Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Mozambique, China flights and magical Hogwarts

Gorongosa national park, Mozambique

Gorongosa national park, Mozambique

Escapism

The final episode of David Attenborough's BBC1 show Africa visited Mozambique's Gorongosa national park, after its dramatic restoration. There are luxury lodges, but it's much cheaper to book a campsite or guesthouse (doubles from $125 a night) direct. Activities can be booked separately: a rainforest hike is $70, a guided game drive $26 (gorongosa.org/plan-your-adventure).

Snow watch

There's powder aplenty across resorts in Austria, Switzerland and the French Alps after heavy snowfall last week. Tignes, Val d'Is?re and Val Thorens all now have more than three metres of snow on their upper pistes. And over in the US, excellent conditions are reported in Colorado and in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
? skiclub.co.uk

What's new?

Stora Hamn Kanalen, Gothenburg. Photograph: Alamy

A new pop-up dining experience in west London aims to capture the essence of a city break on a plate, with themed meals and drinks. The Dine Mile High Club (dinemilehigh.com) operating between March and September, is headed by chef Oliver Templeton, formerly of Moro. "Destinations" will be Gothenburg (above), Beirut, Sicily and Mozambique, and tickets are ?65pp.

Some airlines are offering flight deals to mark Chinese New Year this weekend, and the year of the snake. Cathay Pacific (020-8834 8888, cathaypacific.co.uk) has a sale ending on 12 February, with fares to Hong Kong from ?579 return for travel between 6 February and 20 March, and between 1 April and 19 June 2013; flights to Beijing or Shanghai cost from ?619 for the same dates. Virgin Atlantic (0844 209 2770, virginatlantic.com) also has a sale until 19 February, with flights to Shanghai from ?556 return (?180 off the usual fare) for travel until 20 May.

Wolsey Lodges (01473 822058, wolseylodges.com), which offers B&B in luxury private homes in Britain and France, has added six new places to stay, including Broomlands, a Victorian villa near Cockermouth in Cumbria (doubles from ?60), and Heald Country House, a farmhouse in Cheshire (from ?50 a night).

Travel tech

Last week, Egyptian tourism minister Hisham Zazou said he was planning to install webcams on Egypt's beaches to show holidaymakers the country's tourist hotspots are safe to visit. He said tourist numbers were, however encouraging, with 11? million visitors to Egypt in 2012, compared with 9? million in 2011 and 14? million in 2010.

Travel Trash

Harry Potter Photograph: Allstar/WARNER BROS

There'll be magic at sea in November, when a four-day Harry Potter-themed cruise, on Princess Cruises ship the Golden Princess, sets sail from LA. Guests will be treated as pupils in a wizard school, with activities (over-18s only!) laid on by Whimsic Alley, an LA attraction based on the books' Diagon Alley. ? From $689pp, +1 310 453 2370, whimsicalley.com

Where's hot now?

? 32C Phu Quoc, Vietnam

? 29C Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

? 28C Penrhyn, Cook Islands

? 26C Doha, Qatar

? 23C Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2013/feb/11/travel-holiday-news-mozambique-skiing

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