Travellers' checks

Peregrine Adventures (www.peregrineadventures.com) has a new range of African itineraries for 2010-2011, including the eight-day Mozambique Explorer, which features visits to the Limpopo National Park and luxury camping at the Machampane Wilderness Camp; and the 12-day South African Footprints package, which includes a stay at the Timbavati Game Reserve's Umlani Camp, in the Greater Kruger National Park. The Mozambique itinerary, which starts in Maputo and runs between May and November, costs A$4,350 (HK$30,800) per person, while the South Africa trip will leave monthly from Johannesburg and cost A$4,375 per person. Rates include land and domestic air travel.

Designed to revitalise tired bodies and souls, an 'energy pool' has opened at Phuket's Paresa Resort (www.paresaresorts.com). Located under ancient banyan trees, the black-tiled pool is part of the luxury retreat's larger infinity pool sundeck, which offers views across the Andaman Sea. At the centre of the pool is a large rose quartz crystal, which is said to soften negative energy and instil balance and harmony.

Anantara (www.anantara.com) has opened a retreat outside Abu Dhabi called the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort. Located 90 minutes from the city, in the heart of the Liwa desert, where gazelles and oryx are a common sight, the resort has 206 rooms, all featuring hand-crafted local furniture. The three-bedroom villas offer butler service, oversized terrazzo bathtubs and sun decks. The resort hosts activities such as camel-ride trips to see the crystallised sand formations known as 'desert roses'.