The new Rock Bar at the Ayana Resort & Spa in Bali puts a bit of much-needed adventure back into cocktailing. Accessed via an inclinator that traverses the face of a dramatic craggy seaside cliff, the Rock Bar is a potent cocktail in itself of engineering, architecture and mixology. Towering 46 feet above the crashing waves, it was designed by Yasuhiro Koichi of Japan’s Design Studio SPIN and offers uninterrupted, 360-degree views from every single vantage point. Talk about “on the rocks”. We expect to see Daniel Craig fueling up there in the next Bond film.
Designed to ensure maximum seclusion for every guest, the Ayana’s 78 free-standing, cliff-top Bali luxury villas are set in traditional Balinese compounds with private pools surrounded by tropical gardens. If for some reason the Rock Bar isn’t your cup of tea – vertigo, perhaps – check out one of the resort’s other three watering holes, the C-Bar, Martini Club and Damar Terrace. We like a place with plenty of options for boozing, and those Bali sunsets are pretty intoxicating in their own right.
In the days when traveling in style meant the Orient Express, an ocean liner or at least a Rolls-Royce open tourer, what a man wore was just as important as what he packed it in. Famed French firms like Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Goyard made hundreds of cases for every conceivable item a gentleman could wish to take with him on his travels. Nowadays perfectly preserved pieces from this era are quite literally a treasure, with prices increasing exponentially. Tracking down the best is usually a matter of being quick with the paddle at Christie’s or Sotheby’s. A German firm however has now amassed the world’s greatest collection of vintage travel items, which they are offering to ship worldwide.
Among the prizes in the Vintage Luggage Company’s inventory are an amazing selection of bespoke trunks. Take the the 90-year-old Louis Vuitton Malle Secretaire, a six-drawer model that can store a naturalist’s specimens and convert to a writing table, complete with a Smith Premier Typewriter No. 4. Or the one housing a full canteen set from Moynat, specially commissioned in 1925. It contains a full set of plates, cutlery and cooking equipment, all with their own, bespoke leather cases. Others house a long evening’s worth of champagne, a complete collection of hats, a portable library – all the things we long for when we’re on the road.
Recent upgrades at the Molori Safari Lodge in South Africa’s 185,000-acre Madikwe Game Reserve have made it a must-see for any adventurous fellow who likes a little luxury with his wildlife. 50 minutes by air from Johannesburg on the border with Botswana, the Lodge’s five bungalows boast spacious wooden decks, private infinity pools and floor-to-ceiling fully retractable glass walls. Privacy is the watchword here. A staff of 44, including chef Willie Malherbe who prepares local specialties like oxtail stew and pan-roasted springbok, look after a maximum of 14 guests in full safari style.
The Lodge’s butler unpacks your cases, presses your safari suit, provides a selection of Aqua di Parma toiletries and stocks each suite with an assortment of homemade cured meats and dried fruit. Up at the main lodge a well-stocked library also features a great selection of whisky, brandy and cigars, while the wine cellar is of course stocked with the finest South African vintages. There’s also one of the largest private telescopes in southern Africa as well as a holistic indoor-outdoor spa. Resident guide Greg Lederle, a former professional big game hunter, leads custom wildlife excursions by day or night, when a whole other host of creatures comes out.
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Here for your viewing pleasure: video from the DQ Summer Appellation Rally we previewed the other day. You’ll want to crank the sound up for the beautiful purr of those engines.
On September 19 & 20 classic British outerwear company Barbour is sponsoring the Orvis Cup, two full days of sporting clay shooting and game fair events held at the Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds in Millbrook, NY. In addition to shooting the sport to be had includes falconry, dog training exhibitions and fly fishing. Fine shotgun maker Caesar Guerini is giving away three over/under shotguns as prizes in the Orvis Cup 100-target shooting competition taking place on the 20th. Side event shooting areas will be open including flurry, 5-stand, modern skeet and long target. Time to dust off the Defender.
Guerini representatives will be on hand to display the company’s wares, imported from Brescia, Italy including the new over/under Apex, with distinctly British lines, a classic Prince of Wales grip, and oiled Turkish Circassian walnut stock. The action is embellished with full-coverage engraving that incorporates no fewer than four different techniques. You may want to pick one up for your next grouse shooting excursion. Meanwhile the Orvis Cup is a bit of Scotland right here at home, so to speak. Admission is free and there’s a Grand Banquet Saturday evening which requires reservations. Forget to bring your Barbour? No problem, you can pick one up there.
Photo by Alex John Beck
Duncan takes his cars, food and wine very seriously so for the August 1st weekend he and a group of characters headed upstate from New York City in a selection of vintage sports cars including an AC Cobra, 1968 Porsche 911 and 1975 Ferrari Dino…. After a glorious days driving through New York State’s state parks skirting lakes and through forests cocktails were consumed after a swim under a 200 foot waterfall to take the edge off and calm the heat of the day. A spectacular dinner was prepared and served by Nick Morgenstern and Julie Farias of “The General Greene”. Of course, the highlight was a certain Mr Adam Jenkins piloting the Cobra on Sunday despite no roof, no rain gear, and torrential thunderstorms….
