For 25 days a year, we break away from the perilous 9-5 in search of sea, sun and adventure. I left dreary London on an otherwise uneventful midweek day and arrived just a few short hours later in the kind of sunshine that I’d almost forgotten could exist. The last few years of my life have been spent suffocating between concrete buildings in some of the world's busiest cities. Then, I'd holiday in different, just as busy and just as congested cities. So when we arrived in Somabay for a weekend at the Kaktus Hotel and Co-Working Hub, it was chicken soup for the soul that I didn't know I needed. An hour south of Hurghada, a tiny oasis shimmers on the Red Sea: Somabay, a resort that's deceivingly small in size but vast in adventure.
After arriving in the evening and treating myself to an array of delicious food (including authentic Egyptian dishes) at the Kaktus Hotel's buffet, I fell into the kind of sleep only rivalled by a coma thanks to the incredibly comfortable beds. After two years of hopping between sublets in New York and London, I'd almost forgotten that one of life's simplest luxuries is a good night's sleep on a great mattress.
The next morning, fully rested but unsuspecting of what the day had in store, I opened my door and was hit by a wall of heat after the freezer-like chill of my room. A short five-minute drive later and now better acclimatised to the heat, I arrived at the Somabay Golf Academy, where we were greeted by a double-ended Driving Range. The linksmen among us were chomping at the bit to have a swing; meanwhile, I wasn't even sure which end of the club to hold.
Within an hour, though, under the patient guidance of one of the instructors, I was not only making contact with the ball but actually getting air time. "Don't kill the bird, but also don't let it fly away," he reminded me - advice that's somehow stuck ever since. I'd never call myself a sportswoman (I still struggle to tell the difference between rugby and football), but somehow, in that one hour at the Golf Academy, I'd developed a mild obsession with golf.
© ProvidedThe rest of the day was lazed away on the shore of Somabay's WYTE Beach Club, a private slice of Somabay's incredible shoreline just for Kaktus Hotel guests. I found myself an umbrella and a daybed and spent hours lazing under the hot sun with a magazine and a Beach Boys record ricocheting between my ears – a soundtrack that felt apt for the occasion. As a born-and-bred Australian, it takes an exceptional beach to impress me; after years of living near Coney Island and braving the greyer shores of the UK, it had been a long time since one truly had.
© ProvidedIt'd also been close to two years since I'd swum in the ocean, so, in between naps on my daybed, I waded into the calm, crystal clear waters where the stresses of the corporate world, council taxes, tube strikes and all the other perils of city living dissolved into the waves.
© ProvidedBut the day didn't end there. After a few hours with the clubface slung over my shoulder, I was in dire need of a little restorative indulgence... cue the aquatonic session. At the impossibly serene bathhouse of the Cascades Spa & Thalasso, I was only briefly crushed to learn that "aquatonic" wasn't a Somabay–themed cocktail, but hydrotherapy – a fact I forgave the moment the jets started pummelling me from ankle to neck.
The next morning, it was imperative to be up before the sun - no easy feat in Egypt - for my next mini-adventure: horseback riding. The Jasmine Stables were handily located just a short five-minute drive from the Kaktus Hotel, and once I was saddled up, I watched hotels and cars fade into the horizon as we trotted across the desert. Several feet above the ground and swaying back and forth as Layla the horse and I meandered further and further away from civilisation.
I hadn't ridden a horse since I was an exchange student on a farm in Tumwater, a town that had the same hypnagogic aura of Twin Peaks. But after trading taxis for trotting and heels for hooves, this was more than just an unforgettable experience; it was awakening a version of myself that had been in inertia in my life as a self-proclaimed city girl. Back in the stables and before the sun split over the sky, the horses got plenty of snacks and lots of water before I headed to my next escapade.
© ProvidedThis time, I swapped saddles and reins for a swimsuit and a snorkel. Expertly guided by Ibrahim, we were ferried out to one of Somabay's best-kept secrets – the seven pillars. Skewering from the seabed ten metres below the surface of the ocean are seven wondrous coral spires that are home to the kinds of marine life that I’d only ever dreamed of seeing for myself.
© ProvidedDuring our snorkel, needlefish, blue tang fish, stingrays and turtles grazed by my fingertips. Beyond its underwater beauty, Somabay is deeply invested in preserving it – a delicate but vital balance in a place where tourism and nature meet. This includes protecting the coral reefs, keeping the sea clean, and treading lightly in places where nature still feels untouched.
You'd think after a day of trotting around on horses and splashing about amongst the Red Sea's colourful creatures that I’d be exhausted, but no. By the time we docked, the Egyptian sun had left its mark – a healthy glow with a hint of red to remind me that, unlike in England, sunscreen is not optional. I managed to squeeze in one last activity as the sun dipped behind the Red Sea Hills when I returned to the Somabay Golf Academy.
© ProvidedEver since my minor triumph on the driving range, I hadn't been able to get the insatiable desire to go for another swing out of my head. Kitted out and quickly refreshed on how exactly you're meant to hit the ball, we set out on the specially built par 3, where my sand wedge spent a considerable amount of time out of my carry bag.
I've only ever watched Star Wars once (under duress), but my instructor appeared beside me like Yoda in the middle of one of the many bunkers I managed to land in, patiently reminding me how to set up a proper shot. Before Egypt, I couldn't have imagined ever stepping foot on a golf course; now, I'm phoning friends back in Sydney to tee up a day on the green.
© ProvidedIn my downtime, the Kaktus Hotel proved to be the perfect place for respite. Fully equipped for a relaxing sabbatical in between all the adventures Somabay has to offer, I was spoiled for choice with two pools to soak up the hot sun in, day beds to read on and a bar and restaurant to satiate my appetite. The hotel was the perfect place to unwind after our bustling schedules.
It's been a long time since I've come home from a holiday with a slew of new skills, experiences and stories. I would be lying if I said that watching Somabay shrink into the horizon, as the car took me back to Hurghada airport, didn’t fill me with disappointment. In four days, I'd shed the skin of my outer city girl, gotten the sand between my toes and the wind in my hair. While I sit in the midst of another rainy London day as I write this, I am comforted to know that somewhere, just five hours away by plane, lies an oasis where the sun always shines. It’s a place I can always escape to when urban life becomes too much to bear.
