By Chris Schalkx
When it comes to choosing a honeymoon, African safaris have a magnetic allure. Jaunts around the bush offer humbling, once-in-a-lifetime encounters with some of the world’s most captivating animals; remote—but wildly luxurious—lodges forgo unnecessary frills for elemental pleasures; and Africa’s dusty, DayGlo-colored sunsets paint the sky like nowhere else on Earth.
But there’s more to the continent than classic Jeep safaris. Trains, horses, and hot air balloons offer alternative ways to observe its natural riches, while a constellation of postcard-perfect islands along its coasts allows you to swap your binoculars for sun-soaked fly-and-flops. From five-star beach resorts to back-to-basic sleepouts under five thousand stars shimmering in the sky, below are some of Africa’s most spellbinding adventures to plan a honeymoon holiday around.
Cross the Masai Mara on horseback
An African wildlife safari is a stirring adventure in itself, but doing it from a saddle adds a whole new layer to the thrill. Black Saddle’s guided horseback safari around Kenya’s vast Masai Mara reserve lets you trot along elephants, giraffes, and herds of zebras in the same way adventurers did centuries ago. During week-long trips, days flow from leisurely rides around the bush to adrenaline-pumping crossings through hippo-filled rivers and close encounters with lions (who have grown accustomed to being around horses over the last 30 years). Each day ends at a mobile tented camp, pitched up on scenic spots such as the Mara River tributary or the Soit Ololo Escarpment. Its safari-style tents come fixed with hot bucket showers, private drop-loos, and soft linen bedding, while sundown cocktails and candlelit dinners add a dash of romance.
Slow down in the Seychelles
As Africa’s answer to the Maldives, the jungle-clad Seychelles islands deliver the full tropical fantasy: swaying palm trees, powder sugar beaches, and bath-warm water so clear, you can spot kaleidoscopic fish without donning a snorkel. There are lodging options aplenty, but newcomer Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island stands out for its dreamy location. This all-villa retreat is the sole occupant of Île Platte, a reef-fringed island in the southern Seychelles that's only accessible by charter plane from Mahé airport. With its breezy, private-pooled villas and a host of inspired dining options (standouts include farm-to-table fine diner Moulin and Latin-laced Creole restaurant Maison des Epices), it has all the trimmings of a honeymoon hideaway. Stays here come with a pick-and-mix of activities—from sundowner catamaran cruises to turtle-spotting beach walks with the resort’s resident naturalist—but the sprawling tropical gardens and lounger-lined communal pool make sunbathing with a good book just as enticing.
Discover Cape Town and its surroundings
With miles of beaches, a dramatic mountain range crisscrossed with hiking trails, and one of the most electrifying creative scenes on the continent, Cape Town packs a full-fledged holiday into the size of a city trip. A string of nearby game reserves put safaris within day-trip distance, while the undulating vineyards of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch just east of town make for brilliant wine-fuelled days away. There are few better places to base yourself than Nellie (also known as Belmond’s Mount Nelson Hotel), the pink-painted heart of Cape Town’s social scene sitting chocolate-box pretty just off restaurant-packed Kloof Street. Tucked away in hush-hush rose gardens, its gingerbread-trimmed cottages deliver romance in spades, though you’ll want to spend most of your time horizontally in one of the candy-striped tented pool cabanas, which come stocked with endless snacks and Champagne. Al fresco dinners and couples’ treatments at the Librisa spa fill moments in between, while clued-in concierges can arrange everything from champagne sundowners at the beach to fynbos walks, architect-guided tours, and helicopter jaunts around the Cape Peninsula.
Sleep under the stars in Botswana
Surrounded by the savannahs of Botswana’s northeast, the pancake-flat Makgadikgadi Basin is one of the largest salt pans in the world. On this barren landscape roughly the size of Switzerland, there are no roads or human settlements—just an endless expanse of shimmering white, occasionally punctuated by an ancient baobab tree. Couples staying at Desert & Delta’s Leroo La Tau lodge, pitched up on the fringe of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, can sleep out on a remote salt pan some five hours (or a 30-minute helicopter flight) from the lodge. You’ll have to forgo five-star luxuries (wifi, hot showers) for a back-to-basic setup of fold-out camping chairs, meals cooked on an open fire, and a blanket-covered mattress to snuggle up on, but those 360-degree views of star-spangled night sky make for a worthy tradeoff. (And for a slightly less spartan experience, Xigera’s Baobab Treehouse in the nearby Okavango Delta is another top spot for plein air stargazing).
Get up-close with gorillas in Rwanda
Few experiences are as soul-stirring as an eye-to-eye encounter with a wild gorilla, and Rwanda’s densely forested Volcanoes National Park is one of the best places to meet these fascinating creatures up close. Dropped on a jungled hillside like giant, thatch-covered Hershey’s Kisses, Wilderness’ Bisate Lodge’s six villas look out over the park’s mist-shrouded peaks and are lavish launch pads for the gorilla treks that start from the trailhead some 20 minutes away. Depending on the troop’s location, expeditions can take hours of hiking—but with a crackling fireplace, a well-stocked wine cellar, and gourmet meals waiting at the lodge upon return, aching muscles are swiftly forgotten. Come September, Wilderness will open an even more intimate hideout, the four-villa Bisate Reserve, on a reforested mountaintop nearby.
Heli-hop around Madagascar
After breaking off the African mainland about 180 million years ago and splitting from the Indian subcontinent some 90 million years later, Madagascar has developed its wholly unique ecosystem in splendid isolation. Ubiquitous African wildlife, such as monkeys, elephants, and big cats, never lived here—instead, this jungle-dripping island is home to lemurs, chameleons, and thousands of rare birds, many of which exist nowhere else on Earth. Miavana, a plush private island retreat just off Madagascar’s northeastern coast, combines wilderness adventures with toes-in-the-sand relaxation. The resort’s turquoise-striped helicopters bring guests on lemur-spotting trips and picnics in ancient baobab forests, while water-based activities include whale-watching expeditions and scuba dives around rainbow-hued coral reefs. Back at the resort, sprawling, garden-clad villas come with heaps of privacy and deliver in-room spa treatments and candlelit beach dinners at the drop of a hat.
See the Serengeti from above
As one of Africa’s most wildlife-dense areas, Tanzania’s Serengeti is an excellent—and wildly popular—destination for safari first-timers. During the high season, tourist Jeeps can seemingly outnumber the park’s animal residents, though—so it pays off to seek out its crowd-free corners. Among them is the adjoining Grumeti Game Reserve, a 350,000-acre sprawl on the Serengeti's western wildlife corridor, where safari stalwart Singita has pitched up a constellation of camps and lodges. Sasakwa Lodge is the ritziest of the bunch, a contemporary take on an antiques-filled Edwardian manor with wide-angle views over the endless savanna sprawling out below. The Hillside Suite is its crown jewel, with two wooden outdoor decks, a private rim-flow pool, and floor-to-ceiling doors and windows framing those eye-popping Serengeti sunsets. Game drives and bush walks are part of the package, of course, but consider signing up for a hot air balloon safari to truly woo your other half.
Cross the continent on a luxury train
The slow clickety-clack through wide-open landscapes; the compact cabins forcing you closely together; and the old-world elegance of silver-cutlery dinners: there are few modes of transport as romantic as an overnight train. South Africa-based Rovos Rail has pioneered luxury train travel across the continent with a string of plush, wood-paneled suites (with en-suite bathrooms), dining cars, and lounges in converted rail carriages. Itineraries range from long weekends to multiple weeks, and are at the mercy of Africa’s railway systems (delays and unplanned hold-ups are part of the adventure). Two-night jaunts cover the tracks between Pretoria and Durban, stopping for game drives and guided gallery visits along the way. Longer journeys weave through the breadth and length of Africa, connecting Lobito in Angola to Tanzania’s Dar Es Salaam; or the 5530-kilometer stretch from Cape Town to Tanzania, by way of Botswana’s Kalahari Basin, the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and remote reaches of Zambia.
Go penguin-spotting in Antarctica
If you’ve already crossed the Big Five off your bucket list, a penguin safari in Antarctica may be just the ticket. With Cape Town as its base, tour outfit White Desert flies guests from Africa’s southern tip to its private runway on Queen Maud Land, a little-visited corner in Antarctica’s east, where it has pitched up two ultra-luxurious polar camps. Space-themed Echo Camp looks out over the vast nothingness of the White Continent, while the snug Whichaway Camp—all leather-trimmed furniture and faux-fur throws—overlooks a rare freshwater lake in the Schirmacher Oasis. Both are launch pads for Antarctic adventures, ranging from ice-climbing expeditions to penguin-spotting trips in a ski-equipped aircraft, which the dozens-strong White Desert team zhuzhes up with pop-up pizza parties and champagne toasts. Starting at $68,000 per person for a week-long itinerary, these trips don’t come cheap, but this one-of-a-kind immersion into the otherworldly Antarctic landscape makes for a priceless memory that’ll last for a lifetime.
Read the original article on Vogue.
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