For our 2022 Advent calendar, Sylvain Tesson, great voyageur and fabulous French writer, was our inspiration starting point : “May the wandering energy never dry up”. So we set off to discover off the radar destinations, to marvel at unique hotels, and to revisit the culinary traditions of other countries. These are inspirational experiences to be kept throughout the year, as we head off, to the end of the road or the end of the world, a travelling mood to discover and marvel.
The island of quokkas
Obviously this is not a destination for a weekend, unless you live in Perth, Australia, in which case you can just jump on the boat that makes the connection, how lucky!
Because yes, you have to go all the way to Australia, on its west coast, to visit this off the radar spot, Rottnest Island. All the superlatives apply to the Australian nature, grandiose and fascinating. Western Australia has a sea (the Indian Ocean) and beaches of unparalleled sumptuousness, remote and wild, with names like a promise of adventure (“shark bay” anyone?).
But a few miles from Fremantle and Perth there is this incredible little island, wild yet close, a nature reserve, where you can cycle from one small sublime cove to another almost alone in the world, Rottnest Island.
If these arguments weren’t enough, coming to see this end of the world would almost be justified just for one particularity: the presence of quokkas, a cute little animal as Australia knows how to produce them, halfway between a marmot and a kangaroo (quokkas are actually from the marsupial family), and which always seems to laugh. It is almost exclusively found on Rottnest Island, wandering around quietly. On the way back, we can tell you that no, there are not only dangerous animals or insects in Australia, there are also real-life teddy-bears-alike animals!
Like an island
Like an island which is not really an island, a village of sandy streets and colourful houses, no mobile phone network, no internet, no cars, only a few carioles pulled by donkeys, a river to cross in a small boat to get there, the Atlantic Ocean in a few steps on the other side.
We are in Caraíva, in a Brazilian end of the world, at the end of dirt tracks, in the south of the Bahia province.
A place between river, mangrove, Mata Atlântica forest, long golden beach and pure sky, vaguely hippie, for urban people in need of disconnection, where evenings are spent by candlelight, to the rhythm of bossa nova and a few glasses of cachaça, in mini pousadas made of odds and ends. A small preserved and joyful paradise.
In the Andaman Sea
India is not the first destination that comes to mind when you think of “tropical island”, “dream beaches” and “coral reef”. And yet, there is this singular piece of the world, an Indian territory inherited from the twists and turns of history, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Indian mainland is 1400km to the west, and the Burmese coast only 281km from this archipelago lost in the Indian Ocean, in the Andaman Sea to be precise, 500 islands but only 38 inhabited and 9 authorised for tourism, which are developing slowly so the tranquillity is guaranteed. To get there, you have to fly from Chennai or Calcutta to Port Blair, the capital.
But to reach the true end of the world, head for Havelock Island, a 90-minute ferry ride from Port Blair, whose beaches were voted “the most beautiful in Asia” by Time magazine a few years ago. Translucent water, emerald green jungle, beautiful mangroves, coconut groves, a breathtakingly rich coral reef… Very few hotels, guest houses, a quiet life far from everything. Feeling a bit adventurous in the discovery of hidden treasures in this island which remains mysterious and seems inaccessible, we want it all!
At an altitude of 5000m
Head for the farthest reaches of the Himalayas for this end of the world: first head to one of the regional capitals: Delhi, Kathmandu, Calcutta… then hit the road or a flight to Paro, at 2200m high and the location of the only international airport in Bhutan, this small Himalayan Buddhist kingdom that is still totally preserved. From Paro, head north, until there is no more road. From there, no choice, a 6-day trek, crossing the fabulous landscapes of Bhutan, between vertiginous mountains, valleys, rivers, monasteries, to finally arrive at Lunana, very close to the border with Tibet, and at nearly 5000m of altitude.
Lunana is undoubtedly one of the most remote villages in the world, nestled in a breathtaking setting, totally cut off from the world for 4 months in a row every year because of the abundant snowfall. A village of 800 inhabitants with no regular electricity and no running water but with a small school and unchanging traditions.
A marvellous film released last year (and available on VOD), nominated for an Oscar, allows us to discover this extraordinary destination: “Lunana, a yak in the classroom”, to be enjoyed by all generations, a great and beautiful human lesson.
Far from the hustle and bustle of the world
But where are we? The smallest of the inhabited islands of this archipelago, only 9 inhabitants and a schoolmaster from time to time, but 450 sheep and a landscape of sheer cliffs, lichens and ghostly fog in winter. The best way to get there is by helicopter, but only if the weather is good. Or the boat which docks there from time to time and if you have the courage to climb the vertiginous (and dangerous!) path on the mountainside.
A windswept island of 2.6km2, where winter lasts a very long time, but with a striking mix of green and grey tones, wild nature and the impression of being very small in front of the beauty of the world.
This island seems far away, yet it is in Europe, a small piece of Denmark lost in the middle of the North Atlantic, halfway between Norway and Iceland.
Have you guessed where we are? We admit, it’s not easy! This island is Stóra Dímun, tiny and fascinating, in the heart of the Faroe Islands. In the summer, its school can be rented for an unusual holiday, far, far away from the hustle and bustle. An end of the world that inspires us so much.
The destination to dream about
What does the end of the world look like? Maupiti certainly, the smallest and most authentic of the Leeward Islands in the Society Archipelago. To get there, lose track of time, because the journey to Tahiti is already quite a long adventure.
But the fantasies we had as children of wonderful islands nestled in exuberant nature all come true in Maupiti: wild, a thousand inhabitants, the shock of the intense green of the jungle and steep reliefs, which plunge into the unreal blue of a lagoon among the most beautiful in the world, coconut groves, motus where only the cries of birds resound, no hotels, only small guesthouses, a single, dangerous pass to the open sea which protects the island from invasion, a tiny airport from which miniature planes take off.
The chance for those who go there or will go there is the effectiveness of the Bora Bora myth, its big neighbour, which captures all the attention and leaves little Maupiti like a pearl on the Pacific Ocean, intact and wonderful.
