7 million (20 percent of Austria’s total population) Vienna remains Austria’s political, cultural and economic center. Here, history and traditions meld with contemporary vitality to create an especially stimulating environment. Meanwhile at the western tip of the country, nestled within a picture-book alpine landscape, the lovely baroque city of Salzburg, birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, has attained international fame among music lovers for its annual Salzburg Festival. Outside of Vienna, however, Austria has remained a mainly rural environment of small communities, slow-paced and steadfastly attached to their traditions, some said to date back to Celtic and Roman times.
Stepping through the pillared entrance of the Grand Hotel Wien was a journey back to the glittering days of Austria’s 19 th century imperial splendor. Designed by Karl Tietz, one of the most celebrated architects of his time, it was, when it opened its doors in 1870, the first luxury hotel in the city. With the new Imperial Opera House (now the Vienna State Opera) opened the previous year just one block away, and the nearby Musikverein concert hall (now home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) also inaugurated in 1870, it quickly became a hit with the aristocracy. It retained its status as a place to be seen until the Second World War. Although its fortunes waned during the second half of the 20 th century, it re-opened in 1994 after four years and 100 million euros of renovations to quickly become once again a pinnacle of Viennese social life, and to welcome amongst its guests many international celebrities, political figures and business leaders.
Lienz is a lovely little medieval town in the farthest reaches of southern Austria. Tucked away in a picturesque valley between the Grossglockner (one of the highest peaks in the Alps) and the Dolomites, it is prime four-season vacationing country for mountain sports aficionados. But for me, despite the 13 th century castle, the ancient churches with their well-preserved frescos and the pristine alpine landscapes, the city’s main claim to fame was in the remarkable Grandhotel Lienz. This newly constructed luxury retreat and its unique spa came as close to perfection as any boutique property I have ever come across, and more than justified the few hours’ journey from Vienna.
Located in the far northern reaches of the Serengeti National Park, Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp delivered everything I had imagined a safari in this legendary park to be, and more. Foremost of course was the open grassy plain known to the Masai as Siringitu (“the place where the land goes on forever”) with its omnipresent herds of zebras and white-bearded wildebeests; and lions nonchalantly awaiting dinnertime under the meager shade of an occasional thorn acacia. But a few minutes’ drive from the edge of the endless plain, this intimate luxury camp revealed a more verdant face of the Serengeti. It was nestled into a strip of lush riverine forest on the bank of a permanent oxbow pan of the Grumeti River. Here the rare pied colobus monkeys darted through the treetops, and large pods of hippos noisily claimed the river under the malevolent glare of huge crocodiles.
