Golf Asia - February 2018

GOLF ASIA 83

OFF-COURSE ATTRACTIONS &

ACTIVITIES

• LA GOMERA. Explore the Parque
  Nacional de Garajonay, a UNESCO
  World Heritage Site that contains
  around 400 species of flora including
  the world’s premier laurel forest.


• LA GOMERA. Get off the beaten track
  in the northern part of the island with
  slow-paced rural villages remaining
  relatively untouched by tourism.


• TENERIFE. A visit to the Parque
  Nacional del Teide (the Canary
  Islands’ top tourist attraction and
  Spain’s favourite national park) is a
  must. Dominated by the 3718-metre-
  high volcano Mount Teide, and
  featuring dramatic and otherworldly
  landscapes, the national park was
  used as a backdrop for scenes in the

movie Star Wars.

• TENERIFE. Drive to the picturesque
  harbour town of Garachico in the
  island’s north east to swim and snorkel
  in a series of unique natural seawater
  pools, formed as the result of a volcanic
  eruption in 1706 as lava cooled on
  contact with the sea.


• TENERIFE. Take a whale and
  dolphin-watching trip. Of the seventy-
  nine species that exist in the world,
  nineteen have been seen in the waters
  of the island, especially in the channel
  between Tenerife and La Gomera,
  though you are most likely to see pilot
  whales and bottlenose dolphins.


• GRAN CANARIA. Take a sunset walk
  among the magnificent sand dunes
  at Maspalomas, protected as a nature
  reserve and home to a variety of flora
  and bird life. Contrary to popular belief,
  these 988 acres of golden sand didn’t
  blow across from the nearby Sahara
  Desert; they washed up from the ocean.


• GRAN CANARIA. Explore the old town
  of Las Palmas and visit the historic
  Catedral De Santa Ana (you can go up
  the tower for city views), the emblem of
  the city since the Spanish conquered
  the island over 400 years ago.


• GRAN CANARIA. Sample the catch
  of the day in one of many family-run
  restaurants on the seafront of the
  enchanting fishing village of Puerto de
  las Nieves, with its characteristic low
  white-and-blue houses.


• GRAN CANARIA. Immerse yourself in
  history at two excellent museums in Las
  Palmas – the wonderfully atmospheric
  Casa Museo de Colón where the main
  focus is the discovery of America and
  the journeys of Columbus and the
  Museo Canario showcasing in-depth
  coverage of early Canarian history.


• GRAN CANARIA. Book a surf lesson
  at the southern end of Playa de Las
  Canteras (Las Palmas city beach), and
  area known as La Cicer, and have a go at
  riding some Atlantic waves with city views.

geology, Salobre Golf is a stunning place

to play golf and not to be missed. The

two courses Campo Sur and Campo

Norte, make up the only 36-hole complex

in the Canaries and feature swathes of

emerald green fairways and greens in a

desert landscape of rock canyons and

gullies dotted with cacti. It’s the kind of

environment where you half expect to

see the original ‘magnificent seven’ come

riding over the horizon on horseback

as you tee off. After playing a morning

round on the superb and more recent

Campo Norte course, we meet Sergio

Garcia look-alike Fernando Martinez from

Guest services. “I’m told I look like Sergio

many times a day,” he tells us with a grin,

as he drives us back to the clubhouse for

a 19th-hole beer.

Our final round is at Anfi Tauro Golf,

which along with Abama Golf and

Salobre Campo Norte makes up our

Canaries top 3. Designed by Robert Von

Hagge, this Arizona-style impeccably

maintained PGA Championship course

is located among rocky canyons and

gorges, native vegetation, teeming

waterfalls and glistening lakes and offers

a perfect contrast to the surrounding

volcanic mountains.

The par-3 6th hole, Anfi Tauro, Gran Canaria

Inside the historic Real Club de Golf de Las

Palmas, Gran Canaria – the first golf club

founded in Spain.

© Gran Canaria Golf