16 THE AUSTRALIAN,TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016theaustralian.com.au/life LIFE

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The art of safari was honed in Afri-ca in the early 20th century whenbig-game hunters such as TeddyRoosevelt, collecting specimensfor the Smithsonian Institution inWashington, DC, travelled withhundreds of porters, gun bearers,dining tents and even a library.

Out of Africa author KarenBlixen was typical of the safarimaven, toting her togs and booksin a Louis Vuitton trunk. Back thensafari was synonymous with hunt-ing — indeed, this was how yourustled up dinner — and it wasonly 50 or so years later thatspecialist outfitters began to tradeguns for cameras as they touted amore mainstream tourist clientele.

Geoffrey Kent was at the fore-front of this vanguard in the 1960sand still leads the pack today.That’s hardly surprising, given hisrollicking Boy’s Own childhood.Born on safari in Northern Rhode-sia (now Zambia), his father a sol-dier of the King’s African Rifleswho spoke fluent Swahili, Kenthoned his organisational skills (es-sential when taking hapless tour-ists bush) at Britain’s RoyalMilitary Academy Sandhurst.

He founded his global travelcompany Abercrombie & Kent inNairobi, Kenya, in 1962 with oneLandCruiser and a posh-sounding,

TRAVEL

WINE

Deschamps, chef de caves of Perri-er-Jouet, who visited Australia thismonth. “You can have it withGrand Brut or Belle Epoque butwith Blanc de Blancs it is morepure.

“Blanc de Blancs is for me thebest occasion in France. In the be-ginning of November as the scal-lops come on the market, sweetand meaty and they are wonderfulwith Blanc de Blancs.”

Perrier-Jouet creates its Blancde Blancs from a single harvest ofchardonnay grapes from the Cotedes Blancs area of Champagne.Wine critic Tyson Stelzer called itsBlanc de Blancs 2002 cuvee “themost sublime creation of thehouse”.

Flowers are centrally import-ant to Perrier-Jouet. It prides itselfon the floral elegance of its char-donnay, and showcases white Jap-anese anemone flowers on its artnouveau logo and etched on to thebottle of its vintage flagship BelleEpoque.

Blanc de Blancs production israre, but limited edition bottles

featuring the collaboration withJapanese artist and glassmakerRitsue Mishima are even rarer.The house revisited its art nou-veau heritage for its latest releaseRitsue Mishima Blanc de Blancs2004, for which the artist created atransparent case of organic swirlsto encase its traditional Japaneseanemones bottles. Just 72 areavailable in Australia.

For the first time, a magnum of2004 Blanc de Blancs was un-corked at an event at Goma, therestaurant within Brisbane’s Gal-lery of Modern Art.

“(Goma chef) Josue Lopez has agreat understanding of the house,”Deschamps says.

“The flowers he uses are fromhis garden so he knows them. Hesaid he had to create the best sea-food dish that he had ever created.He wanted to be very sure that thematches he created are equal tothe champagne.”

The house’s local ambassadorChris Sheehy says of Blanc deBlancs, which locally is outsold byrose champagne cuvees: “It seems

to be a style that we like. But theconversation at an enthusiast levelis much higher with Blanc deBlancs; it starts at the top and trick-les down. We are expecting it togrow as it does in France.”

Perrier-Jouet is a victim of un-expected success — stocks are inallocation, effectively rationed as

the house is not able to meet de-mand. Like all champagne houses,Perrier-Jouet was rocked by theglobal financial crisis in 2008 andreacted cautiously. The house sup-plies 20 per cent of its own grapesthrough vineyards it owns, the re-maining 80 per cent coming fromindependent growers it negotiates

with. “The forecast wasn’t thereand I didn’t buy more grapes,”Deschamps says.

All Perrier-Jouet styles areavailable at venues including Hay-man Island’s One & Only resort,Brisbane’s Eleven Rooftop Bar,Cafe Sydney, Bistro Guillaume inPerth, Melbourne and Sydney,Dinner by Heston in Melbourneand The Langham in Melbourne.

Deschamps is aware of thetrend for champagne served overice, launched by rival houses Pom-mery and Moet & Chandon. Buthe is not a fan of the drink, madeextra sweet to complement thelower serving temperature. Hesays: “For me, no. It is a fashionproduct perhaps for 10 years maxi-mum.

“For me it is not champagnewithin a pure tradition. It is wine— but with sugar it loses part of itselegance.”

The limited edition Ritsue Mishima 2004 Blanc de Blancs is available for $599 at select stockists including David Jones.

Seafood andbubbly timehas arrivedPerrier-Jouet makes just 12,000 bottles of its vintage Blanc de Blancs cuvee a year. Hold the ice

STEPHEN BROOK

Summertime is the season of sea-food and chardonnay, which suitsPerrier-Jouet.

The champagne house, estab-lished in 1811 and a favourite ofOscar Wilde and Princess Grace,hopes its vintage cuvee Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque Blanc deBlancs 2004 finds favour with anincreasingly champagne-thirstyAustralian public during the fes-tive season.

Blanc de Blancs, which eschewsthe traditional champagne blendof chardonnay, pinot noir andpinot meuniere and is made solelyfrom chardonnay, is a rare cuveethat is growing in popularity.

Rare means rare. Perrier-Jouet,the 10th largest champagne house,owned by drinks giant PernodRicard, produces about two mil-lion bottles of its Grand Brut NVannually and about one million ofits vintage Belle Epoque. But thehouse makes just 12,000 of its vin-tage Blanc de Blancs cuvee.

“Blanc de Blancs is very specificand seafood from Australia is awonderful match,” says Herve

CHRISTINE McCABE

For me, no. It is a fashion product perhapsfor 10 years maximum

HERVE DESCHAMPSDISMISSES CHAMPAGNE ONTHE ROCKS

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baboons squabble on the deck,lions roar at dawn and elephantspop their trunks over deck railings.Communications are restricted toa bedside walkie-talkie or a horn toblow in the event of an emergency.Food remains central to safari,with meals taken alfresco in theboma or on the deck while jollybarmen George and Duma whipup the G&Ts and martinis.

But the real magic of this campis the staff, especially the local ex-pert guides. “Local people are criti-cal to the success of theenterprise,” says Kent, who plansto use Chief’s as a template for theultimate camp, “the future of sa-fari”. A&K will operate it like a“land-based cruise ship”, a base forwider touring, he says, and nextyear will be developing a range ofactivities located within 240km ofthe camp, including light plane ex-cursions to Victoria Falls on theZimbabwe-Zambia border. Thismeans guests can stay a week ormore without the need to movefrom camp to camp.

A&K’s refrigerated truck mayhave been mothballed, but themodern-day four-wheel-drive sa-fari fleet retains the icebox andportable bar model. Because safariisn’t safari without sundowners inthe bush.

Geoffrey Kent’s autobiography, Safari: A Memoir of a Worldwide Travel Pioneer ($38.90), is available from booktopia.com.au.

sanctuaryretreats.com; abercrombiekent.com.au

“made-up” name. “We settled onAbercrombie because it was at thetop of the alphabet,” he says. Thisneatly placed it at the front of theyellow pages. “We set ourselvesapart with a nice truck and sentour clients out for the day withdrinks chilled in an ice bucket.”

But Kent believed A&K coulddo even better, inspired in part byworking as aide de camp to Britishgeneral John Frost in Libya. Kentimpressed him by organising amobile fridge with the help of Cor-poral Taylor from the Royal Elec-trical and Mechanical Engineersto serve martinis and smokedsalmon in the desert.

“Later I had this idea to createextended photographic safaristhat had all the elements of hunt-ing, and after seeing how themilitary camped with oil paint-ings and all that, I thought:‘Why can’t we do this foreveryone?’ ” Kent tells me. Sowhile his parents were away,Kent raided the company’smodest business bank ac-count and set out on a shop-ping spree, buying a second-hand Bedford army truck,ordering tents from Scottish out-fitter Low & Bonar and stocking upon pots, pans, Royal Crown Derbyteacups and cutglass decanters.

Corporal Taylor arrived to fit afreezer to the truck, Kent poacheda chef from the Muthaiga CountryClub in Nairobi and upped sticksfor the Great Rift Valley to test-drive his mobile camp.

“Mobile refrigeration is theturning point,” says Kent, “as itmeans we can head out for weeks.”

He refined the speedy settingup of camp and tweaked the lux-ury elements: it might have been abucket shower and drop loo butthere was a mahogany seat andcopies of Punch and Country Life tohand, and the tents were deckedwith carpets and sprung mattress-es, chilled martinis and chocolatecake.

Kent’s first clients were a Texancouple who signed up on the spotfor a 30-day tour of Kenya, Tan-zania and Uganda and the A&Kmobile safari was born. Businessdeveloped rapidly, largely by wordof mouth among Kent’s polo-play-ing cronies in the US and Britain.

Today A&K has 52 officesworldwide, but its heart remains inAfrica. Botswana has become thecompany’s signature safari desti-nation.

Kent first visited landlockedBotswana in 1968 when the sa-fari gateway town of Maunconsisted of little more than a

small guesthouse, the districtcommissioner’s office and a

road cum airstrip. After organis-ing a private tour for Prince Harryfollowing the 1997 death of hismother, Kent obtained a conces-sion on Chief’s Island, the so-called predator capital of Africa in

Chobe Water Villas, NamibiaSeparating Namibia and Botswana, the Chobe River is home to the highest concentration of elephants in Africa — 50,000 by one estimate. At this new riverfront lodge you won’t need to leave your private terrace to view water-adapted wildlife including hippos, crocs, antelopes and those beguiling jumbos. Accessible only by boat, the 16 stilted suites line the northern bank of the river; interiors by South African firm Design Union feature custom-made furniture and indigenous textiles; floor-to-ceiling glass doors open on to private terraces with 180-degree river views.The main lodge has a restaurant, bar and library lounge, along with a river-facing infinity pool. chobewatervillas.com

AndBeyond MatetsiRiver Lodge, ZimbabweA multi-million-dollaroverhaul of this luxurylodge near Victoria Fallshas resulted in the openingof two camps of nine suiteseach, following theconversion of a formerhunting concession into awildlife haven completewith national park andprivate anti-poachingpatrols, and the digging of14 new waterholes. Theriverfront digs are supersmart, decorated with

traditional abstract carvings, and the inventory includes a sole-use four-bedroom villa with a dedicated team including guide, chef and butler. Lodge facilities cover a safari shop, gym, massage pavilion and 20m-long infinity pool perched above the mighty Zambezi River. andBeyond.com.

Belmond Eagle Island Lodge, BotswanaReopened a year ago following a 10-month rebuild, this exclusive lodge, located on a private island in the heart of the Okavango Delta, features 12 tented and thatched suites, each constructed on a raised wooden platform with a rim-flow plunge pool. Interiors by London-based firm The Gallery have an Out of Africa vibe with local fabrics, reclaimed timbers and a minibar designed like an explorer’s toolbox. The delta-view ensuite has a large tub and outdoor shower. Sundowners are taken at the Fish Eagle Bar and game drives are augmented by barge, motorboat and mokoro (dugout canoe) excursions, with helicopter safaris also available. belmondsafaris.com.

The Highlands, Asilia TanzaniaSet high on the slopes of the Olmoti volcano in a remote part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, this new, eco-savvy camp looks like a lunar outpost, with accommodation in eight canvas domes tucked into the forest. Each habitat offers an ensuite, a fitout by Cape Town-based design team Artichoke (think Masai fabric cushions and faux fur throws) and a large Perspex window and terrace offering long views to the Serengeti. The camp is set at 2590m so nights are chilly and wood fires available. Activities include game drives, a hike to the floor of the Empakaai Crater to see flamingos and visits to nearby Masai compounds. asiliaafrica.com.

THE FAB FOUR: LUXE SAFARI LODGINGS

the heart of the UNESCO WorldHeritage-listed Okavango Delta.He established an eco-friendlycamp, one of three that A&K oper-ates under the Sanctuary Retreatsbrand in the delta. Camp sizes andguest numbers are capped by theBotswana government. So the realluxury of being in the Okavango isthat on an open-top game driveyou won’t encounter another soul;it feels like the Africa of Kent’schildhood.

Sanctuary Chief’s Camp re-opened this year following a com-plete rebuild and the estab-lishment of a stand-alone Geoff-rey Kent suite. “It’s so busy thesedays I can’t get to stay,” Kent says,laughing. “Everything I’ve learnedabout safari, I’ve put into thiscamp,” he adds, arguably makingChief’s the most luxuriously auth-entic camp in or out of Africa.

Ten enormous guest pavilionsfan out either side of an open-sidedlodge built around tall jackalberrytrees, with a large deck, and pool,cantilevered over the wetlands.Each of the pavilions has a nettedfour-poster bed, coffee machine,dressing-room and large deck withprivate plunge pool overlookingthe water and bush. The bathroomfeatures a deep tub and indoor andoutdoor showers stocked withsweet-smelling unguents.

It’s a long way from the originalA&K long-drop loos and thismuch luxury surely would havemade Blixen blush, but there’s nomistaking you’re in the remotestof African bushland.

Light aircraft is the only way in,

Outdoor seating at the Sanctuary Chief ’s Camp at Botswana’s Okavango Delta; Geoffrey Kent, below

THE ART OF SAFARIA pioneering operator talks about the changing nature of African wildlife tourism