It was what the guides in Serengeti National Park call a “small crossing” — slight in both the number of animals involved (no more than 100) and the number of humans who witnessed it (just a handful). But it was hardly minor to me. 

The zebras were casual — too casual, I suspected — as they trotted across the Mara River. Murky brown water swallowed up their legs and haunches, yet they remained unhurried. All was peaceful.

Then the crocodiles came. At first one, then two — then six — and within seconds, they had taken hold of an adolescent. The water splashed and bubbled, the young equine scuttled, and the crocodiles worked in unsettling concert. Suddenly, the zebra broke away, bucking its hind legs in one last Hail Mary attempt at escape. But it was too late. At the first sight of red, I put my binoculars down and trained my focus on the distant savannah.

Noticing the tears welling up in my eyes, Chrisple Sikawa, my guide from Usawa mobile camp, offered the salve of logic. “This is the circle of life,” he said. “You wouldn’t want the crocodiles to go hungry, would you?”

Heartbroken as I was, I knew he was right. I also knew that such dramatic sightings are precisely the reason one comes to Tanzania’s most famous safari destination: to see the wilderness at its most brazen and brutish, as real as it has ever been or ever will be.

This mobile luxury safari camp travels across the Serengeti National Park

That’s the promise of the great migration, the mass journey of roughly 2 million wildebeests and zebras, and the headlining act of almost any Serengeti safari. The event is constant and year-round, spanning 500 miles (804.67 km) from the southern Serengeti to Kenya’s Masai Mara, just north of the Tanzania border, making it a moving target for the nearly 500,000 tourists who come to the national park every year.

That transient nature is what enticed Keith Vincent, co-founder and CEO of the hospitality company Wilderness, to create Wilderness Usawa Serengeti, a roving camp that opened on its first of nine eventual sites across the Serengeti on July 26. “In the old days of guiding, you had a vehicle and a tent, and you moved wherever the wilderness went and set up camp along the way,” Vincent says. “With Usawa, I wanted to give that freedom back to our guests.”

Wilderness Usawa Serengeti

• A luxury mobile camp, Usawa travels across the Serengeti National Park, popping up seasonally in nine locations across the national park, all set along the path of the great migration.

• The luxury safari camp’s six en-suite tents are designed to have minimal impact on the environment, with off-grid power and water systems, and an innovative design that requires only manpower to build and disassemble.

• The main attractions of any stay at Usawa are the daily game drives and safari walks, during which guests can glimpse the great migration, Big Five animals, and other wildlife.

• Usawa’s custom-designed tents are decorated with art, furniture, and crafts made exclusively by Tanzanian artisans.

• The camp’s all-inclusive rates include three meals a day, all game drives and safari walks, and on-the-ground support from the moment your journey starts.

To do so, Vincent first had to strip down the luxury safari camp experience regularly found at other Wilderness camps. There are no plunge pools or spa treatments at Usawa, but rather a wide-open expanse on the crest of a remote hill, where six guest tents and a larger main tent are wrapped 360 degrees in mesh and canvas, giving a sense of near-total exposure to the elements. The entire operation is off-grid, with lighting supplied by rechargeable lanterns and solar-powered lamps (romantic or vexing, depending on your task) and showers fed by buckets of manually heated water that funnel into taps by simple gravity (and, boy, do they feel amazing).

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Still, nothing comes close to roughing it. King-size beds are dressed in crisp white linens, bathrooms are stocked with Inaya Zanzibar’s all-natural products, and décor is a curated assemblage of local design and ingenuity. The greatest luxury of all, however, is Usawa’s connection to nature: the cool breezes that drift through your tent, the sound of raindrops and elephants trumpeting as you drift to sleep, the first sliver of early morning sun as it stretches across the horizon to gently wake you.

“But the real fun of it,” Vincent insists, “is the chase.” Thus, Usawa moves with the great migration — from the south’s calving season, during which hundreds of wildebeests are born every day, to the mass crossings that take place on the Mara River — with Wilderness operating up to three identical camps at any one time, while a fourth transitions to the next site. Guests can easily follow the action, hopscotching from camp to camp. Once the herd moves on, Wilderness packs up and makes for the next location, leaving no trace behind.

Over five days at one of the camp’s northern locations, I found that however great the migration itself is, it was only a small part of any experience in the Serengeti, which is home to one of the most wildlife-rich expanses in Africa. Spanning more than 5,500 square miles (14,244.93 square kilometres), it is the quintessential picture of sub-Saharan wilderness, home to an abundance of big cats, as well as the rest of the Big Five animals (including a growing population of rhinos), plus giraffes, elephants, hyenas, and more than 500 bird species.

But, in the end, it was the great migration that once again beckoned. Though the heartache of our earlier sighting was still fresh in my mind, I agreed to let Sikawa show me what he called “the magic of a big crossing.” And so, we set out for the Mara, tracing its banks until a massive swirl of dust caught our attention — a scuffle of hooves pounding the dirt, Sikawa explained.

We arrived at its source minutes later, just as the first wildebeests were crossing, grunting and bucking all the while, literally running for their lives. One by one, as they made their safe passage across the river, they surrounded our vehicle, their mews nothing short of celebratory to my ears. The crossing carried on for close to an hour, and when the dust finally settled, not a single casualty had occurred. Then, a calf, clearly exhausted, dropped onto its knees to nurse from its mother’s teat. I felt the tears welling up once again, and this time they poured out like rain. It had been quite the journey — for all of us.

The rooms

Designed by Luxury Frontiers (whose other hospitality projects include Camp Sarika by Amangiri in Utah and Naviva, a Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita, Mexico), Usawa’s six en-suite tents are made from overlapping swatches of canvas and mesh to eliminate the barrier between the indoors and the great outdoors.

Still, every creature’s comfort has been accounted for. King-size beds are dressed in luxury linens; minibars are stocked with fresh coffee, tea, and snacks; and toiletries are from the all-natural skincare brand Inaya Zanzibar. Interiors throughout the camp showcase Tanzania’s artisans and designers: handwoven baskets, blankets, and pillows are sourced from a local collective that empowers women to achieve financial independence. Glassware, beaded chandeliers, and leather details come from Sanaa, a non-profit that teaches lucrative crafts to those with disabilities. And tables and chairs made from upcycled plastic are the ingenious creation of Arusha-based DuniaDesigns.

Outside, my husband and I lounged on our hammock (often with a bottle of South African rosé) or watched the surrounding hills through binoculars from a pair of canvas chairs. We regularly witnessed game drive–worthy sightings right outside our tent, from a family of elephants crossing the hills to the hundreds of zebras and wildebeest that wandered right through camp.

Food and drink

Usawa is all-inclusive, including spirits and a wide selection of wines from the African continent. The culinary team takes full advantage of Tanzania’s robust farming culture, serving both international and traditional Swahili dishes. Okra takes on heavenly forms in spicy curry, South African syrah sings with fragrant Zanzibari-spiced pilau rice, and creamy mtori soup, made with fresh plantains, is equal parts sweet and savoury — and utterly irresistible.

All mealtimes and menus are customized for guests as they plan each day with their guide. Pre-safari breakfasts are lavish spreads of porridge, fruit, pastries, and made-to-order eggs. Lunch is served overlooking the savannah at the edge of the luxury safari camp or as a picnic on game drives. Dinners are multi-course affairs served under the starry night sky or in the main tent.

Experiences and amenities

Activities are centred on the magnificent theatre that is the great wilderness of the Serengeti. As Usawa travels among nine locations throughout the national park, guests are afforded the chance to witness the great migration up close in its many phases. From January to March, the southern Serengeti bears witness to the birth of thousands of wildebeests (an estimated 800 calves are born each day). Come July, the herds move north and river crossings are the main event.

Game drives and bush walks are offered daily. One morning we set out straight from the luxury safari camp on foot, skirting a family of elephants as they broke down an entire acacia tree for an afternoon feast, then catching sight of a cheetah sprinting across the hillside 100 yards away. On a drive the next day, we encountered a mother cheetah and her cubs, the white of their bellies fat and round, the scruff of their chins blood-stained—and vultures circling overhead in pursuit of the remains of their kill. We waited patiently outside a cluster of bushes for a leopard to at last poke out its spotted head; watched a thick-maned lion perch proudly atop a boulder, keeping a watchful eye over a valley filled with prey; and counted the many crocodiles ominously patrolling the banks of the river.

Family-friendly offerings

Usawa welcomes children from six years old. Buy-outs are available for families with members of all ages. All safari activities can be customised to accommodate different ages and abilities.

Accessibility and sustainability

Wilderness’s greatest ambition in creating Usawa was to create a luxury safari camp that would minimally impact the Earth. Power is provided by solar panels and portable batteries that are recharged at a main power bank. Tents are constructed only by employees, ensuring the least possible disturbance to the native wildlife and enabling the camp to be easily and quickly moved from location to location. “We’ll leave no trace,” Vincent says. “One storm and the grassland will look like we’ve never been there.”

To preserve the land, Usawa has forgone constructing sewage systems, employing a series of innovations to stay more eco-friendly. Toilets operate on portable septic systems, with waste routinely removed from the park or used to fertilize the grounds when possible. Filtered cold and hot water are supplied to guests throughout the day. Showers are especially clever in their operation, supplied by heated water that is manually fed into overhead buckets and then funnelled into taps. Simply pull the chain for a steamy cascade.

Usawa is not ADA-compliant, which is typical for luxury safari camps like this one.

Location

To arrive at Serengeti National Park, travellers can fly via Hamad International Airport in Doha to Kilimanjaro International Airport, then connect from Arusha Airport to one of Serengeti National Park’s airstrips. Wilderness plans all itineraries end-to-end with VIP travel perks, including Al Maha service when flying with Qatar Airways. In Arusha, we stayed at Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge, a Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2020 winner set on a coffee farm.

Usawa’s nine locations stretch from the southern Serengeti National Park to Tanzania’s northern border with Kenya. Up to three camps will operate simultaneously to allow guests to follow the great migration as closely as possible. Wilderness arranges guest stays based on predictions of the great migration path.

How to get the most value out of your stay

Safaris are admittedly costly, but Wilderness’s all-inclusive pricing includes everything: accommodations, unlimited meals and beverages, all activities, and transfers within Serengeti National Park. Wilderness also partners with airlines such as Qatar Airways to offer discounted flights for safari goers. Nightly rates at Usawa start at USD 950 (INR 78,795) per person, with a minimum two-night stay.

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This story first appeared on travelandleisure.com

All currency conversions were done at the time of writing

Related: This ‘Life-Changing’ Safari Experience Includes Sleeping Under The Stars In Botswana

Northern Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park sits along the Zambezi River and is known for its unspoiled beauty, canoe trails, and extraordinary wildlife that flock here to drink water from its natural pools. And a new camp allows travellers to fully immerse in this stunning landscape, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

Molori Mashuma, the second property from South African company Molori Safari, opened on August 15 with only six tented accommodations offering privacy, unobstructed views, and access to the wildlife-rich grasslands of Mashuma Pan.

This stunning National Park in Zimbabwe just got a new luxury camp

“Mana Pools represents the most unique truly African wilderness experience that I have ever come across in all my years of being in the bush,” Eric Ichikowitz, co-owner of Molori Mashuma, told Travel + Leisure. “It is a game and wilderness experience unlike anything else because you are not chasing the wildlife to tick off a list, you are immersed and present in the moment, with the open landscapes, fauna and flora, and the wildlife that roam.”

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The spacious air-conditioned accommodations feature private decks for game viewing and relaxation as well as amenities such as soaking bathtubs, outdoor showers, and beautiful design and decor by local artists. Two two-bedroom family tents with private plunge pools are also available.

Molori Mashuma’s main lodge boasts a 5,457-square-foot deck with several lounge and dining areas, a pool, and a bar, perfect for enjoying the views of the lush surroundings. Visitors can also observe and photograph wildlife on guided walking safaris (there are three locations for game viewing in the area).

“Walking through the fever tree forests and watching elephants in their droves, moving through the forest and interacting with big herds of eland and zebras frolicking and playing around them, while the monkeys jump from the trees, is one of my ultimate wilderness experiences,” Ichikowitz added.

Mana Pools National Park is home to the country’s largest crocodile and hippo population, many predators, and hundreds of bird species.

Molori Mashuma is open seasonally from the beginning of April to the end of October. Nightly rates start from USD 1,725 (INR 1,42,929).

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This story first appeared on travelandleisure.com

All currency conversions were done at the time of writing

Related: World’s Tallest ‘Hemp Hotel’ Trails South Africa’s Green Credentials

Three minutes. That’s all it took to spot my first chameleon after landing on Nosy Ankao, a palm-tufted island just off the coast of northern Madagascar. I was giddy with excitement, but the striped lizard, about the size of a coke can didn’t flinch. He threw me a look with his lens-like eye and carried on with his slow, jerky walk across the concrete path.

Along with the ylang ylang–scented cold towel and giant coconut I received after disembarking the helicopter that picked me up from Nosy Be airport, I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome to Miavana. One of the most illustrious island resorts in the Indian Ocean, Miavana opened in 2017. It’s backed by French-Mauritian financier Thierry Dalais, who also invested in the equally fabled North Island resort in Seychelles. It’s a high-flier hideaway for 1 per cent of the 1 percent; a discrete and ultra-private retreat where you could have the likes of Martha Steward or Tom Cruise as your neighbour, and not even know.

This Island resort in the Indian Ocean is a dreamy getaway!

In my career as a travel journalist, I’ve been lucky enough to visit some of the dreamiest resorts around the globe, but even before my arrival at Miavana, I knew I was in for something special. Nosy Ankao, the resort’s coral-fringed island base, which it shares with a small village of thatch-roofed huts and dozen-or-so lemurs, is notoriously hard to get to. That’s part of Miavana’s appeal. After the long flight to Nosy Be, which requires at least one stopover for travellers flying commercial, all guests still need to cross the northern tip of Madagascar on a one-hour helicopter flight aboard a four-seat Robinson R66 helicopter painted in the resort’s signature turquoise hue.

But what awaited was well worth the schlep: mile after footprint-free mile of sugar-white beach, shared between just 14 accommodations. Miavana calls them “villas,” but that seems like an understatement: with their cavernous living areas, separate lounge rooms, two breezy bathrooms, and an outdoor shower, even the entry-level villas are more akin to mini-estates. My villa, a two-bedroom retreat, came with a detached fully fitted villa that would’ve been a top-category stay in many a beach resort. Here, it was just the second bedroom.

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Regardless of their category, all villas open to sprawling private gardens dotted with multiple sunbeds and Breton-striped bean bags around an ellipse-shaped pool. Their interiors, designed by South African architecture power couple Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens, deliver a breezy mix of wickerwork, local limestone, and midcentury modern furniture accented with nautical touches such as copper porthole windows and fist-sized seashells.

“It was easy to slip into a beachy bliss”

With such a vast amount of private space and more pillow-strewn lounge nooks than I could count on one hand, it was dangerously easy to slip into a beachy bliss. From the sun chairs on my villa’s deck, I could stare for hours at the turquoise horizon, watching whip-quick birds chase flies in the jungle fringe and geckos basking in the sun. Between dips in my private pool and the gin-clear ocean out front, I’d challenge my Kindle batteries to read up on the fascinating history of the African island that lay on the horizon. My butler was just a WhatsApp message away to deliver fresh pineapple juice, iced lattes, or a full-fledged in-room brunch or dinner with everything from Malagasy vanilla crepes to cheese platters to smoothie bowls topped with local cocoa nibs. I could’ve easily spent my midweek stay here, not leaving my villa at all. And as South African resort manager Craig Gemmell told me over dinner one night, many guests would – some for more than two weeks at a time.

I, though, was itching to see more of the island and its surroundings. As one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, Madagascar is home to numerous species of lemurs, reptiles, and plants that exist nowhere else on the planet. During a guided jungle walk around the island, I spotted several more chameleons, dozens of geckos, and orchid species that could only be found in this part of the country. The underwater landscapes were just as bewitching: while snorkelling around a nearby reef, a kaleidoscopic collection of clownfish, parrotfish, and even a lone green turtle slid down below me in a coral forest that has, so far, evaded major bleaching events. And if I had a bigger budget, Miavana’s helicopter safaris could’ve taken me to other corners of the mainland, where the team can set up picnics in little-visited baobab forests or organise treks to find rare black lemur species with an expert guide.

Back at the resort, the Piazza, Miavana’s beachfront gathering spot, gave me more reasons to leave my villa. It’s home to the communal pool – a sweeping white number lined with loungers and gauzy curtains billowing in the wind – and a small museum studded with taxidermied insects and bones from now-extinct local animal species (the Madagasy pygmy hippopotamus and elephant bird eggs among them). The restaurant, too, is located here, and during my five-day stay, I didn’t see the same dish on the menu twice. One afternoon, I ordered a table-spanning spread of Madagasy curries and grilled fish for lunch and a perfectly cheesy pizza margarita for dinner. Another day, I could choose between short rib ramen, mezze platters, or tandoor-roasted cauliflower, but was told that the chefs were always more than happy to go off-menu, too. Blinis and caviar or a perfectly done beef Wellington? I could name it, they’d fix it — even if I had wanted an exact brand of soy sauce on my sushi.

All this, of course, comes at a price. With a room rate starting at about USD 3,400 (INR 2,80,739) per person per night, Miavana’s price tag makes many a five-star hotel look like a steal. It’s among the most expensive resorts in the world, but the rate includes plenty of perks: all meals and drinks, including top-shelf spirits and many premium wines. Guests also don’t have to pay extra for scuba dives, boat cruises around the archipelago, or guided island excursions.

Still, it’s hard to put a price on a place this special. “What makes Miavana unbeatable is its proximity to some of the Earth’s most precious wildlife,” says Bjorn Behlert, senior travel consultant for Africa at luxury tour operator Scott Dunn, who regularly books his clients here. “From the tops of baobab trees to down deep in the coral reefs, there are surprises everywhere. Its magnificent biodiversity coupled with a truly unique luxury experience is one of the many reasons guests book – and re-book – this remote island resort.”

Scott Dunn customises luxury travel and offers a five-night stay at Miavana, including helicopter transfers, all meals, top-shelf spirits and bar drinks, a variety of water activities, boat cruises, fishing trips, spa treatments, and a round-trip business-class flight from New York. It starts at USD 36,900 (INR 30,46,851) per person.

(Hero and feature image credit: Pat Boon/Getty Images)

All currency conversions were done at the time of writing

This story first appeared on travelandleisure.com

Related: Some Of The Most Expensive Luxury Resorts Around The Globe

Most hotels have bacon in their breakfast buffets. But Farm Sanctuary SA, a boutique hotel in South Africa’s bucolic Winelands, doesn’t serve bacon; it saves pigs from becoming bacon. In fact, it’s home to the world’s only oinker artist. 

“Pig-cassoooooooo!” sings Joanne Lefson in a playful, high-pitched voice when she slides open the doors to the big wooden barn that doubles as the hotel’s lobby. At the sound of her name, Pigcasso, a 1,500-pound sow asleep in a pile of straw, slowly comes to life.

This hotel in South Africa is home to the famous painting Pig!

She knows it’s time for two things: apples and art. “You can give anyone a paintbrush, and they’ll know what to do with it,” Lefson, Farm Sanctuary SA’s founder, tells me as we follow Pigcasso, who clearly knows where she’s going, out the barn doors to her studio. “But there’s only one pig in the world you can give a paintbrush to that will know what to do with it.”

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Of course, Pigcasso, whose paintings sell for thousands of dollars to buyers all over the world, wasn’t born with a silver brush in her mouth. In 2016 she was destined to be someone’s dinner. Fortunately, at the 11th hour, Lefson, a passionate animal rights activist, rescued Pigcasso from a slaughterhouse. At the time, Lefson was building Farm Sanctuary SA, and her new rescue was intent on destroying everything laying around in the process.

“I noticed that the only thing she didn’t devour were the paintbrushes,” says Lefson. So, with the help of apples – which she uses as a reward – she taught the mischievous little pig how to hold a brush in her mouth and apply paint to a canvas. Naming the aspiring artist Pigcasso was a no-brainer. Lefson, a former professional golfer now in her 50s, has been “saving” animals ever since she was a kid. She even wrote a book, “Ahound the World,”  which chronicles her travels to dozens of countries with Oscar, a Mr Congeniality award-winning mutt she rescued from the pound.

“The hotel lobby is plastered with Pigcasso paintings”

My room at Farm Sanctuary SA is the stone chapel cottage (USD 100/INR 8,273 per night). It’s covered in photos of the late Oscar: cheezing for the camera with monks in Thailand, meeting with Maasai warriors in Kenya, and posing in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the barn, which in addition to the hotel’s lobby houses rescued pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens, is plastered with Pigcasso paintings and articles about the world’s only painting pig. A laminated letter from Jane Goodall, who has one of Pigcasso’s paintings, reads, “I was so thrilled when I heard about your painting Pig. And the videos are fantastic. Is it OK if I use one in my lectures?”

The barn is also where the hotel’s kitchen is. Farm Sanctuary SA only serves vegetarian food – its mission is to “inspire a more compassionate and sustainable world” – and because it’s an open layout, I can see a little lamb weaving its way between the chef’s legs. A couple in their 20s from Austria is staying in the master suite (from USD 125/INR 10,342 per night), accessible via the spiral staircase leading to the barn’s loft. They show me photos on their phones of them feeding the orphaned lamb a bottle of milk during the middle of the night. I ask if they were annoyed that their room came with Old MacDonald’s entourage. “Not at all,” they laugh. “It’s why we booked the loft!”

Farm Sanctuary SA, which functions as a sanctuary for farm animals first and a hotel for humans second, has 13 rooms, all unique in their design and spread throughout the property. The five newest rooms are in the newly restored 19th-century manor house. Guests can also book repurposed shipping containers that Lefson converted into industrial-chic tiny homes.

Even though it’s a working farm with animals, Farm Sanctuary SA is within walking distance of downtown Franschhoek, a picturesque South African community about 90 minutes east of Cape Town with a population of 1,000.

I ask the Austrian couple how they learned about Farm Sanctuary SA. I discovered it, randomly, on Airbnb, and because I grew up on a farm in Montana, I figured I had to check it out. “We already knew about Pigcasso,” says the woman. “So we wanted to meet her while we were visiting South Africa.”

Pigcasso, who has been featured on Saturday Night Live, the BBC, and CNN, just to name a few, is somewhat of a celebrity in Europe. She’s especially popular among art collectors.

While the Austrian couple originally just planned on seeing Pigcasso, while on-site they decide to commission a painting. “Who knows?” says the man. “One day it could be worth millions.” While it’s normally a private experience between the guests, Pigcasso, and Lefson, the couple is happy to let me observe.

I watch as Lefson dips the paintbrush in the colour of the couple’s choosing before handing it to Pigcasso. The pig takes it in her mouth and makes a beeline for the canvas. She can paint lines, dots, and circles, and she signs every piece with her snout. After just 30 minutes, Pigcasso has painted three canvases for the couple, who get to choose their favourite to take home. After nearly an hour of analysing each canvas, they choose a red, white, and blue number they name “The Peeps.”

I’m amazed: Pigcasso’s work really does resemble the work of Pablo Picasso. There’s even a game in the barn where you have to decide if the paintings on display were done by Picasso or Pigcasso. I get half of them wrong. I wish I could blame it on all the wine I’ve been drinking – the Franschhoek Valley is full of vineyards, and Pigcasso even has her own line of wine – but it’s only 11 a.m. I’m as sober as the little lamb is drunk on milk. In fact, I haven’t even had breakfast yet.

Now that the painting session is over, I’m going to hit up Farm Sanctuary SA’s kitchen. I’m not sure what they’re serving at this hour, but I know one thing: it’s not ham and eggs.

(Hero and feature image credit: joannelefson.com, pigcasso.org)

This story first appeared on www.travelandleisure.com

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With 12 storeys, a breathtaking view of Cape Town’s imposing Table Mountain and a minimal ecological footprint, the world’s tallest building made with industrial hemp is soon to open its doors in South Africa.

Workers in central Cape Town are putting the finishing touches on the 54-room Hemp Hotel, which is due to be completed in June. “Hempcrete” blocks derived from the cannabis plant have been used to fill the building’s walls, supported by a concrete and cement structure.

All you need to know about the upcoming Hemp Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa

Hemp bricks are becoming increasingly popular in the construction world thanks to their insulating, fire-resistant and climate-friendly properties. Used notably in Europe for thermal renovation of existing buildings, the blocks are carbon negative — meaning their production sucks more planet-warming gases out of the atmosphere than it puts in.

 

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“The plant absorbs the carbon, it gets put into a block and is then stored into a building for 50 years or longer,” explains Boshoff Muller, director of Afrimat Hemp, a subsidiary of South African construction group Afrimat, which produced the bricks for the hotel. “What you see here is a whole bag full of carbon, quite literally,” Muller says as he pats a bag of mulch at a brick factory on the outskirts of Cape Town, where hemp hurds, water and lime are mixed together to make the blocks.

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The industrial hemp used for the Hemp Hotel had to be imported from Britain as South Africa banned local production up to last year, when the government started issuing cultivation permits. President Cyril Ramaphosa has made developing the country’s hemp and cannabis sector an economic priority, saying it could create more than 130,000 jobs.

 Carbon credits

Afrimat Hemp is now preparing to produce its first blocks made only with South African hemp. Hemp Hotel architect Wolf Wolf, 52, sees this as a game changer to make hemp buildings more widespread in this corner of the world. “It shouldn’t be just a high-end product,” says Wolf, whose firm is involved in several social housing projects in South Africa and neighbouring Mozambique.  Yet cost remains an issue.

“Hemp is 20 percent more expensive to build with” compared to conventional materials, says Afrimat Hemp’s carbon consultant Wihan Bekker. But as the world races to lower carbon emissions, the firm sees “huge opportunities” for its green bricks, says Bekker.

Carbon credits — permits normally related to the planting of trees to safeguard tropical rainforests that companies buy to offset their emissions — could help make hempcrete blocks more financially palatable, he says. “We can fund forests, or we can fund someone to live in a hemp house. It’s the same principle,” Bekker says.

The carbon footprint of a 40 square metre (430 square foot) house built with hemp is three tons of CO2 lower than that of a conventional building, according to Afrimat Hemp. “We see this as a bit of a lighthouse project,” Muller says of the Hemp Hotel. “It shows hemp has its place in the construction sector.”Hemp Hotel has been ranked the “tallest building to incorporate hemp-based materials in the world” by Steve Allin, director of the Ireland-based International Hemp Building Association.

This story was published via AFP Relaxnews

Main and Feature Image Credit: Photography Rodger Bosch/AFP©, To go  with AFP story by Julie Bourdin

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Just outside of Tangier, named one of the best places to go in 2023 by Travel + Leisure, the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, and centuries of trade have created a cultural fusion of Moroccan, Spanish, and French influences. The spirit of these blended cultures is best displayed at the recently opened Fairmont Tazi Palace Tangier, a new hotel in Morocco redefining luxury in the vibrant city known for its cosmopolitan and laid-back lifestyle.

Here’s why this city in Morocco is one of the best tourist destinations for 2023

Dating back to the 1920s, the original palace has been meticulously restored and reimagined into a public gathering space. At the same time, the surrounding property was expanded to include 133 rooms, suites, and penthouses set on a hillside that overlooks the glittering sea, city, and mountains from a distance. In both the palace and the newer build of the hotel, guests get a glimpse of what life there would have been like for the King’s advisor, for whom the residence was initially commissioned.

This splendour is immediately presented in the hotel’s reception, where soaring 40-foot ceilings indicate that this is not the average luxury hotel lobby. The elegant arched hallways and patterned, inlaid floors reinforce this notion. The common spaces are filled with architectural and design details that Morocco is known for, including delicate moucharabieh latticework, tadelakt plaster, and zellige tile, all handcrafted.

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The main level of Fairmont Tazi Palace Tangier is mainly built around a large central courtyard, visible from indoor spaces that lure visitors outside and where a surrounding natural forest meets carefully planted gardens of eucalyptus, palm, olive, citrus, and pomegranate trees. The 65,000-gallon pool sitting at the centre of the courtyard is undoubtedly a highlight of the hotel, lined with stylish loungers by Point, locally sourced Taza stones, and a black marble interior that beautifully reflects back the surrounding arabesque architecture.

Despite the more formal palace setting, hospitality is one of the defining characteristics of Moroccan culture, and guests at the hotel are treated with a comfort they might otherwise find in their homes. As a result, service is always warm, friendly, and detailed in its approach, as if one is being looked after in a private residence rather than a hotel. This was the goal for the guests at Mr. Tazi’s original palace and something both Fairmont and architecture firms OBMI and CCCRA were inspired to keep intact as they designed the spaces.

The hotel’s team is also committed to providing enriching cultural experiences for their guests, as they do in the Rose Room, a beautifully lit atrium serving both a high tea and an all-day menu. Here, the Moroccan tea ritual is accompanied by pastries, cakes, and decadent, freshly baked scones with rose jams. Signature green and white teas and unique calming blends like the “mysterious medina” wow tea aficionados and feature oolong, star anise, and coriander. Since coffee culture has long been a tradition in Morocco, single-origin coffees are also available, as are flavoured iced drinks, including lime and rose iced tea, limonada, and rouge à lèvre — which is made with rose, strawberry, and lime.

For something slightly stronger, in-the-know hotel guests make their way to Innocents, a speakeasy bar accessed by knocking on the door using the famous “hand of Fatima.” In the intimate space, bartenders concoct cocktails rather unorthodoxly over a piano while guests relax and take in a range of live music by saxophonists and West African drummers. The stylish space is outfitted with funky chairs, from clear lucite armchairs to more regal club chairs that appear to have been dripped with paint. The room is adorned with West African murals and a bright-yellow tufted couch to slink into.

Origin, the hotel’s other handsome, moody bar, is slightly more sophisticated and ideal for a nightcap. Here, guests can sample handcrafted cocktails that use ingredients and garnishes from the hotel’s vegetable garden alongside a decadent menu of whiskeys, fine tequilas, rums, vermouth, and a robust, à la carte cigar menu.

Aside from teas and libations, the hotel is quickly developing a reputation for its culinary options, which aim to offer guests private and unique cultural dining experiences. The distinct eateries range from the health-focused Clementine, which serves healthy juices and a spa restaurant-like menu, to Parisa, a stylish Persian restaurant. The latter has a lovely outdoor terrace and serves updated interpretations of time-honoured classics like mezes, spiced kebabs, and platters ideal for sharing.

One of the hotel’s most exceptional dining spots is Crudo, where coastal Mediterranean cuisine is brought to life in a delicate tuna tartare dish served with pecans, olive, and a tomato confit or by the local Carabineros prawn dish finished with pear, chilli, and mandarin. Travellers should not shy away from trying the mojama — a salt-cured tuna often described as the “ham of the sea” — either. Desserts at the restaurant take on the French flair and include an apple tart and chocolate mousse, and another showstopper for sweet tooths is the vacherin aux framboise, a raspberry ice-cream cake made with meringue. Come the morning, the Crudo space transforms into a breakfast room serving hearty Moroccan dishes, including quail eggs and khlii, a preserved meat.

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Those resting their heads overnight at Fairmont Tazi Palace Tangier will find guest rooms bathed in natural light with a spacious layout and contemporary design infused with traditional arabesque shapes and textiles. Modern Moroccan lamps, latticework, wood details, and intricate plaster crown mouldings enrich the spaces, and from standard deluxe rooms, guests can enjoy serene forest views. Many rooms have private terraces, and a room type with a private garden is also available. Still, upgrading to the “panoramic” category rooms is best for mesmerising bird’s-eye views of The White City. As the sun disappears over the horizon, these accommodations offer a glittering display of Tangier’s golden-hued sunsets.

The Signature Penthouse is another show-stopping upgrade, where the separate living room has a gold leaf-covered ceiling and one-of-a-kind furniture crafted by Spain’s finest artisans. It also gets high marks for its unique indoor/outdoor bathroom that opens to a large terrace with breathtaking sea and mountain views.

The most opulent accommodation is the 3,500-square-foot Katara Suite, on the hotel’s top floor. Named for Katara Hospitality, the owner of the Fairmont Tazi Palace Tangier, the suite’s dining room features beautiful landscapes of Tangier drawn by celebrated Moroccan artists. The room is complemented by a bohemian crystal chandelier, and the broader suite features unique pieces of furniture imported from Italy. One of its magnificent bathrooms is covered from floor-to-ceiling with arabestato Italian marble and features an oversized soaking tub and walk-in shower. All of Fairmont Tazi Palace Tangier’s room categories have bathrooms that feel spa-like, though, with toiletry products from well-known Moroccan brand infused with neroli essential oil, which is derived from orange flowers and commonly used in perfumery.

Guests can enter the actual spa to find an inspiring yoga and workout room with beamed ceilings and gorgeous moucharabieh windows. A holistic health and wellness approach is offered across 10 beautiful treatment rooms utilising luxe products from Swissline Cosmetics, Maison d’Asa, and Sodashi. After relaxing treatments — from energising crystal massages to sleep therapy treatments focused on improving rest — guests can also enjoy the spa’s outdoor spaces, jacuzzi, hammam, and solarium.

The hotel will also connect guests with experiences farther outside its walls, too, including horseback riding on the beach at sunset or cooking classes, and offer guidance and tips on visits to the “Blue City” of Chefchaouen and the funky, artsy Asilah.

Situated on a protected hill in the leafier, well-heeled Jbel Kbir neighbourhood, Fairmont Tazi Palace Tangier is just a 15-minute car ride from the city’s ancient medina. A popular stop on the 1960s hippie trail and where the Rolling Stones famously got stoned, Tangier’s narrow city streets are filled with a rich bohemian spirit, shaped by its incredible culture and history. The city is undoubtedly having a moment as travellers discover parts of Morocco outside of Marrakech and look to its coastal riviera, where there’s no denying that things will continue to boom. In this fast-developing part of the world, tourism is playing a significant role in that, with Waldorf Astoria recently announcing its plans to open a luxury hotel in Tangier in 2025.

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This story first appeared on www.travelandleisure.com

Main and Feature Image Credit: Courtesy of Fairmont Tangier

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