&Beyond Mnemba Island

I remember paging through a travel magazine as a teenager once and reading about a tiny private island off the East Coast of Africa that guests could walk around in ten minutes. At that stage, I had only ever left South Africa once, to visit Mauritius, and I knew nothing of the African continent. I was mesmerised by the photographs and charmed by the fact that the article referred to it as being Jane Fonda's favourite place on earth, so I told myself that one day I too would visit the island. Cut to almost two decades later and I found myself on &Beyond Mnemba Island in Tanzania.

This is a parallel universe, offering privacy, perfect food, the most exquisitely comfortable bed, gently lapping shorelines, safety like I've never felt it before, and several swims in this terrificly turquoise ocean a day. I couldn't have asked for anything more special.