It´s a long hop, skip and hump to get all the way to Amanwana resort on Moyo island. A flight from Bali to Lombok, another one to Sumbawa, and then an hour by boat. All this, just to get to some tents on a jungle-covered island. I have doubts. But when the resort boat turns up, it’s a cruiser, and the champagne flows as we skip over the blue-black shades of immensely deep sea. Flying fish leap alongside, the spray left in our wake sparkles in the sun, we’re in the middle of nowhere – which always gives me a heady rush – and I begin to think that the tents might be alright after all. And they are. There are just 12 of them, each at the end of a winding sandy path. Some are by the beach, others strewn under the canopy of a deep and lush jungle. They are all utterly luxurious, in the best way – understated, elegant and deeply comfortable. Each has a polished floor of smooth hardwood, a king-size bed and a state of the art bathroom. These are not shaky canvas ridge-tents pitched by woggle-wearers, they’re more like marquees with walls. In each tent, a sitting area is adorned with Indonesian carvings or other artworks and lined with vast divans – perfect for lazing or for gazing through the huge windows. These present the only sort of difficulty here – which view to choose: the varied greens of unspoilt tropical jungle, or the changing blues of the Flores Sea?
It’s a hard call. Everything else is easy. The staff are so sussed, the surroundings so seductive, that it’s impossible not to feel pampered, even without visiting the massage area under tamarind trees just off the beach. Mind you, some Amanwana activities make a massage a good idea at the end of your day. There are hikes deep into the forest, to see deer, monkeys, wild boars and a series of waterfalls that cascade into terraced pools. Then there’s diving and snorkelling off the beach. Just metres from the shore, the reef wall falls away so suddenly and steeply that you feel as though you are falling through space into another world. Behind you the water is warm and clear: ahead chilly indigo depths beckon, home to sharks, rays, turtles and flamboyant fish. Beyond that, there’s deep-sea fishing, on a boat that rocks as a feisty black marlin ducks and dives, determined not to hit the deck. It is released as soon as the long fight is over. But a smaller tuna is taken ashore, to the open-air pavilion that is our restaurant, and served up as the freshest, finest sashimi. All these activities merit a massage as the sun begins to fade out. And the person who created this retreat merits a medal.