Luxury for Less: Whispers of Africa: Luxury in the Bush

Ker & Downey is world re-knowned for its bespoke luxury travel adventures. Now, however, we are focusing on creating more affordable itineraries via our “Luxury for Less” series. Built on the idea of Attainable elegance, the Ker & Downey, “Luxury for Less,” itineraries offer extraordinary leisure at a reasonable price.

Today we focus on our, Whispers of Africa: Luxury in the Bush, itinerary. You will begin your journey with an overnight stay at #1 Melrose Blvd, a set of luxury apartments located in the heart of Johannesburg. The next morning, you will begin your journey by traveling to the game reserves at Madikwe Hills. Of note, a user from the popular travel website TripAdvisor wrote of his stay at Madikwe Hills saying:

We stayed 3 nights at Madikwe Hills in March this year. On arrival we were surprised to be upgraded to the honeymoon suite, which was magnificent. All accommodation here is of a very high standard. The rooms are huge - each with their own very comfortable lounge / sitting area with a fire, a huge bedroom (ours had a large four poster)looking out on to a private decked terrace with pool, and a large bathroom. Ours was entered via a flight of stairs and at the top was a large tub and a huge shower, all carved out of the rock. There was also an outside bath and shower on the terrace at the back of the bathroom overlooking the plains - very private and deeply romantic.

The two things that stood out about this place were the staff and the food. Both were superb. The hotel staff were friendly and helpful, and the rangers and guides were fabulous. This is one of the few lodges in this area of Madikwe where you go out with both a ranger and a tracker, so your chances of sightings are greater. During our stay we saw all but one of the big five and had the most jaw dropping encounters with lions. (It was scary, but then you can't come back from Africa without at least one near death experience story!) Our guide reliably informed us he had never seen anything like it before. Madikwe is less busy than Kruger, and the different lodges all work together and share information about sightings, increasing your likelihood of seeing what you've come to see.

The food at the lodge was fabulous, with all diets catered for - there was just too much of it and it sometimes felt a shame not to be able to eat everything put before you. Dinner was eaten around a communal table on the deck overlooking the water hole - a lovely setting.

On our last night here, we came back from the evening drive to be greeted with a candle lit room, rose petals leading up to our bath, which had been prepared with bubbles and flowers, with a complimentary bottle of champagne and a message 'Enjoy'. That just sums this place up - 5 star.

On your fifth day, your travel adventure takes you to Djuma Vuyatela, an exclusive and inviting lodge in the Sabi Sand area. Inkeeping with the African tradition of hospitality,  the term Vuyatela means, “come and visit again” and the lodge features a melting pot of modern South African cultures and design traditions. This is an important theme at Djuma Vuyatela as the lodge is built to reflect the local culture and styles. Most amazingly, if you so choose, after your morning game drive, you can accompany your guide to his nearby Shangaan village, where you will have the opportunity to interact with his family and learn about village life.

After leaving Djuma Vuyatele, adventurers can head to the Timbavati Private Game Reserve where they will lodge at the renowned Kings Camp. Kings camp is a luxury lodge built to give guests the opportunity to take advantage of the African wildlife in an unmistakably genuine fashion. Known for customizing any particular request, Kings Camp offers some of Africa’s rare sights and wonders to the adventurous traveler.

If you seek remarkable attention at a discrete price, Ker & Downey Luxury for Less itineraries provide just what you are looking for. Contact us to speak to one of our travel experts and plan your own luxury vacation of a lifetime.

Experience Adventure Travel with a Vacation to Bhutan

Thimphu is the capital of the Kingdom of Bhutan and has a population of around 100,000, making it the countries largest city. Ker and Downey’s Kingdom in the Clouds itinerary takes you through Thimphu and Paro in Bhutan and Delhi in India.

Although the valley in which Thimphu is located has supported villages for nearly eight centuries, there was no sustained habitation for much of the time and the city didn’t grow until the king declared Thimphu the new capital in 1961. Amazingly, It wasn’t until a year later that automobiles first appeared on the streets. The city center is small enough to negotiate by foot so the most adventurous tourists can take in the many cultural heritage sites of the city by means of walking.

The city’s main street is, undeniably, one of the foremost culture and natural tourism destinations in the world. The Tashichoedzong hosts a colorful masked-dance festival at the end of summer, which is very popular with travelers. Most interestingly, Thimphu is one of two national Capitals in Asia that does not have traffic lights. Instead, the local traffic police direct the oncoming automobiles.

Thimphu is home to dozens of religious structures, museums, and landmarks. Most notably, Changangkha Lhakhang - a temple constructed in the 15th century - is one of the oldest structures in the Thimphu Valley. It is by far the oldest temple in Thimphu and hovers over a ridge above the city near Motithang.



Phajo Drugom Shigpo, one of the principles of the Drukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, is acknowledged as the primary catalyst in the building of the temple. During the building of the shrine, he dedicated the temple to Avalokiteshvara - the Buddhist emanation of compassion. Because of its unique location atop the city, the dzong has wonderful views across the entire valley.

In a recent New York Times Article, Seth Mydans writes of the tranquil setting he found in Bhutan saying:

If the rest of the world cannot get it right in these unhappy times, this tiny Buddhist kingdom high in the Himalayan mountains says it is working on an answer.



No more than 700,000 people live in the kingdom, squeezed between the world’s two most populous nations, India and China, and its task now is to control and manage the inevitable changes to its way of life.

 

It is a country where cigarettes are banned and television was introduced just 10 years ago, where traditional clothing and architecture are enforced by law and where the capital city has no stoplight and just one traffic officer on duty.



“How does a small country like Bhutan handle globalization? Survive by being distinct, by being different.”

Ker Downey, specialists in custom designed travel, will work with you to arrange the best adventure travel destination that will surpass your every expectation. Contact us to find out how.

Vacation in the Seychelles for an Unparalelled Travel Experience

The Seychelles has the unique distinction of being the only locale in the world described completely in hyperbole. An island nation, Seychelles is located just to the northeast of Madagascar and 1000 miles east of Kenya. Notably, the Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles lists 155 separate islands as comprising the archipelago.

The history of the islands is one of the seas, with adventurers of all nationalities staking legitimate claims of discovering the islands: Austronesian seafarers or Arab traders may have been the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles, but the first known European recorded sighting of them took place in 1502, by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named them after himself (islands of the Admiral). For nearly twenty years in the eighteenth century the British contested French control over the islands resulting in several naval battles during which the French settlers of the island decided on a complicated position of neutrality. For the next 100 years Britain would maintain full control of the colonies. It was not until 1976 that the country became an independent republic of the commonwealth.

Exploring the rich history (such as the Seychelles) on your luxury vacation is something we thoroughly recommend, regardless of your destination. As a luxury travel company we can customize any part of your itinerary to provide you with the most unique travel experience available.

Seychellois society is distinctly matriarchal. Mothers are dominant in the household with women controlling expenditures and looking after the interests of the children. Men are most important for their earning potential but their domestic role is mostly negligible. Older women can usually count on financial support from family members living at home or contributions from the earnings of grown children. Ninety percent of the population is Roman catholic with another seven percent identifying as Anglican. Notably, though the country has a far greater connection with Britain, a Sunday Telegraph traveling journalist once stated that, “The culture remains emphatically French.”

The fauna of Seychelles is what distinguishes this island nation. Even the tourism  industry is subject to Seychelles strict environmental laws as every tourism project must undergo an environmental review and a lengthy process of consultations with the public and conservationists. For those seeking a green vacation, Seychelles offers the perfect opportunity for an environmentally friendly bespoke adventure. Because of the distinct and sophisticated ecosystem, Seychelles is the perfect vacation getaway for those seeking customized travel adventures to exotic locales. Michael Anderson, a world-renowned exotic landscape photographer, wrote of the Seychelles in a letter to his beau saying:

I got lucky with a very colorful sunset last night and the photos I got look pretty good on the small camera LCD. The tricky part is getting a shutter speed that freezes the swaying palms fronds, but allows for silky motion in the water. I haven't seen many fine art images from here(only midday travel brochure images), and there appears to be so much potential! Now that I've got a few good images, the pressure is off and I will spend my time chilling as well as photographing and trying to let the images come naturally instead of pushing too hard to find them. That seems to be the sweet spot where I get the best shots and sometimes stumble on the unexpected spontaneous ones. I'm still trying to get some portraits of the people, especially the fishermen, if I can.

I think you would love the combination of beautiful white sand beaches, great shoreline snorkelling, a very friendly creole culture, and the slow laid back pace here. Everyone walks or rides a bike on the dirt and cobble paths of town and the paths to the beaches are all small dirt trails under towering coconut palms. I think the fact that you have to walk to the beaches keeps them pretty empty and there are no buildings or hotels along the beach. Visitors stay in the pensions in town by the ferry dock. The buildings are mostly whitewashed wooden simple homes with verandas and lots of tropical flowers

Enjoy a Customized Travel Experience in Paro

Paro, a region in Bhutan, has had years of isolation and a severely limited relationship with it’s neighbors providing for a bespoke adventure unlike any other. Notably, Lonely Planet published a Bhutan Guidebook for backpackers to travel the region.

The small township of Paro as the gateway to the kingdom of Bhutan. In the city alone, however, there are many points of engagement that make Paro a destination in it’s own right. Along the main street you will find the best and most complex sampling of traditional archictecture in the country: two lines of richly decorated buildings house small shops, institutions and restaurants. However, the most interesting place in the kingdom is the Paro Dzong, a beautiful fortress and monastery overlooking the valley above which it was built.

Paro Dzong serves as both a civil administrative center and a monastic home for a community of monks. The Paro dzong was started in 1644 on the order of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, known as the unifier of modern day Bhutan. Like most dzongs, it was built to protect the inhabited valleys from invasion by Tibet. It is, easily, one of the most beautiful sites in all of Bhutan as evidenced by it’s alternative name of Rinpung Dzong or the, “Fortress that sits on a heap of jewels.”

Further, the Paro Tsechu festival - the biggest and most spectacular of all buddhist festivals - is celebrated at Paro Dzong every year. People, dressed in their traditional finery, flock to Paro Dzong to bear witness to their staunch Buddhist beliefs and receive blessings. They also watch masked dancers parade around the plaza and perform colorful allegorical dramas in the courtyard of the temple-fortress. Bhutan is one of the world’s most religious countries, buddhism having been introduced there in AD 800 by the revered Guru Padmasambhava or, “He who was born of a lotus flower." It is in his honor that the festival is held every year.

In an article on Paro Tsechu the adventure travel site WhatsOnWhen describes Paro Tsechu saying:

The festival consists of three parts: the "Pre-festival" on the first day, ceremonies inside the Paro Dzong on the second day, and the main festivities on the festival ground on the remaining three days. For the devout, the highlight undoubtedly occurs on the final day when a huge religious picture (thongdrel) is unfurled at dawn. To witness this event is to gain great merit.

Both monks and lay people perform in the festival dances and dramatizations as an act of meditation in an effort to personify the deity which they are tasked to portray. Wearing masks and dressed in elaborate costumes of silk brocade dancers demonstrate the triumph over good and evil and the power of compassion to the moving sounds of instruments tuned to their rhythms. The performances are naturally spaced with folksongs and clowning, while copious amounts of butter tea and potent barley alcohol are consumed by the crowd and performers.

The history of Paro is undeniably rich as the dances, masks and the costumes of the performers have remained unchanged for nearly 1000 years. Each dance is said to be an exact re-staging of visions seen by the country’s greatest Buddhist saints, and thus any changes made to them would be sacrilegious. Even today this beautiful and sacred festival remains a wonderful manifestation of a religious faith that is still a crucial part of Bhutanese daily life.



If you are looking for a custom designed travel experience, consider contacting us

to customize the perfect adventure travel destination for you. We look forward to fielding any questions you might have and providing you with the most unique travel experience on earth. Further, consider our Kingdom in the Clouds itinerary for a luxury vacation like no other.

Journey to the Great Barrier Reef for a Luxury Vacation

The Great Barrier Reef is a maze of nearly 3,000 individual reefs, 900 islands and stretches 133,000 square miles. It is located in the Coral Sea, just off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The majority of Barrier Reef islands lie north of the tropic of Capricorn and have a distinctly monsoonal climate, the heavy rains cause destructive flooding from April to September and leave thousands of people homeless each year.

For years, the Great Barrier Reef was known as Australia’s, “Blue Outback.” Established as a collective haven for thousands of species of sea life, the Great Barrier Reef was designated a World Heritage Site in 1981 and remains a top choice as a luxury travel destination.

Many visits to the Reef combine time on an island with time in Quensland’s towns and parks. Traveling for a week in the area you can stay at a southern coral cay, mountainous northern villa or Whitsundays’ Resort. The best way to fully experience the Great Barrier Reef is to travel via a live-aboard running from Port Douglas to Lizard Island. From these luxurious cruisers, divers can snorkel off of Fitzroy Island, scuba in Shute Harbour and swim in the pristine waters of Daydream Island.

If you must cut your visit short, consider touring Lady Elliot Island, one of the points on the reef with fringing coral. In a description of the island, the official website catalogues the area’s attractions saying:

At Lady Elliot Island on the Great Barrier Reef, you can step off the beach and snorkel, swim or dive in an underwater holiday world of brilliantly colored species of marine life, or just simply relax and soak in the natural island atmosphere. The lagoon protects and nurtures the curiosity of the beginners while a little further out experienced snorklers and divers descend to see the coral sea.

Lady Elliot Island is one of only six island resorts on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and one of only three with direct flight access to the island airstrip. The island is located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in the highest possible classification of Marine National Park Zone by GBRMPA. Lady Elliot is an island teeming with life and live corals, famous for a resident population of 40 Manta Rays which form the iconic logo of the island.

Tour the reef in a glass bottomed boat, learn to scuba dive, feed the fish, take a guided reef walk or stroll to a deserted beach and live the dream. With exceptionally clear water year round, you may encounter turtles, dolphins and a large variety of coral, fish and giant manta rays. If you are there for the right season you may see birds nesting, turtle hatchlings emerging from the sand or migrating humpback whales blow and breech.

Of course there are potential dangers to be found when visiting the reef. Notably, the Irukandji jellyfish, no bigger than a thumb tack, can cause: severe pain, vomiting, and soaring blood pressure. All of which may be life-threatening to people with already high blood pressure or diabetes.

If you are looking for a custom designed travel experience, consider contacting us

to design the perfect luxury travel vacation for you. We look forward to fielding any questions you might have and providing you with the most unique travel experience on earth.