Live Like a Local Foreigner: Bucket List Bonanza
Comparing what we had planned for 2020 with how things played out is an exercise in humility and flexibility. When international travel came screeching to a halt in mid-March, a full slate of itineraries and adventures came telescoping in at breakneck pace, collapsing inward and leaving behind a black hole in which all there was to do was watch old episodes of Anthony Bourdain shows and scroll through backlogs of photos from the halcyon days of 2019.
The world is far from back to normal, but with news of progress toward a Covid vaccine and properties and airlines polishing their socially-distanced and super-sanitized operating procedures, it feels like a phoenix is thinking about rising from the ashes, preening, soon to take off for distant lands armed with Purell, a passport, and a Rimowa.
The refrain we’ve heard from clients again and again over the past months is, “I can’t wait to get back out there and visit the places I have always wanted to see - there’s no reason to put it off any longer.” When the doors to the world are flung open again, we’re all ready to charge, with family and friends in tow, to experience those corners and crannies of the world that were shut to us this year. Below are five trips that define EPIC, because with all this pent up energy, we’re ready to go big - it’s bucket list time.
Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy
Laikipia, Kenya
A safari in east or southern Africa is a life-changer, and there’s a reason these are classic destinations for honeymooners and other milestone celebrations. But Kenya’s Ol Jogi is an impossible feat of grandiosity. Spread across 58,000 blissfully private acres of the Laikipia Plateau, this exclusive-use property offers some of Kenya’s best game-viewing, with a hefty side of whimsy.
Tucked into a rocky escarpment with sweeping views over the plateau, Ol Jogi’s freestanding thatched cottages seem to have been curated by the deft hand of Fred Flinstone, with outlandish shag carpeting, mismatched animal prints, giant crystal goblets, and stained glass outfitting the floors and walls. And Ol Jogi’s delightful eccentricity is only a small part of its appeal. The sheer magnificence of the place is experienced in every small detail – dining on the owner’s personal collection of Hermes china, observing the world’s largest concentration of Grevy zebra from an underground bunker, bottle feeding baby rhinos at the veterinary clinic, singing with children at the Ol Jogi school.
TLF Tip: Preface your visit to Ol Jogi with a few nights at a tented camp in the Masai Mara for the late-summer viewing of the Great Migration, or pair Kenya with Rwanda to experience the profundity of gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park.
Clayoquot Wilderness Resort
Vancouver Island, Canada
If work-from-home life has made your surroundings feel crowded, there’s no better antidote than the majestic western coastline of the North American continent. On 500-acres of Vancouver Island only accessible via boat or plane and surrounded by national park land and some the world’s last remaining untouched ancient temperate rainforests, where the Bedwell River meets the Pacific Ocean, you’ll find Clayoquot, a tented camp surrounded by 1.5 million acres of protected wilderness. While you are deeply immersed in the Pacific Northwest’s pristine landscape during your stay, the tents are so luxurious you won’t miss plaster walls, TVs, or iPhones.
The food here is also spectacular, utilizing the freshest catch and produce prepared in an open kitchen, making it fun to watch. Guests spend their days kayaking the river rapids, traipsing the back trails on horseback, and hiking up mountain peaks, all while the black bears, whales, and eagles share terrain. Perhaps the finest quality of this “glamping” experience, however, is the service; every detail is cared for and guests have the chance to interact with the staff on a personal level.
TLF Tip: Spend a night or two in the misty and romantic surf town of Tofino before scooting on up to Clayoquot via seaplane.
Laucala Island
Fiji
If we had a dollar for every time this year we wished we were on a private island, we would have jetted off to a private island by now. The ultimate in escapist fantasies, there’s nothing better than letting lose with your loved ones in the middle of the South Pacific.
Laucala is one of the world’s most luxurious private island resorts, a utopia dropped in the middle of endless cerulean. The 3,000-acre former coconut plantation was purchased in 2003 by Dietrich Mateschitz, the creator of Red Bull, who tricked the island out into the ultimate tropical getaway. At roughly five square miles, it’s home to pristine beaches, lush jungle, and untouched mangrove forests, as well as man-made pleasures including a 18-hole golf course and an equestrian center. The 25 residences are scattered throughout the island and done in the style of a traditional Fijian home gone glamorous. Activities are seemingly endless, with water sports, hiking, fishing, cooking classes and horseback riding on offer. Plus, Laucala took the shut down as an opportunity to refresh and refurb, meaning everything is shiny, new, and ready for you to unpack your colorful caftans.
TLF Tip: Travelers who have saved up those vacation days may want to combine Fiji with New Zealand for a full view on how the other hemisphere lives.
Cruise the Nile
Egypt
When it comes to once-in-a-lifetime adventures, it’s hard to beat the glamorous allure of the Middle East – after all, the pyramids have seen it all and are still standing. Pack your swaths of linen and begin in Cairo—the capital of Egypt nicknamed “The City of a Thousand Minarets”—by visiting the labyrinthine marketplaces and the epic Pyramids of Giza. At the center is the vast Egyptian Museum - a treasure trove of antiquities, including royal mummies and gilded King Tutankhamen artifacts - there’s no better place to nurture one's interest in archeology, history, culture, and the wonders of the ancient world.
After standing at the feet of the sphinx on a private sunrise visit, board the 22-cabin Oberoi Philae and take in archaeological wonders, colorful bazaars, and pharaonic temples as you cruise the Nile. When you're not discovering landmark sights in Luxor, Aswan, or Abu Simbel, relax on your stateroom balcony, take advantage of the outdoor pool, or indulge in a relaxing treatment at the spa.
TLF Tip: Before you channel your inner Cleopatra, spend a few nights in Jordan, visiting Petra by night when it’s illuminated by thousands of candles and glamping in Wadi Rum.
Antarctica
Oh, you want to go somewhere truly epic? A place that people use as hyperbole for the coolest place you can possibly travel? You are ready to literally explore the ends of the earth? Great, let’s go to Antarctica.
A two-hour flight from Punta Arenas will land you on the seventh continent, where you board your expedition ship. Your next few days will be spent cruising between the South Shetland Islands and the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, sailing along ice-filled fjords and among spectacular icebergs, while you’re joined by seabirds, penguins, seals, and whales. Day trips by Zodiac allow you to explore the landscape with your expert guides, who will interpret the wildlife and illuminate the history and the many, wonders of the Antarctic environment. The ships are small, the vistas are vast, and the ice in your cocktail was cracked from a polar ice cap – what more could an adventurer ask for?
TLF Tip: Jetting so far south is a great opportunity to stop off in South America – hop down the long and skinny country of Chile from the Atacama to Patagonia before setting off to the South Pole.