We wax lyrical here at the Pig about the power and majesty of safari, but one thing we tend to neglect are the practicalities. When we speak to people the conversation invariably turns toward what the beds are like, how the food is and whether or not there will be clean drinking water. One thing […]

We’re foodies. Hands down. Fresh, local, meat, veg, wine, beer, we want to try it all. Never in a million years have I found myself thinking that I may have had too much. “I don’t know if I can sit through another five-course meal” and “I hope this one doesn’t have wine pairings” are both […]

Have you ever been in a helicopter? It’s cool. Like, really cool. Up until recently, I had a big helicopter-shaped void in my life. Then I went on six of them in one trip. If you want your first (or any) helicopter experience to be a special one, New Zealand is the place. It is literally the […]

There are sheep in New Zealand older than many of the houses. Perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration, but not wholly incorrect. Touring around the country it’s remarkable how new everything is. In the short history of New Zealand, a hundred years is an eternity. So it’s really not every day you stumble upon a country […]

KEEP LEFT. That’s the first thing we tell everyone when they travel here. We also tell them about a dozen more times. In your jet-lag induced, underslept state, it is a valuable piece of advice. Now that that’s out of the way, driving in New Zealand can be a bit of a wild ride. Combining […]

In its heyday, Zanzibar was regarded as something of an island paradise. Exotic and removed from the mainstream, it was an unspoilt draw for the rootless wanderers of the world. Benefiting from a bewildering array of influences, epic monuments to colonial vanity rubbed up against medieval medinas and ramshackle hovels. With a small population and […]

Sure, the flurries are a beautiful novelty right now. We’re all dreaming of a white Christmas too. But come January, escape is going to be the only thing on your mind. Plan your trip now with a few of our favourite suggestions for this January. You can call it a new year’s resolution if that […]

Right in the heel of Italy, sandwiched between the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic and Ionian seas, lies the understated and laid-back Puglia. This southern province offers fortified farms with home grown feasts, romantic harbours with a sunset backdrop, and an unrivalled diversity of architecture. Always keen to stay away from the well-trodden path, […]

Bragging rights and all-inclusive holidays don’t need to be mutually exclusive. Safari camps in Africa do it. Dream properties in the Seychelles do it. Why then must the Caribbean all-inclusives shame us with cafeteria cuisine, steel drum cacophonies, and drunken pink pot-bellied wanks cannonballing into the pool? One hotel, Jumby Bay in Antigua, has blissfully broken that mould. […]

Where:  Nin’s Bin, Kaikoura Coast, New Zealand What:  New Zealand green-lipped mussels While famous for its New Zealand crayfish since 1977, Nin’s Bin also offers up some of the freshest mussels around. These giant and beautiful bivalve specimens were everything a mussel should be, and more. Lightly steamed in a dash of local white wine, […]

Let’s say you’ve been on safari in Africa a few times. If you’ve gone back more than once it’s pretty safe to say that you’re a fully-fledged safari junkie, and a traditional safari (a couple of weeks long with comfortable tented camps and two game drives a day) puts you right in your happy place. Let’s […]

Cast aside your umbrella, intrepid shoppers of Paris. Even as November’s freezing rain pours down, you can stroll the streets of the Right Bank undrenched; shopping, dining and even staying overnight in the passageways and galleries of Paris. From Stella McCartney to wine bars, teeny tiny antiques shops and seconds art book stores, there are […]

It’s rare to look forward to a long drive. With traffic jams at every corner, I often wonder how we make it anywhere. But when the drive is on a winding road up through the Andes with breathtaking panoramic views, the daily commute seems very far away. On a recent trip to Ecuador (much to […]

The honeymoon’s over (and has been for a while)—now you have a whole family to consider, and you’re wondering how to make a safari work. We run down three properties that offer South Africa’s best; tailored specifically to babies, kids, and teenagers. Visiting Africa with a family requires plenty of special considerations. Malaria risk areas […]

Now that Halloween candy is marked down to half price, it’s only a matter of time before the malls are filled with Christmas carols reworked by pop stars, and all the merchandise to go along with it. But Santa, what we want this year is really quite small. It could fit in the slimmest of […]

Most people visiting Asia think of huge temples, amazing food, and busy everything. Everyone wants to snap a picture of a monk, 14 people riding one scooter, or a water buffalo standing in the middle of a busy highway, but that’s not all there is to it. While playing around with macro photography on my […]