A&K Sanctuary, rebranded from Abercrombie & Kent’s Sanctuary Retreats portfolio of safari camps and lodges last December, is set for a portfolio update, with one property in Uganda relaunched with a new look last week and another in Botswana scheduled to reopen in August.
Michelle Mickan, vice-president of marketing for Abercrombie & Kent, said Gorilla Forest Lodge in Uganda – the only lodge located within the gates of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Bwindi National Park, home to the largest remaining population of mountain gorillas – has been rebuilt and “redesigned to be in harmony with the natural environment”.
Gorilla Forest Lodge offers 10 large and luxurious tents with en-suite bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling windows that bring the outside in, and veranda-style decks that allow guests to enjoy the forest.
Baines’ Lodge in Botswana’s biodiverse Okavango Delta, set to reopen next month following a complete overhaul, will bring nature-lovers close to “the stars above, hippopotamus underneath, and some of the best predator sightings”.
Named after the 19th-century explorer and painter Thomas Baines, Baines’ Lodge will offer six suites, all elevated above the surrounding wetlands.
Mickan highlighted Abercrombie & Kent’s 60 years of expertise in African travel. The company’s strong reputation has helped attract interest from Asian travellers looking to explore the continent.
“We often see Asian guests new to Africa choosing to travel with us. First-timers usually start with Kenya or Botswana, then they fall in love with Africa and choose to return for Tanzania, Uganda or Namibia – all locations where we have lodges,” she said, adding that A&K Sanctuary will soon open new lodges in Rwanda and Kenya’s Amboseli National Park.
She shared that they have clients who have travelled to Africa more than 15 times.
“They say Africa gets into your soul, and every part of Africa is very different. People fall in love with the experience,” she added.
Within Asian source markets, A&K Sanctuary sees strongest demand from Singapore and Hong Kong. According to Mickan, there are also good opportunities in Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea.
A&K Sanctuary – as well as the wider Abercrombie & Kent – gets sales support across Asia through Evon Ler, who is the company’s director of sales, Asia.
“She is here to provide our agent partners with training and education. We’re really investing in the Asian market,” said Mickan. Abercrombie & Kent has also just established an office in Indonesia, joining seven others in the region.
Adventurous fans of A&K Sanctuary will soon have another destination to explore, when Pure Amazon launches in August. The luxury riverboat, which accommodates up to 22 guests and offers a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio, will take travellers deep into the vast Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve in northern Peru. Guests can choose from journeys spanning three, four and seven days, and gain access to various excursions to discover wildlife and connect with local communities.
A&K Sanctuary’s current fleet of luxury riverboats sail Egypt’s Nile River.
