NewsBite

Eco travel

November

John Kehoe spots a bear (the grizzly kind). Here’s what he learnt

A three-night stay in a wilderness lodge off Canada’s south-west coast is a stunning way to connect – with nature, not the internet.

  • Updated
  • John Kehoe and Jennifer Palmer

July

Bambu Indah Bali hotel - New Moon House

The hippy hotelier upping the ante in Bali luxury

We’re a lab for showing those greenwashing monkeys in Bali that not everybody wants to spend their holidays in a concrete shell, says John Hardy of his fantastical jungle resort.

  • Ian Neubauer

June

The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are located in the United States, along the coast of northern California.

Why we should embrace tall-tree tourism

Only 34 per cent of the world’s surviving forests are old-growth ones, and many are under threat. If California’s Redwood National Park is anything to go by, there is hope, however.

  • Ute Junker

April

Monk Shiei Yamagami guides visitors through their temple stay near the city of Hamamatsu, 90 minutes from Tokyo.

For the full zen, stay at an ancient temple in Japan

Our writer bypasses the hotels and ryokans to spend a night as a guest of Buddhist monks. He didn’t anticipate the wooden stick, though.

  • Michael Smith

February 2023

Actor Claudia Karvan on Heron Island, doing her bit for Groundswell, a giving platform for climate activism.

Celebs are flocking to Heron Island for this invitation-only event

A Heron Island think tank on climate change has become a hot ticket for scientists, Indigenous leaders and creative types.

  • Updated
  • Nina Karnikowski
Advertisement

January 2023

The WanderPods’ bathtubs will become a magnet for the boyfriends and girlfriends of Instagram.

These luxury pods offer stunning views and solitude on Kangaroo Island

It’s hard to stop snapping pictures at the bespoke WanderPods on Kangaroo Island, where even the outdoor bathtubs overlook incredible vistas.

  • Lucy Dean

December 2022

The three-bedroom home is clad in local sandstone.

New wilderness escapes – at opposite ends of the Earth

The Patagonia home of The North Face founder Douglas Tompkins’ will open to guests next year – plus new hot springs in Iceland go back to the 12th century.

  • Tom Robbins

August 2022

Visitors to the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape are shown a traditional basket woven out of rushes and spear grass that was used to catch eels.

New World Heritage site honours ancient ways of managing Country

At Budj Bim in south-western Victoria, thousands of years of history are encapsulated in a labyrinth of waterways designed to trap and fatten eel.

  • Ute Junker

May 2022

Why remote cabins are the holiday of the future

Intrepid Travel has got behind off-grid eco-stay business CABN just months after a similar operation, Unyoked, received backing from Luxury Escapes.

  • Fiona Carruthers

July 2020

Spicers' Timber Getters Eco Cabins, the lodgings on the fourth night of the trail.

Hike in style on Qld's new $20m luxury eco-cabin trail

Spicers' new five-day Great Walk lets you hike through rainforest and stay in luxury eco-cabins along Queensland's Scenic Rim, in one of the largest ecotourism ventures attempted in the state.

  • Craig Tansley

February 2020

Byron Bay’s off-grid hideaway The Camp.Earth doesn’t skimp on creature comforts.

Backyard beauties: 5 must-see Australian destinations

Holidaying close to home will lessen your carbon footprint and help regions battered by the summer's bushfires.

  • Philippa Coates, Nina Karnikowski, Fiona Carruthers and Anthony Dennis

January 2020

Make like a condor with your own eyrie in a Skylodge Adventure pod in Peru.

Seven of the world's most beautiful places to unplug

No phone reception or internet connection? Don't panic - this will be a magical holiday.

  • Danielle Braff
A vintage de Havilland Beaver airplane on its first test flight with a battery-powered engine in Vancouver, Canada, Dec. 10, 2019.

Is a 63-year-old seaplane powered by battery the future of flying?

A Canadian air operator has swapped a vintage de Havilland Beaver's gas-guzzling, exhaust-emitting engine for a modern electric one.

  • Mike Arnot

December 2019

Lord Howe Island, off the NS coast, is having its moment in the sun.

The top travel destinations of 2020

Spending with purpose is just one of the trends redefining travel. Where in the world will take your fancy?

  • Fiona Carruthers

September 2019

Fun Over Fifty customers planting trees with a Fraser Island ranger as part of a tour. 

Has the sustainable travel bug bitten down under?

The global movement counts Prince Harry as a flag-bearer, but how does it translate to a country that is a long, carbon-emitting flight from anywhere?

  • Tim Boyd
Advertisement

August 2019

Guides from Neal Cross' hotel take guests into the nearby Gunung Leuser National Park to see orangutans such as 26-year-old male Halik (front) and 12-year-old female Juni.

The shorts-wearing banker who built a unique hotel

Being put on the spot by an awkward question led banking executive Neal Cross to spend $1 million-plus creating two eco resorts in north-western Indonesia.

  • Updated
  • Chris Wright

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/eco-travel-1ms5