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(click here for complete Sir Bani Yas photo album)

I had decided to surprise my boyfriend with a weekend out of town for his birthday.  After some deliberation, I decided on The Desert Island Resort (Anantara) on Sir Bani Yas island in Abu Dhabi is amazing!  It is also a nature & wildlife sanctuary & I will look forward to a return trip to see how it’s progressed, as during my visit, the island had only been open to the public for about a month.  The animal reserve needs to be more completely finished & they’ll introduced more species.  For instance they’re bringing in some cheetahs next week.  The island will be a lot like a real savannah – they are currently working on releasing all the animals together in a 67 sq kilometer “enclosure” – the oryx, hyenas, antelopes, giraffes, ostriches etc…& then letting nature take its course (carnage).

To get to the island we boarded a large speedboat with a few other people & once on shore a 4×4 picked us up & drove us to the resort, which was on the opposite side of the island from the jetty where the boat dropped us. The hotel itself was fabulous, beautifully decorated.  The room was great too – a balcony with a beautiful view over the resort & into the gulf, massive in size, fabulous bathroom with an exceptional shower & bath.

Beach-side exploring, went kayaking in the bay (never done it before, but it was way fun!) &…tried to go snorkeling but the waters ended up being too rough so it simply wasn’t possible.  Finally we went on a game drive which took you all over the island seeing all the animals & just checking out the island in general.  A really good experience all around, something different from the usual for sure.

(excuse my photos, I was in-between cameras & had to use my camera phone)

(Full Album)