Perfect Isolation

Exclusive island is an episodic exercise in enjoyment

- Bruce Dennill

Approaching Pemba Airport involves a long, lazy circle – think of it as a free tour – around the third-largest natural harbour on Earth in order to line up with the runway. It’s an auspicious visual kick-off to a holiday in the Quirimbas Archipelago, scattered like discarded playing cards up the coast to the north of the town.

The tropical humidity envelops you like a blanket as you step out of the plane, making the minor hassle of going through passport control and back into another exit lounge (air conditioning and free, good Wi-Fi, all the way out here) a bit of a pampering rather than the usual chore.

If you’re heading to Medjumbe, a tiny islet near the top of the chain, about level longitudinally with Grande Comore, you’ll need to follow the rock-star protocol of wandering back out onto the apron to board a helicopter for the remainder of the journey. Less glamorously, the chopper is also the means of getting the food and other supplies the Anantara Medjumbe Island Resort requires to the hotel you’ll be staying at.

It might be that a helicopter is a particularly noisy machine, but perhaps the most striking facet of Medjumbe once you arrive is that it’s really quiet. There is a cheerful, wide-smile welcome from some of the staff on the landing strip, but once they’ve evaporated (to magically reappear as you approach the lodge to check in a short walk later), the absence of auditory interference – the unceasing static you don’t even realise is there as a city dweller – is almost philosophically special, and worth savouring.