Luxury Travel Review
Listen to Duncan MacLarty, manager, Londolozi Tree Camp
Duncan MacLarty, manager, Tree Camp
While in South Africa, one of our teams stayed at Tree Camp at Londolozi Private Game Reserve, an upscale bush property within the world famous Sabi Sand Reserve near http://simonandbaker.com/kruger. They enjoyed their visit and as a result we published a dedicated feature on Tree Camp and a newsletter article with video a few weeks ago. During their stay Elena del Valle had an opportunity to chat with Duncan MacLarty, the manager at Tree Camp about the property.
Click on the play button below to listen to their conversation.
Wimberley a winner on safari
Article and photos by Gary Cox
The Wimberley Head Version II
While on safari in South Africa last year, a ranger who was a fellow photographer, introduced me to the Wimberley Head. Mounted on a standard super clip, this piece of equipment revolutionized my game viewing photography. The super clip securely holds my 100-400 millimeter telephoto lens comfortably mounted onto the bars on the Land Rover or other game viewing vehicle. The telephoto lens is fitted with an Arca-Swiss style plate purchased separately from Wimberley.
The Super Clip with Tripod Screw Head
The Wimberley tripod head uses a gimbal-type design to balance the camera and lens in all three dimensions. This greatly reduces the strain and potential shake of using it free hand, and the flexibility of movement is a big improvement over bean bag solutions I have tried. It is well engineered, with a solid feel, easy to use adjustments and clean lines. One notable issue, because it is mounted on the vehicle, other people moving around can cause the vehicle to shake, which can be quite annoying at the wrong moment. It is best suited for private to semi-private game drives because the camera extends over the seat in front of the photographer.
The full rig in the field
The photo above shows the full rig, including the external flash mount bar (sold separately). The flash extender completes the telephoto game viewing setup. This configuration, combined with the lens’ image stabilization, provides a great platform for wildlife photography, reducing the annoying windows of downtime in the early morning and late evening when some of the best viewings occur, but the light is too low for a telephoto shot. When the vehicle is moving from sighting to sighting, the flash unscrews from its mount with a thumb wheel and the clamp releases the plate on the camera to avoid shaking the equipment apart on the dirt roads.
The Wimberley Head travels with me whenever the telephoto lens is in the bag. It is now an indispensable element of my camera support equipment.
Wimberley, located in Winchester, Virginia is a small business owned by a father and son team, David and Clay Wimberley, both mechanical engineers dedicated to designing and making professional photography equipment. The company offers a 60-day unconditional money-back guarantee on all of its products and has loaners available through its Free Trial Program. For details visit Tripodhead.com
Las Vegas restaurant served tasty Mexican food, fine tequilas
Article and photos by Elena del Valle
Agave Restaurant in Summerlin, Nevada
Agave Restaurant (10820 West Charleston Blvd., 702.214.3500, AgaveLasVegas.com) in Summerlin, a wealthy suburb of Las Vegas, was fun for a yummy Mexican style lunch and a sampling of fine tequilas. Located within a typical strip mall, it was hard for my transport service (I decided not to drive since we had planned a tequila tasting) to miss the bright facade. There was ample seating indoors and in the restaurant’s enclosed outdoor area. We sat indoors directly across from the pretty bar.
The entrance to Agave
Agave, named for the agave plant from which tequila is made, was decorated with iron and wood entrance doors, imperfect tile on the walls, and hand blown colored glass made by artisans from the Guadalajara region. It was colorful inside and out.
Inside Agave
We invited the chef, Antonio Mejia, to show off his favorite mild recipes and he sent enough food for a Guadalajara village: Freshly Made Guacamole with dungeness crab meat; Portabella Mushroom Tamal; Chile Braised Short Rib Taquitos; Spiced Chicken al Carbon Empanadas and my favorite, Shrimp and Crab Stacked Enchiladas.
Lunch and tequila at Agave
The restaurant offers 89 different tequilas as part of its Tequila Flight Club. Although I pleaded tequila tasting ignorance right away, a patient bar tender shared insights on tequila making and history as well and suggestions on how to maximize the experience. It was best not to place my nose directly in the tequila glass to avoid the strong alcohol fumes. Instead, by using my hand to coax the tequila essence when I moved the glass I could gently appreciate the nuances of the individual tequilas, he explained.
We sampled one each from the Silver, Rested and Aged tequila options respectively: Tequila 7 Leguas, house Casa Noble, and Don Julio 1942. I tried not to look at the labels but, perhaps because I generally prefer smoky, smooth aged spirits, my favorite, hands down, was the Don Julio 1942.
The chef and bar manager, aficionados of the agave liquor, went to the city of Tequila, Mexico. While there they were the first people to ever purchase a barrel of tequila from Casa Noble, which according to the restaurant representative, is a very prestigious hacienda. The barrel was then bottled, numbered, and signed and now the restaurant sells it to its clientele – that was the house tequila we sampled.
My favorite Rockland eateries
Article and photos by Josette King
Chef Kerry Altiero retrieves a dish from his brick oven
“I don’t fancy a power struggle with my food,” my friend said as I was vaunting the merits of fresh-off-the-boat and right-out-of-the-pot Maine lobster. She was a Southerner whose sole experience of The Northeast was a long ago visit to New York City. Now that I had lured her to a girlfriends’ week-long vacation in Rockland, Maine, with promises of grand Victorian homes lovingly restored into luxury country inns, boating excursions to picturesque lighthouses along the craggy coast and a flourishing artistic life around the Farnsworth Art Museum and the many nearby galleries, I was not about to be stymied by a hard-shelled crustacean! “Forget lobster then. The town is full of good restaurants of all kinds,” I temporized, mentally crossing my fingers. I needed not be concerned. This quaint little seaport of 10,000 residents turned out to be a treasure trove of exciting eateries.
Although they differed broadly in cuisine and atmosphere, our favorites turned out to have some significant commonalities: all were chef-owned, with high-quality menus based on locally-gown organic products and freshly harvested seafood, and moderately priced to boot. Following is information on three restaurants we liked.
Café Miranda sign
Café Miranda
15 Oak Street
Rockland, Maine + 1 207 594-2034
With its 85 items menu, more than a few with impossibly kitschy monikers, Café Miranda (named after Chef Kerry Altiero’s beloved pooch) was not for the timorous, or the indecisive. As soon as I got past the veneer of irreverence of the menu (and the startling Elvis museum restroom) it became clear that it was not the entertainment value that had packed the place on a Tuesday night. Chef Altiero was serious about what got onto the plates: the freshest local ingredients, roasted or grilled in his kitchen’s wood-burning brick oven or sautéed to perfection before being rushed to the table. Many of the offerings had their roots in comfort foods of Italy, Poland and Lithuania that young Kerry had enjoyed, growing up in the 1960’s in a melting-pot community in the hills of Pennsylvania. This self-taught food artist then worked his way up the eastern seaboard, broadening his knowledge of ethnic and regional cooking along the way, to integrate it all into an imaginative culinary style that defied categorization.
Café Miranda’s Seared Sea Scallops with green chili tartare sauce
My appetizer of Seared Sea Scallops, their sweetness enhanced by the bite of a green chili tartare sauce was a delight. So was my friend’s main course of herbed veal and pork Uptown Meatballs in a creamy shallot, garlic and Marsala sauce (we shared). We had reserved ahead to sit at the bar, where a handful of seats offered a full view of the frenetic action in the pocket-sized kitchen. The woman next to me volunteered that she was a long-time patron. “Did you try the “Pirogies”? She asked, tactfully nodding at her own appetizer while eyeing my main course of grilled baby tomatoes and fresh crabmeat. We exchanged forkfuls. The classic Polish potato and cheese concoction was livened up with sauerkraut and cranberries. Our respective friends got into the act and our meal became an impromptu tasting menu; every dish original and delicious. With its unpretentious, beautifully prepared food, friendly service and relaxed atmosphere, I plan to revisit Café Miranda anytime I find myself in Rockland again, and work my way down its imaginative menu.
Rustica sign
Rustica
315 Main Street
Rockland, Maine. + 1 207 594-0015
Located in one of the century-old storefronts that lined Main Street, with its aged wood floors, taupe and burgundy walls and profusion of green plants, Rustica was a cheerful, timeless eatery that welcomed its guests to lovely Italian classics. While Chef John Stowe’s menu featured a few of the mandatory pizzas and pasta dishes, I happily ignored them in favor of more original offerings such as Grilled Asparagus appetizer (wrapped in prosciutto and delicately drizzled with white truffle oil and freshly grated parmesan).
Rustica’s Sicilian Fish Stew
Rustica’s Tiramisu
I followed with a Sicilian Fish Stew, a symphony of roasted haddock, lobster, shrimp and calamari simmered in a tomato fennel broth with a touch of orange and saffron. It was topped with steamed mussels, served with grilled Italian bread and lemon aioli that made me forget that I was not in a Mediterranean fishing village. One look at the sinfully rich Tiramisu robbed me of the willpower to pass on dessert, although I was willing to trade a few spoonfuls of it for some of my friend’s equally tempting crema brusciata (Italian for crème brûlée). Rustica did not take not take reservations, but although it was quite busy on the night of our visit, we were seated promptly. Had a wait been necessary, the sprawling bar against the back wall appeared to be a popular place to enjoy a drink while waiting for a table.
Lily Bistro sign
Lily Bistro
421 Main Street
Rockland, Maine + 1 207 594-4141
I grew up in a world were charcuterie was often home made, so any menu that boasts Charcuterie Maison as its opening line gets my attention. Lily Bistro, the recently opened brainchild of chefs Lynette Mosher and Robert Krajewski (who have been a team since they met at Johnson & Wales University in the late 1990’s) was such a place; and its charcuterie plate attention-worthy. I loved the coarse pâté de campagne and smooth duck rillettes served with a wedge of artisan cheese, crisp cornichons and crusty baguette.
Lily Bistro’s Chicken Grand Mere
Lily Bistro’s Steak Frites
It was a suitable prelude to the delectable rustic French fare that followed. My Chicken Grand-Mère, roasted to perfection, was served over velvety puréed potatoes and tiny crisp green beans, with a ragout of chanterelles. It was worthy of my own grand mother’s cooking. The Steak Frites was a medium rare pan-seared steak topped with basil butter. It was served with a garnish of sautéed summer squash and chipolini onions and a small cast-iron pot overflowing with garlic French fries; an unconventional but excellent combination. This was honest bistro food, simple but flawlessly prepared from the finest ingredients. At the time of my visit, Lynette officiated in the kitchen, while Bob managed the dining room. From the number of patrons that he greeted by name, Lily Bistro, although it had been opened only a few months, had already developed quite a following.
Click here for more information about my visit to Rockland, Maine and its Victorian country inns, Berry Manor Inn, Captain Lindsey House and LimeRock Inn.
With video – we found luxury, amazing game viewing at Sabi Sand property
Article and video by Elena del Valle, photos and video editing by Gary Cox
Leopards at Londolozi
Our Tree Camp experience at Londolozi was outstanding. The boutique lodge, set in a prime area of the famous Sabi Sand Reserve next to South Africa’s http://simonandbaker.com/kruger, offered luxury accommodations in a lush bush setting. We thoroughly enjoyed the gourmet fare including a surprise tasting menu with wine pairings, boma dinner with staff dancing and singing, the handsome and spacious suite with private plunge pool, and creature comforts.
“You’re coming to Londolozi because you’ll have one of the best animal viewing experiences in South Africa and you’re going to be with a ranger who has a huge amount of knowledge which he will unfold for you,” said Duncan MacLarty, camp manager, Londolozi Tree Camp. “On the Tree Camp side you will have an experience which is very personalized.”
Sunset at Londolozi
We found that Duncan’s game viewing promise was fulfilled. Over the years, prior to our stay at Londolozi we stayed at dozens of bush properties in multiple African countries and had many, many outstanding game viewing experiences. In spite of that, our four-night stay at Londolozi Tree Camp stands out for the extraordinary game viewing we enjoyed.
It wasn’t just that we saw animals, including the Big Five and wild dogs. It was the quality of the game drives and sightings that stood out. Also, our guides were knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the bush, making our game viewing special.
Leopards are solitary animals, infrequently seen in groups or pairs. On our last morning we encountered mating leopards relaxed enough to allow our company. We spent six hours following, viewing and photographing the amorous couple. Click here to read a dedicated feature about Londolozi Tree Camp.
Click on the play button below to view video of some game we encountered at Tree Camp in the Londolozi Reserve.
Listen to audio interview with Nicholas More, co-owner, Lion Sands Private Game Reserve
Nicholas More, co-owner, Lion Sands Private Game Reserve
While in South Africa, one of our teams stayed at 1933, an exclusive rental villa within the Lion Sands Private Game Reserve, part of the world famous Sabi Sand Reserve near http://simonandbaker.com/kruger. They liked the property and as a result of their visit we published an dedicated feature on 1933 a few weeks ago. During the visit Elena del Valle had an opportunity to chat with Nicholas More, co-owner and operations director, Lion Sands Private Game Reserve about 1933 and the Lion Sands Private Game Reserve.
Click on the play button below to listen to their conversation.
