Not too many years ago, Aitutaki was a well-kept secret. Tapuaeta’i Motu (One Foot Island) is an uninhabited island of Aitutaki atoll, part of the Cook Islands. Its bluer-than-the-sky lagoon, friendly locals and lack of resort accommodation meant many travellers stayed on Rarotonga or visited for the day. Big mistake. Tapuaeta’i Motu is where it’s at!
Fringing Aitutaki Lagoon are 21 tiny islands including Tapuaeta’i Motu. Get dropped off with a picnic, and pretend you’ve washed up on your own deserted isle. Guide Teking will personally show you several of his favourite diving locations where you will se an abundance of tropical fish, turtles, large clams and stunning coral. It’s all pretty chilled affair with Teking setting the scene pretty early on with his dry sense of humour mixed with his intimate local knowledge of the island and environment.
After a day’s snorkelling you’ll enjoy a delish BBQ lunch that includes fresh tuna, fruits, salad and sweet banana…set against a backdrop of a dazzling blue sky.
India is known as for its deep spirituality, entwined with the country’s culture. It is also the birthplace of yoga; the spiritual, mental and physical practice that has been well and truly embraced by the western world.
To gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals and background of this physical and mental practice, there’s no better place to try a yoga retreat than India. Set in beautiful natural surrounds on the stunning Malabar beach in Kerala, enjoy a full wellness program under the tutelage of expert teachers. Among six hectares of verdant greenery, the Somatheeram Ayurveda Retreat allows you to reconnect with your core, using traditional Ayurveda techniques. Ayurveda is the essence of Somatheeram, which has been providing Ayurvedic treatment in the traditional way for more than 30 years.
Somatheeram has been awarded the Best Ayurvedic Centre in Kerala ten times so you know your in good hands. Each stay includes a personalised wellness program and consultations by experts who have provided treatment in this traditional way for over 30 years. The retreat combines a beach resort with mindfulness and yoga, with accommodation in quaint bungalows and cottages set back from the tranquil blue waters of the sea nearby.
Strap yourself in for a voyage to one of the earth’s most remote frontiers aboard a nuclear-powered Russian icebreaker. Hear metres of ice explode around you and feel the deck tremble as the ship closes in on the North Pole.
This voyage operates twice a year in the northern summer, when the icebreaker is temporarily relived of duties clearing Russian shipping lanes. Powered by two nuclear reactors, the 50 Years of Victory can go where few boats would dare. The ship is the world’s largest nuclear-powered icebreaker and is capable of crunching through ice up to three metres thick. Not that its atomic might has compromised the experience on board, which is replete with a dining room, bar, library, gym and swimming pool.
Travel is always more about the journey than the destination, but a voyage to the North Pole is possibly the exception. After eight days ploughing through ice-encrusted seas you arrive at latitude 90 degrees north. Here you can literally stand on top of the world and walk cross every time zone.
The 50 Years of Victory cruise departs from Finland each June and includes scenic helicopter flights and Zodiac landings for up-close encounters with polar bears and other wildlife.
Best of all, it comes with serious bragging rights. Who else do you know who has been to the North Pole?
Driving through the arid landscape of northern Oman, you probably wouldn’t expect to come across a roadside swimming hole – especially not one as otherworldly as Bimmah Sinkhole. Located in Hawiyat Najm Park, just an hour and a half from Muscat, this natural limestone pool was formed by a falling meteor, or so the legend goes.
Forty metres wide and nearly 30 metres below ground level, the crescent-shaped basin of vivid turquoise water surrounded by dramatic rock formations is perfect for a cooling dip. And best of all, Bimmah Sinkhole is easy peasy to get to because there is no hiking or long drives, as is the case with a lot of Oman attractions. If you’re lucky, you might be visited by the tiny, toe-nibbling fish that live here – think of it as a free pedicure!
There is only one way to get to the tiny rocky outcrop of Isla Damas, one of three making up Pingüino de Humboldt National Park: hitching a lift with a fisherman from Punta de Choros. There is nothing on this 60-hectare island bar an unmanned lighthouse, a campsite with a couple of toilets and two beaches (La Poza and Las Tijeras) with white sand and azure water, that will make you think you’re kicking it in the Caribbean.
Except the water here is significantly colder, thanks to the current from Antarctica. It meets warmer water flowing down from Peru, making this a playground for marine wildlife, including sea otters, bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, sea turtles and the Humboldt penguin, the park’s namesake.
Venture through the veil on an expedition to Mongolia’s north to experience the life of the nomadic Tsaachin tribe. On the way, explore monasteries, museums and markets in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, then strap in for a drive through the rocky mountain ranges of Ulaan-Uul to the town of Tsagaannuur. Saddle up your Mongolian steed and ride towards Taiga, home to part of the Tsaachin.
Here, you’ll experience everyday life of this nomadic tribe, from milking reindeer and making cheese to witnessing shamanic rituals. After a full day, you’ll slumber in a tepee before waving goodbye in the morning as you head to Jigleg Pass for a boat ride along Khövsgöl Lake and a hike among the surrounding mountains before returning to the capital, feeling a little more blessed and humbled.
Trek around the edges of the prehistoric ice sheet that dominates the interior of Greenland – in fact more than 80 per cent of the country. Ice sheet is perhaps misleading: there are many ice mountains, frozen freshwater formations and fauna. This ice sheet represents 10 per cent of the world’s fresh water supplies and is 14 times the size of the UK. While in Greenland, be sure to see the Ilulissat Icefjord, an incredible natural sight. Sermeq Kujalleq is the largest glacier outside of Antarctica and the whole area has been listed as UNESCO World Heritage.
Now is the perfect time to trek around the glacier or see Ilulissat as a Nature Climate Change study has shown that the North Greenland Ice Sheet is melting at a rate of 10 billion tons of water per year since 2003 and shows no signs of letting up. What’s more, as the popularity of Greenland grows, you can see the Icefjord from many different ways – by boat, helicopter or foot, hiking around the edge of the glacier with experienced guides.
Not many may know this, but the famous musician and Queen front man, Freddie Mercury, was actually born Farouk Bulsara to Parsi parents. While he spent years studying in Bombay, it was in Stone Town, Zanzibar that this showman spent most of his childhood. In Shangani, where Mercury was born and later returned before leaving to London at the age of 18, the Bulsara family home still stands, now labelled ‘Mercury House’. It’s not open to the public, but Zanzibar Gallery, also where Mercury once lived, sells a bunch of souvenirs and no doubt a Freddie Mercury t-shirt or two in this Freddie-obsessed town.
Visitors to the Tanzanian archipelago can also visit the Zoroastrian temple where the Bulsara family once worshipped. A number of tours offer the chance to trace his footsteps along Shangani’s streets, connecting you to the life of Freddie before he was Freddie. Plus, no visit is complete without a stop at the gimmicky-named Mercury Restaurant.
You possibly don’t know a whole lot about Sudan, but this is a country blessed with an extraordinary history and culture. Did you know, for instance, it has three times the number of pyramids found in Egypt?
A new history-focussed tour by Arcadia Expeditions – Sudan: The Three Niles – digs deep into this extraordinary and enigmatic country and explores its rich archeological sites and fascinating antiquity.
Lead by acclaimed historian, filmmaker and photojournalist David Adams, the expedition delves deep into the story of the Three Niles and the incredible cultures that grew around them.
History and culture buffs will be frothing as David explores the ancient course of the Yellow Nile, the Napatean fortress of Ghala Abu Hamed, and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites of Meroe and Jebel Barkal.
You’ll witness Sufi whirling dervishes, attend a Nubian wrestling match and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Museum.
Once all the artefacts have been studied, there’s downtime on Sudan’s rarely visited Red Sea coast aboard an Italian-owned schooner, where the days are spent exploring remote islands and pristine reefs.
The New York Theatre Workshop is an intimate performing arts theatre noted for its quality production of new works by several now well-known playwrights and located on funky East 4th Street.
Jonathan Larson’s Rent was developed and first performed here. It’s part of Downtown’s Theater Row and offers neighbourhood and cultural events throughout the year. The theatre is an excellent opportunity to see raw talent at its best or you may even be lucky enough to see a real celebrity honing their craft. James Bond’s Daniel Craig appeared in Othello at the NYTW to rave reviews.
NYTW also has an impressive selection of masterclasses, workshops, artist residencies and fellowships. You could do a lot worse than attending an artists’ summer residency in NYC.
Located on the hip Lower East Side that’s bustling with bars and restaurants it would make perfect sense to have a bite before a show or finish with a nightcap.
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