West Africa; The Peak Tram; Saddles bakehouse; Aman private jet
Abercrombie & Kent’s one-off West African small-group tour will focus on people and culture.
Abercrombie & Kent has a one-off small-group journey to West Africa, July 2-17, 2019, led by its regional managing director Sujata Raman. Ghana, Togo and Benin are the key destinations, with a focus on people and culture, including a voodoo healing ceremony, visits to UNESCO World Heritage sites and a forest monkey sanctuary, meetings with traditional artisans and time to explore markets and villages. The tour, round-trip from Accra, Ghana, is $12,875 a person, twin-share, with accommodation at city hotels and coastal resorts, transfers, touring and most meals; single supplement, add $3350. A second tour is planned for November 5-20; Qantas frequent flyers earn one point per tour cost dollar.
SUSAN KUROSAWA
PEAK ACHIEVEMENT
Hong Kong is celebrating the 130th anniversary of one of its top attractions, The Peak Tram. The ride, which carries more than two million people a year up the Peak to take in the spectacular views, opened on May 30, 1888. Built by Scottish businessman Alexander Findlay Smith to take passengers to his mountain hotel, the original coal and steam-powered tram could carry just 30 passengers, with only those in first class protected from the elements. Prior to its launch, the 30 to 40 families living on the Peak relied on sedan chairs to get around. A switch to electricity in 1926 saw capacity rise to 52 passengers and after World War II the wooden carriages were replaced with larger metal versions. It was upgraded in 1959 and again in 1989 to the incarnation so popular with visitors today, with return tickets an affordable $HK52 ($8).
PENNY HUNTER
HEIGHTS OF LUXURY
For the grandest of Grand Tours, Aman is taking up to 16 guests on a round-the-world adventure by private jet next year, flying from Tokyo to Venice in 22 days. Passengers touch down along the way in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Bhutan, India, Greece and Montenegro, staying in opulence at nine Aman properties, including Amanbagh in India (pictured). The tour features a wide variety of experiences, including a lesson in samurai sword fighting in Tokyo, cruising Phang Nga Bay, Thailand, by yacht and exploring rural Indian villages by Jeep. There’s also time to stroll Spetses Island in Greece, venture into Jaipur’s bazaars and hike to Bhutan’s Tiger’s Nest monastery. Your winged carriage, an Airbus ACJ318, has four lounge areas, and the longest leg on the journey is just over seven hours, allowing plenty of time for fine dining mid-air, while the shortest is less than 90 minutes. April 15-May 6, 2019; $126,888 a person, twin-share.
PH
HORSES FOR COURSES
Chef-restaurateur Cameron Cansdell and wife Hayley, of Bombini at Avoca and Fish Dining at Point Frederick near Gosford, are the culinary team behind Saddles, a new all-day restaurant and “country bakehouse” at Mount White on the NSW Central Coast. In homestead style by a dam on a bush spread, Saddles is a project by John Singleton Group and White Dickson Architects, with the name an homage to the skills of Heath Harris, an artisan saddler who has worked for Singleton at his nearby Strawberry Hills Stud. So expect equine references in the decor, including saddle-inspired chairs, polished brass and a pitched barn roofline. The menu is all about unpretentious cosiness, with much produce sourced from the kitchen potager and local farms. Cooking classes are planned, and there’s a plant nursery and retail garden store. The bakehouse offerings include savoury pies filled with grass-fed beef cheeks and wine; pork and fennel sausage rolls; and new-age lamingtons with Valrhona chocolate and raspberry cream. Open daily from 8am to 5pm (8pm Fridays); about 90 minutes north of Sydney, off the M1.
SK
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