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New Zealand Glamping at Papamoa Beach

Papamoa Beach Top 10 Holiday Resort has been owned an operated by Bruce and Donna Crosby for over 20 years.  This resort is located in the Bay of Plenty on New Zealand’s North Island.  Papamoa Beach is known for it pristine white sandy beaches and sparkling blue waters and is an excellent destination for fishing and surfing.  Papamoa Beach Top 10 Holiday Resort provides an excellent way to stay right on the beach, where literally, the beach is your doorstep. The accommodations range from campsites all the way to luxury villas.

For a true glamping experience, guests will enjoy the newly-refurbished Beachfront Bliss Villa.  The Bliss Villas feature modern designs and decorations.  Each Bliss Villa has a superking bed (that’s right, it’s even bigger than a king bed!) and a luxury bathroom complete with a shower and free-standing bath tub with stunning ocean views.  Speaking of ocean views, each of these villas also features huge, glass patio doors that provide a panoramic view of the ocean and lead out onto your private patio.  From there, guests can walk right down to the beach.  The Bliss Villas also feature flat screen TVs with Sky Television (satellite TV) and an iPod docking station.

 

Also available are Two-Bedroom Garden Villas which are located in a central park position, and have views of the beautifully landscaped grounds.  These luxury villas feature a queen size bed and 21” television with Sky TV in the master bedroom, and one set of bunk beds and a single bed in the second bedroom.  These modern units feature a shower with double heads, a dining area and kitchen as well as large decks off of the lounge area.

Studio Spa Garden Villas offer yet another alternative for a glamping vacation at Papamoa Beach Top 10 Holiday Resort.  These luxurious villas feature a queen size bed, fully-equipped kitchen and a television with Sky TV.  In addition, the studio villa has a large bathroom with a shower and oversized spa bath.

For those guests who have taken their glamping accommodations into their own hands, Papamoa Beach Top 10 Holiday Resorts provides powered-RV hookups and immaculate communal showers and restrooms, as well as picnic areas with grills.  For a small fee, guests can choose a site with sea view.

 

Activities abound at the Bay of Plenty, and are perfect for a romantic vacation for two, or for families.  There are several attractions close by to Papamoa Beach Top 10 Holiday Resorts.  At Spring Loaded Fun Park, you can take a scenic helicopter flight or take a river jet boating adventure on the Kaituna river.  This river is narrow and windy, perfect for an exhilarating ride!  Other attractions include Classic Flyers, where you can ride in an open top biplane or Blokart Heaven, which is a speedway track for blokarts (think wind-powered go-karts with sails).  For a more laid back activity, guests can visit Kiwi 360, a kiwi orchard.  Here visitors can take a tour of the orchard in the kiwi cart, visit the Kiwi 360 café to enjoy their quirky and delicious kiwifruit fare or kiwifruit wine, or take a picture in the famous, giant kiwi.

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Glamping in Italy at Canonici di San Marco

At Canonici di San Marco, guests are welcomed with open arms by owners Frederico and Emanuela.  This glamping destination features two luxury tented lodges on raised wooden platforms.  Each lodge features a bed appointed with quality linens, electricity, Wi-Fi, and private bathrooms with showers and toilets.  The lodges are each decorated in a chic and sophisticated style which pays tribute to nature through the use of natural materials such as iron, wood and stone, and to history with the use of antique and repurposed furnishings.  Much of the furniture in the glamping lodges are collected by Frederico and Emanuela during their travels and represent different corners of the world.  Each lodge features numerous plants and flowers inside and out to inspire a feeling of symbiosis with nature.  Even bath time feels special with original aluminum bathtubs from England that have been transformed into showers, handmade soaps from Provence, and a ceramic hand basin built from the gate to an old Sicilian brothel. The huge bathroom features a panoramic view of the nearby wheat fields.  The lodges also feature a wide terrace with sunshades and chaise longues where guests can relax and take in the tranquil oasis that Frederico and Emanuela have created.

Canonici di San Marco could almost be considered a sophisticated, glamping bed and breakfast. The canvas lodges are located in Frederico and Emanuela’s expansive backyard.  Each morning breakfast is thoughtfully prepared and includes homemade pastries which can be enjoyed on the veranda of the main house or on the private terrace to your lodge.  Glamping guests are consistently amazed with the level of service and attention to detail at Canonici di San Marco.  From the moment guests arrive, when greeted with a chilled bottle of DOC Prosecco, it is apparent that Frederico and Emanuela have thought of everything.

 

For guests looking to experience the beauty of Venice without having to stay within the hustle and bustle of city limits, Canonici di San Marco provides the perfect compromise.  Guests at this glamping destination can reach Venice via short walk or bike ride (mountain bikes are provided) to a train station, and then a 20 minute ride into Venice which drops you off right at the top of the Grand Canal.  The city of Padua is also a short train ride away.

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Shenton Safaris: African Glamping and Wildlife Experiences

One thing is certain about Shenton Safaris’ camps, they provide a unique opportunity to view the exotic wildlife of Africa that feels like it should be once in a lifetime, and it keeps guests coming back time and again. Shenton Safaris’ camps are located in South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia, which is a world-renowned wildlife haven, supporting large populations of elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, wildebeests, leopards, lions, and more. In fact, 95% of guests at Shenton Safaris’ camps have the privilege of seeing a leopard.

Shenton Safaris has two camps that house guests deep within the national park. At the Kaingo Camp, glamping chalets are situated right on the banks of the Luanwa River. Each chalet features a large, comfy bed and en suite bathroom, as well as an outdoor bathtub, perfect for relaxing under the stars. The chalets feature huge, fly-wired windows to ensure that even when guests are indoors, they will still be able to view the beautiful landscape and possibly even wildlife. Each Kaingo chalet also has a unique, individual deck built over the river, which serves as the perfect vantage point to view the daily elephant crossings. At Mwamba Safari Camp, which is the more rustic of the two camps, situated on the banks of the Mwamba River, guests can still enjoy many of the creature comforts of home. Each reed and thatch chalet has an open-air skylight with mosquito nets and a bed. The Mwamba chalets have their own open-air bathroom, with hot water bucket showers and flush toilets. Both of Shenton Safaris’ eco-friendly camps utilize solar power.

 

Each camp at Shenton has a communal area, known as a chitenge, which includes a bar and dining area for guests. Kaingo camp is renowned for its thousand year old, lead-wood bar. At Mwamba camp, the bar and dining area are in the shade of huge ebony trees. Mwamba camp also featured a beautiful sundowner spot perched upon the top of a large termite mound. The chitenges are where guests can convene for morning tea and for the three-course dinner prepared by local chefs nightly. Produce is grown on site or outsourced locally.

Each day at Shenton Safaris is packed full of wildlife-viewing activities. Shenton Safaris is well-known for their hides – man-made enclosures for viewing wildlife which serve to conceal the presence of humans. Shenton Safaris has four hides – the hippo hide, the elephant hide, the carmine bee-eater hide, and Mwamba’s last waterhole hide. These hides have been visited several times by National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and Africa Geographic. BBC even used the hippo hide in the filming of the “Wild Africa” series; from this vantage point, they captured on film an enormous crocodile taking a buffalo.

For guests who really want to experience everything the South Luangwa National Park has to offer, overnight camp-outs are available. A Shenton Safaris guide escorts the guests on a day-long walking safari to the remote area north of Mwamba, far away from any human development. Here they will set up camp near a secluded waterhole. These camp-outs offer guests the opportunity to fall asleep under the stars to the sounds of far-away hyena and lion calls. Additionally, guests can choose to sleep in the elephant hide during their stay. The elephant hide overlooks the elephant highway, an area where, for centuries, elephants have assembled to wash and socialize, and is especially stunning during a full moon.

Walking safaris are also available, which allow guests to completely immerse themselves in the beauty of South Luangwa National Park. Walking safaris are lead by an experienced Shenton Safaris guide, who will direct guests through ebony forests and along various waterholes. Guides will also help to track the big cats that are native to this region, including ten individual leopards and the Mwamba pride which consists of thirty-six lions. Don’t worry, though! To ensure the safety of guests, an armed Zambia Wildlife Authority scout accompanies the party.

 

Another great option for wildlife viewing is on a game drive in one of Shenton Safari’s open-top, four-wheel drive vehicles. These custom vehicles are outfitted with comfortable, tall seats that have been modified to aid photographers in getting the perfect shot. Shenton Safaris maintains their own road system, which provides easy access to areas of the national park where wildlife is nearby.