Alexandra Matts

A lovely email from Faye and Alan, who’ve just got back from a beach honeymoon in Zanzibar, where it was (allegedly) the short rainy season! Lovely reading on a chilly morning at Extraordinary Africa HQ- thanks guys!

Hi Alex

It certainly does feel like another world over there now we’re back! We had just the best time – really interesting place and so beautiful. We found everyone really friendly and lovely too.

Stone Town was great and a real eye opener. We had a good look around by ourselves and a big night out actually on our first night! Emerson Spice was wonderful – what a location! Thank you for the recommendation, it was the perfect start. We then want onto the bar on the seafront and had a lot of drinks with the owner of the bar, very random! Serena was amazing and so nice to arrive at after a long journey.

Shooting Star wonderful, the pool incredible and we really enjoyed the beach here. Had it to ourselves and swam in the sea for hours each day, which we loved. Only 5 cottages were in use, which was good as it meant there was plenty of space around the pool etc.

Anna was just incredible. Our favourite place… So attentive but relaxed at the same time. And the management were great too, really helpful. Nikki said to say hi!

Zanzibar Beaches — Relaxing at Anna of Zanzibar

We went to a spice farm from Shooting Star and added in a stop at Jozani on our transfer to Anna, which worked well. The monkeys were amazing! Then we did a morning of snorkeling at Anna. Apart from the first couple of days the weather was perfect and so hot. We loved every minute and didn’t want to leave at all.

So nice to remember it all again!! Thank you for everything, definitely somewhere we’d like to go back to and would recommend to others. Maybe with a safari first next time!

Thanks

Beaches, Cape Town, Winter Sun, Zanzibar

Flying South for the Winter: Winter Sun in Africa

October 16, 2014 Alexandra Matts

It’s no surprise than when the weather turns cold, phones start ringing at Extraordinary Africa HQ. As much as we love snuggling up beside a blazing fire and listening to the windows rattle, sometimes we’d really just rather feel the sun on our skin and the warmth breathing out of the sand. So, if we could fly south with the swallows for summer, this is where we’d pick.

Cape Town: Food, wine, and African sunshine…

Cape Town from the Sea

Cape Point Penguins

Cape Town sunset

The Waterfront

Bo Kaap

For an easy winter break with reliable sunshine, an incredible gourmet scene, and barely any time difference Cape Town would be difficult to beat. During the chilly northern hemisphere winter, there are direct flights from London to Cape Town, so you as you leave work on a Friday evening,you can wave goodbye to your colleagues, safe in the knowledge that tomorrow be eating lunch with a glass of rosé on the Waterfront. Hotels in Cape Town are boutique and effortlessly chic, the glamorous beaches of Clifton and Camp’s Bay are the perfect place to spend a few days snoozing, Table Mountain provides incredible views and fabulous hiking if you really must, and there are world class restaurants scattered throughout the city (just ask us to book early for you- many of them fill up months in advance).

If you have longer to spare, hire a car (we love whizzing around in a soft-top mini) and head out to the Winelands, where you can ride from vineyard to languorous lunch, or head down to Cape Point to see the utterly adorable penguins.

Tanzania’s Tropical beaches

Maziwe Island, Pangani

Turtle Hatching, Pangani

Diving with whale sharks, Mafia

Zanzibar Beach

Stone Town Zanzibar

For something a little more remote and wild, Tanzania’s beaches are incredibly low-profile, but utterly gorgeous. During our winter temperatures are hovering at a balmy 30 degrees, conditions are perfect for diving and snorkelling and deep-sea fishermen will have a serious challenge on their hands.

Zanzibar’s beaches are the real show stopper, and perfect if you want to combine your beach with island life- exploring the ancient streets of Stone Town, being guided through spice plantations, and cycling through the fishing villages. There are some seriously lovely 5* hotels here, as well as some adorable boutique options, so we can almost always find a perfect option for you somewhere.

For divers and snorkelers there’s really only one choice: Mafia. We probably wouldn’t rate the beaches on Mafia Island as highly as those on Zanzibar, but if you want somewhere utterly unspoilt and charming and impossibly laid back, this is it. If you want to cut yourself of from a frenetic job and the rest of the world, Mafia is the place to be. Plus there’s the chance to dive with whale sharks. And if that’s not worth travelling for, we don’t know what is.

Finally, over on Tanzania’s mainland coast, visiting Pangani is like stepping back in time to a Zanzibar of 40 or 50 years ago. You’re more likely to see a fisherman, pushing his bike along the beach with a cheery wave, than you are to see another tourists. Ladies sing as they wade into the sea to haul in the nets, and dhows potter past, sailing gently by as they have for centuries. Bliss.

Africa, Birds, Wildlife

Our dirty secret: we think twitching is really rather cool

October 3, 2014October 3, 2014 Alexandra Matts

It took a journey of nearly 2,000 miles before the secret came out. We’d travelled through the Pyrenees, the Atlas Mountains and crossed the Sahara. We’d been impossibly drunk in Marrakech, and crossed a minefield into Mauritania, but we still hadn’t talked about it. Then, as we were ducking down a back road to the Senegalese border, one of the girls in our vehicle muttered “Actually, I quite like birds…”

Birdwatching safaris in Zambia — Bee Eaters in Zambia (with thanks to our ever-talented friend Katie for the pic)

Somehow being a birdwatcher (or, that rather dodgy-sounding alternative, “twitcher”) still carries a certain stigma. Say you like birds and people assume that while you might be able to wax lyrical about wattled cranes, you probably aren’t all that much fun at parties, and they strongly suspect that you might find it a bit tricky looking members of the opposite sex in the eye. But birds are utterly marvellous. As we drove through no-man’s land that day, each of the four passengers in our vehicle slowly admitted that twitching was pretty damn cool.

Malachite Kingfisher on a boat safari from Selous Impala Camp — Malachite Kingfisher spotted near Impala Camp in the Selous

The first thing you learn when you go on safari in Africa is that everyday birds aren’t limited to the typical LBJ’s (Little Brown Jobs) that frequent British back gardens. Take a boat safari in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve for instance, and you’ll see the bright blue flash of malachite kingfishers diving in and out of the water, and hear the endless call of fish eagles overhead. I was instantly seduced.

Later, in Kenya’s Meru National Park I watched, traumatised, as a Bateleur Eagle swooped down and took a baby dik-dik (a tiny, impossibly sweet antelope). Later, in Kafue in Zambia and South Africa’s iSimangaliso Wetlands, I met the African Jacana. Better known as the “Jesus Bird”, the blue-headed Jacana seems to actually walk on water. It skiddle-skaddles across the surface at a remarkable, if comedic, speed- who could fail to be impressed? However, my all-time favourite bird is the black egret, which cunningly tricks fish into thinking its night time and floating close to the surface. Perfect timing for a black egret evening snack, though this spoonbill doesn’t seem too impressed…

So- if you do just one thing on your African safari- take your binos, you might just be surprised…

Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Trip Reports

The reason we do this job (a trip report from Tanzania & Kenya)

September 16, 2014March 25, 2024 Alexandra Matts

The reason I absolutely love my job, is for emails like this, which kept a smile on my face for most of my working day:

We are safely back home in Tallahassee, Florida after the most wonderful trip ever! Really! My husband and I agree, that of all the places we have traveled, Africa trumps them all.

We loved each place we visited for different reasons…

Selous Sands River for the hippos and the Rufiji river and croc infested lakes teaming with bird life.

Sand Rivers Selous — Looking out over the Rufiji from Sand Rivers

The Safari Tent Camp (ed: this was Serengeti Safari Camp) for the simplicity of our accommodations while not sacrificing a bit of comfort. The Safari drives on the vast plains of the Serengeti were breathtaking. The wildebeest crossing was a highlight and we were fortunate enough to witness a Cheetah kill! Can’t say enough good about our Nomad guides. They were tops! The staff and managers at both Nomad properties were very, very good.

Gibbs Farm was a delightful stop. The staff was amazing, the accommodations lovely and the food was delicious!

Last but not least …Ol Malo. Oh My! I cried when I walked into the lodge! What a unique structure framing the most incredible views! The Francombe family couldn’t have been nicer and more gracious. Visiting a Samburu village and a Saturday market was so humbling and moving. What great things they are doing in support of their Samburu neighbors. We watched the tribal women make their beautiful beaded necklaces and visited the local school. Our Camel ride was pretty awesome too!

Ol MaloLaikipiaKenya — Camel Safari at Ol Malo

We cant wait to go back! Maybe in about 2 years. I will be in touch. We are thinking Namibia and Botswana with a stop at our new favorite place in the world, Ol Malo!

Thank you Calynne for this lovely report- it made our morning!

Africa, Safari

A typical day on safari (AKA how to fall in love with Africa)

September 10, 2014September 10, 2014 Alexandra Matts

Quite often, when I meet people at dinner parties, they’re rather cynical about my passion for African safaris, so rather than giving the standard spiel about the night I got stalked by a lion, the way I try to explain to them (convert them to the safari cause) is by telling them about a typical day on safari.

06:00- Wake up. Normally 6am is unacceptably early. I’m generally pulling the duvet covers back over my head and ignoring whoever is attempting to talk to me. On safari I’m lured up by the waft of fresh African coffee and the beaming smile with which it is delivered to my tent.

06:15- On back of open four wheel drive for game drive. Bit chillier than my bed. Air smells of damp dust. Oddly excited.

ame drive in the Masai Mara from Offbeat Mara — Game drive from Offbeat Mara, Kenya

11:00– Back at camp. Can you believe it? We saw a leopard and a family of elephants and had a proper cooked breakfast in the bush. And an eagle stole my bacon, and we passed a lion cub but it didn’t care, and did you know giraffes don’t make a sound? And, and, and….

13:30- Gosh this lunch is fun. The pasta’s scrumptious, the wine is good, and I really shouldn’t have laughed at that story I just heard but I couldn’t help it and now my sides hurt.

14:45- On bed. Nap is nothing short of utterly languorous. Half way through I woke up up blissfully warm, utterly relaxed, and listened to the crunch of an ellie eating branches outside my room. Not 100% sure if this is real or a slightly sleepy dream.

16:30- Tea done, cake eaten, off on game drive. Anticipation in the air. Fingers crossed we see a rhino.

Safari sundowners — Sundowner with RPS in Zambia

18:30- Not the remotest sign of a rhino all afternoon. I wanted to see a rhino. Fortunately we saw baby ellies. And while I’m not the sort to repost pictures of adorable animals on Facebook, baby ellies really are implausibly cute. Did you know when they get tired they suck their trunks like a human sucks their thumb? And they rest their trunks on their tusks when they get sleepy? Anyway, right now the sun’s going down, and we’ve stopped to perch on the bonnet of our landrover. Cold beers and cashew nuts, looking out over golden grasses and setting sun. The world is OK.

20:00- Back in camp. Showered under the stars. Sharing dinner with my guide, and some fascinating guests. Roughly this is the best dinner party I’ve ever been to.

23:00 – To bed- night!

23:15- Noises outside. Is that definitely a hippo? Or a lion who might want to eat me…?

Tempted? View our Extraordinary picks.

Adventure, Boat safari, Trip Reports

What is a boat safari like? A personal experience.

September 2, 2014September 2, 2014 Alexandra Matts

The first thing I should admit is that I wasn’t exactly canoeing down the Zambezi. Rather, as the lone wildebeest of the group, I’d been put in the guide’s boat and was admiring his broad shoulders and efficient paddling. And pretending to be paddling hard myself every time he turned around to ask how I was getting along. Obviously.

If you’re considering a boat safari the main thing to know is that it usually isn’t terribly hard work, even when you’re actually paddling yourself. You’re usually headed downstream, following the current with stops to inspect interesting birds, take a walking safari to stretch your legs or take a snooze on a sandbank. A snooze on a sandbank? On the ground? Was this safe, I enquired? What about thehipposandthecrocsandthesnakesand….? Well, nothing on safari is guaranteed safe (though crossing a road in London or New York isn’t 100% safe either), but I can confirm that once I got over my terrors I spent a blissful hour under the trees, listening to the lullaby of a fish eagle’s call and desperately hoping that I hadn’t snored in public.

When we first embarked on our canoe safari we were briefed about how to behave if we fell into the water (“Don’t do it”), but the closest we came to hippo was admiring the mighty tusks of a distant yawn. At night we were advised to keep close to the tents (hippos hop out to graze the riverbanks after dark), counted shooting stars, and chatted to our guides about life in the bush.

By day, life adapted a gentle rhythm. A somewhat early start, grumbling offset by a gloriously early sunrise, followed by a morning’s paddling on our canoe safari. Lunch (“Oh- I shouldn’t have a glass of wine. OK, I will then”) and then snooze. Later, a walking safari watching eagles and ellies and eland. (If the latter doesn’t sound too exciting, imagine an animal that can weigh nearly a tonne jumping a pile of logs taller than a man). Later, sundowners, dinner, and bed, being sung to sleep by crickets and chomping hippos.

Zambezi canoe safari — Early evening arrival in camp on our canoe safari

In all- a boat safari is probably something I’d combine with a big-game fix to make sure you get enough cat sightings in, but absolutely magical in its own right and not to be missed.

Africa, Honeymoons

How to pick a honeymoon: the Extraordinary guide

August 29, 2014March 26, 2024 Alexandra Matts

Picking a honeymoon should be a fun part of the wedmin. Up there with the food tasting and working out which of your single friends you’re going to set up with each other. However, I often have people call me agonising over how they’re going to choose the perfect honeymoon, so I’ve put together a guide to make life a little easier:

First and foremost- relax- it doesn’t have to be “perfect” (whatever that is)- your honeymoon will be great, wherever you go. Even if you end up in a tent on Dartmoor (nothing wrong with that- one of my favourite holidays was spent there). It’s easy to get caught up in making a honeymoon perfect, but the reality is you’ll have a great time because you’re together, whether it involves gold taps and butlers or a simple picnic under the stars.

Chitwa Chitwa Honeymoon — Chitwa Chitwa- in our honeymoon hall of fame.

Try to incorporate both of your interests. This might sound obvious, but I once took a call along the lines of: “My fiancée wants to go on honeymoon to Italy. Anywhere except Africa in fact. But I want to go to on safari so I’m booking it anyway.” And then a few moments later he added “By the way, this is my second marriage, so it’s really important this one goes well.” Fortunately the unwitting bride loved the honeymoon in Tanzania we planned, but trying to make sure you’re both getting a little of what you enjoy is usually the best way to ensure you both have a fabulous time.
Be realistic about your budget. There’s a huge pressure to push yourselves and your budget to make your honeymoon impossibly special. However, the reality is that weddings can be expensive, and there is nothing more likely to ruin the romance of a honeymoon than squabbling because you spent so much money on your hotel you can’t afford a second gin and tonic. If you’re really set on going all out, and the budget won’t quite reach, consider a honeymoon gift service instead of a conventional wedding list.

Kaya Mawa, Malawi, one of our favourite honeymoon chill-out spots

Make time to take it easy at least somewhere during your honeymoon. Even the most adrenaline-fuelled couples can be exhausted by a wedding, and a long-haul international flight can never be described as relaxing. Safari and beach honeymoons work especially well for this- a combination of once-in-a-lifetime adventure and a chance to properly unwind before you return to reality.
Be flexible. If you have a dream honeymoon in mind, and you can’t make it work right after your wedding-don’t worry. I work with plenty of people who can’t get enough time off work, or their dream destination is underwater. Taking a “mini-moon” somewhere close to home and travelling long haul at a time that works better for you can be a great solution.

Namibia, Self drive, Trip Reports

Namibia: Phwoar.

June 2, 2014August 29, 2014 Alexandra Matts

Sorting through some old photos I found a series from my road trip around Namibia. In a fit of extreme modesty, I thought “Wow- I am a great photographer”. And then I remembered that it’s probably not my astonishing photographic skills, it’s just Namibia.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Namibia’s the most beautiful country I’ve ever visited. (Honourable mention for Mauritania though, which has the same amazing clear light, and a rugged coastline where the Atlantic meets the desert).

Though I’m not yet giving David Bailey a run for his money, I thought I’d share a few shots to show just how spectacular Namibia is, from the endless roads of Namibia’s Central Highlands via the sand dunes and petrified trees at Sossusvlei, to the parched Etosha pan. I think it might actually be impossible to take a bad photo there. Of the landscape at least…

Beware Warthogs!

Petrified trees at Dead Vlei

Watching sunrise in the Namib Desert

Climbing Big Daddy, Sossusvlei

Sunrise at Sossusvlei

Giraffe Drinking at Etosha

Etosha Waterhole

Safari

Safari: The Extraordinary Rules

May 22, 2014May 23, 2014 Alexandra Matts

Rule One: Sleep with the curtains open. Nothing beats an African sunrise, and the best way to experience it is from the comfort of your own bed, opening your eyes to a magnificent vista glowing in the morning light. Many safari lodges are designed specifically to make the most of the rising or setting sun, and even when there aren’t magnificent landscapes to admire, you never quite know what you might see taking an early morning stroll past your room.

Rule Two: Leave the pith helmet at home. Even though will provide endless amusement for your fellow safari goers (and ample opportunities for them to practice covert portrait photography), the days of the mighty pith helmet are past. A bush hat or any wide-brimmed hat will do nicely.

Rule Three: Cameras should be seen, but not heard. Nothing ruins the magic of a moment in the bush listening to an elephant’s rumble than the irritating snap and whirr of a camera. In these days of digital photography, the sound effects are rarely necessary and can really detract from the experience. Which leads us to…

Rule Four: Sometimes, cameras shouldn’t be seen either. Provided you’re spending more than a couple of days on safari (we usually recommend three as an absolute minimum) try at least one game drive without a camera in your hand. Even better, try a walking safari. You notice so much more of the sights, sounds and smells of the bush when you’re not seeing the whole thing through a camera screen. After all, if you wanted to see the bush through a screen, you can do it from your own arm chair with considerably less hassle and have David Attenborough for company.

Safari in the Masai Mara — Fighting lions near Karen Blixen Camp, Masai Mara

Rule Five: Don’t send Mother Nature a shopping list. If you come on safari with a shopping list of animals to tick off, you’re likely to be disappointed. We know one very unlucky girl who spent five days in the Masai Mara and didn’t see a single lion- stupendously unlucky, but it can happen. Instead, be open to whatever the bush may bring, and prepare to be delighted-whether it’s a sighting of a civet, battling giraffes, or ball-pushing dung beetles. It’s invariably these travellers who end up watching lions battle for supremacy, or catching a river crossing of the Great Migration all to themselves.

Last, but not least, Rule Six: all rules are made to be broken…

Extraordinary Picks, KZN, South Africa, Trip Reports

My latest crush: Montusi Mountain Lodge

May 12, 2014August 29, 2014 Alexandra Matts

If you have a temper tantrum because you have to leave your lodge, it’s got to be pretty good right? To be fair, my sulks on leaving Montusi were between me, the grasses and the birds, but I couldn’t help resenting the long drive and the perfectly blameless hire car that were to break me and Montusi apart. Why couldn’t the irritatingly efficient machine break down and leave me stranded, just for a day or two?

Night time at Montusi Mountain Lodge — Starlight at Montusi Mountain Lodge

My most recent trip to South Africa had got off to something of a rocky start, with unseasonal storms in almost every place I visited. After a long drive through rural KwaZulu Natal Montusi welcomed me with a cosy fire and vast windows that framed the lightening crackling along the top of the Drakensberg.

Wildflowers near Montusi Mountain Lodge

Bushman paintings

Hiking at Montusi Mountain Lodge

Opening my eyes the next morning to glorious sunshine and the sort of view you have to photograph (just so you can show off about it later) I headed for the peak of Mount Montusi. Hiking through meadows that smelled of wild mint and listening to the clanking cowbells only cemented my love for Montusi. Sadly, it seemed as if I had just a few brief stolen moments to admire the view and the bushman rock art (in the UK it’d be behind glass and a velvet rope, here it’s on an open cave wall), and then I had to leave.

Au Revoir Montusi, I’ll be back!