Looking for photos on the below post got me interested in Jorie Butler Kent (hence the car) and her impressive work and life. Kent is part owner of Abercrombie and Kent, the modern luxury safari company, and spends several months every year traveling to outlying areas of the world, seeking out new locations for the company's destinations and tours (talk about a dream job!). Through this work she has created the Abercrombie and Kent Philanthropy which supports wildlife and community conservation, and as an avid photographer, established her own commercial slide bank, International Geographic Images (IGI), located within the offices of DHI, an award-winning commercial graphic design firm Jorie founded in 1983. I deeply admire her passion for travel and work she has accomplished through this. Browsing the A&K website, I started to get the travel itch and found the below incredible destinations I wish to one day experience:
AFRICA- CAMP KUSINI, TANZANIA
Twelve awesomely decorated, permanent tents consist of Camp Kusini located in the Serengeti. How amazing to spend the day viewing the most amazing wildlife on a walking excursion or game drive (I think I would prefer the drive), and finish up with cocktails at camp to watch the sun go down. Tres Out of Africa....
ASIA- SIX SENSE HIDEAWAY YAO NOI, THAILAND
The ultimate in relaxation, the Six Sense Hideway on the island of Koh Yao Noi, Thailand seems to suggest that Swiss Family Robinson adventure that was always so cool. Essentially outdoors, each private villa basically allows you to sleep and bathe in a tree house, all with amazing views of the ocean.
EUROPE- HOTEL CRILLON LE BRAVE, PROVENCE
With its lavander fields and olive groves, Provence is the region that inspired many artists including Cezanne, Van Gogh, Chagall and Giono. This boutique hotel is set in Avingon and provides you with the utmost tranquility and relaxation. And when you've had enough of the wine and cheese tastings, the location is close enough to the cote d'azur that you can jet down to the beach!
2 comments:
Nice mention of Jorie Butler Kent. She actually developed Abercrombie & Kent with her partner in the business, Geoff Kent. They grew it from a Kenya safari company which his parents started in 1962, into the luxury travel company it is today, with 50 some divisions around the world.
Jorie not only scouts new destinations, she does all the interior designing of all the properties everywhere. working with local designers to implement her ideas.
Her camps in Africa are eco-friendly, and she established Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy to make a difference, starting with Friends of Conservation in the Maasai Mara area in Kenya in 1982. FOC is still there and works with the Maasai to help them find sustainable ways to live in their environment. They are in 50+ schools, have a strong forestry program and a scouts program with patrols for poachers, illegal use of natural resources, and conducts regular seminars for the Maasai on topics like HIV prevention, town clean up, planting trees and conserving environmental resources.
Kusini Camp is indeedis wonderful, and the newly redone Swala Camp, in Taragirere in Tanzania will blow you away! So is the ship A&K just built on the Yangtze which she visited 8 times in 10 months to supervise.And the Sunboats on the Nile, and Chief's Camp and Chobe Chilwero in Botswana. all amazing. Several of them were in Architectural Digest.
She is a person who makes a difference, she is loved and respected by all who know her.
Good luck visiting all the places you want to go-i wish you the best of everything.
Oh, the Crillon has (or had) the most wonderful hot chocolate! I lived in Avignon for a while, and you could stop in for a rich cup of chocolate with a little pitcher of cream alongside it, and shake off the chill while enjoying being in the gorgeous sitting rooms downstairs.
I think it's time for another visit to my old stomping grounds.
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