IT is peak frangipani season in Darwin, the huge waxy blooms gleaming white in the dusk, a scent of almonds in the warm air. We are strolling back to our ship through this modern city, capital of the Northern Territory at the top end of Australia, after a day of top moments.
That morning, we were privileged to catch an exhibition of powerful and moving work by Aboriginal and islander artists. These were the winners of this year's national art awards, each piece redolent of the stories, totems and dreamscapes of the artist's own country. And this evening, at a tiny, tuckedaway Sri Lankan restaurant called Ella by Minoli, I tasted one of the most sublime dishes in a dedicated epicurean life: cured snapper in a painterly pool of coconut cream and curry-leaf oil-together with the flakiest, most succulent and plump roti any of us had ever eaten.
We are now three days into our voyage; we have toured Lombok, fragrant with honey scents of mimosa and ripening mango, and visited the island home of the komodo dragon, largest and most venomous of lizards. Tomorrow's excitement is a trip down a crocodile-infested river. By now, however, I'm longing for what I've learnt is called a 'sea day' of sailing with no stops. I want to explore this ship thoroughly, because I've never been on a cruise before. I'm on my maiden voyage.
Veterans of life aboard are astonished: 'Oh you'll love it,' they say. When we meet again, they ask how I am liking it.
Let me count the ways: the Nordic-designed interior is civilised, elegant and thoughtfully curated; there is original art on the walls (you can do your own tour with headphones) and little niches of books—almost wherever you sit, there is something within reach to read. I worried I hadn't brought enough frocks, but it's not that sort of ship: no captain's table, no casino (the soft click of mahjong tiles is more the vibe), only a small nightspot for a late cocktail and a boogie.
Denne historien er fra September 04, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra September 04, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
