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Matthew Upchurch
By: Matthew Upchurch
To reach North Island, you travel by small boat or helicopter from the larger Seychelles island of Mahé. This private island retreat is the first expansion beyond the Southern African mainland for leading safari company Wilderness Safaris, owners of the famous Mambo Camp in Botswana.
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Wilderness, known for its superb and authentic African camps and safaris has taken an area nearly the size of Monaco and outfitted it with only eleven 5,000 sq. ft. luxury villas for a genuine blend of private luxury and pristine natural beauty. The villas were architected by the same award-winning South African design firm which has mastered the art of "low impact" building in environmentally sensitive preserves. The beachfront villas give one the feeling of a marriage between Robinson Crusoe and Cesar Ritz, with service provided by a full-time villa attendant who ensures your every whim is met. Three particularly fun features of the villa were the sun-bed gazebo, where we spent many relaxing hours, the round pool with its circular pump which had us floating as if in a never-ending river flow, and the outdoor shower and accompanying massage table. Beyond the villa, we explored the island in the villa's electric buggy, our favorite destination being the ten minute trek to the opposite side of the island and it's West Beach Bar. There our "mixologist" Carl impressed us with an array of cocktails which he made from fresh island ingredients, sometimes walking off into the jungle and returning with just picked fruits. You must try the "ginger mule," and make a reservation to have a private sunset meal on the beach after dark - the lobster was the best we've ever had. Our stay was an especially meaningful one, as we celebrated our marriage. The ceremony, performed at sunrise on the beach was magical both because of the natural beauty but especially because of the creativeness and genuineness of the staff. Top it all off with the experience of holding just-hatched baby sea turtles, brilliant diving, making the acquaintance of 100 year old Brutus (the island's oldest tortoise) and you have one of the world's most spectacular experiences.
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THE AUTHORMatthew Upchurch, CTC, is the CEO of Virtuoso, a by-invitation-only network of luxury leisure travel agencies in North and South America, the Caribbean and Australia. Upchurch has built the most powerful travel agency network
in luxury travel, with more than $3.5 billion in annual sales from a combined sales forceavel6,000 top-notch travel consultants. Upchurch recently finished a long term as Chairman of The Travel Institute.
Matthew Upchurch, CTC
CEO, Virtuoso, Texas, USA
www.virtuoso.com
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