Unusual adventures: luxury in the most unlikely places

Elsewhere in the country, stay at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, set in the most remote area of the Kaokoveld. Here, you can enjoy the best viewing of desert-adapted elephant, lion and giraffe right from your luxury tented camp. Spend your days on a safari with a difference in the company of expert guides or take to the air to skim across the sands of the windswept coast, spot shipwrecks and uncover remote fur seal colonies. In Australia, Longitude 131° is the luxurious base camp close to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) in the country’s Red Centre. Here you’ll share exclusive wilderness experiences with just a handful of others once most of the visitors to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park move on, leaving it to its Aboriginal guardians. Take advantage with bushwalks around the base of Uluru and the chance to dine out on sumptuous Outback fare in delightful seclusion, below the wonders of the southern night sky. Then, end the day sinking into a deep slumber in a designer, luxury tent that’s just a stone’s throw from the sandstone monolith.

In Chile, you can temper the harsh rigors of life in the Atacama with such luxurious retreats as Tierra Atacama, where outdoor activities are effortlessly combined with creature comforts in their adventure-spa philosophy. The private adobe cottages of Awasi Atacama provide an alternative, more boutique offering, with the finest customised excursions set up for all guests and a highly personalised service making this among the best retreats in South America.  

Outside of Europe, Rovos Rail in South Africa provides the continent’s smartest sleeper train, with services between Cape Town and Pretoria. Here, attention to detail is paramount. A gong precedes lunch and dinner and, if you let the staff know what you like to drink, they’ll stock it in your private compartment. The attendant assigned to your car will take care of pressing your laundry and there are even goggles in your cabin so you can stick your head out of the window to marvel at the landscapes. Regardless of the wonders of the train, the region itself is the main draw, with some of the world’s finest wildlife-viewing on offer.

The same can be said of the Andes, which provide the backdrop for the Belmond Andean Explorer, South America’s first sleeper train. Rumbling from Cusco to Arequipa, it connects many of Peru’s big-ticket sites. Keep an eye out for condors, toast spotting them with a perfect pisco sour or head to the Observation Car located in the caboose for a cocktail under the stars. Don’t forget to bring the baby alpaca wrap left in your room as it’s cold in the mountains. Then, retire to the onboard spa ahead of dinner and, after eating, fall asleep at 14,000ft ready to awake in unforgettable surroundings.

Then, in Indonesia, board the Alila Purnama to explore the Spice Islands. This superyacht masquerading as a traditional phinisi schooner appeals to those with a taste for adventure, offering kayaking, snorkelling, paddle boarding and scuba diving alongside picnic lunches and intimate beach barbecues. Alternatively, secure a berth on the MV Stella Australis to explore the fissured collection of waterways and fjords in Patagonia, drifting between Argentina and Chile in the lee of great mountains and permanent icefields. Want to explore the world’s great waterways instead? Take to the Aria Amazon in Peru, Aqua Mekong in South East Asia or The Strand Cruise in Myanmar to drift through history and landscapes in complete immersion. You’ll stop to undertake shore excursions throughout in between watching out for wildlife, soaking in the outdoor Jacuzzi and sampling the delicious local dishes whipped up by the chef.