Eco Tent at Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat.

Love beach holidays and marine life?  Then check out western Australia’s Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat where guest are seeing humpback whales.

Humpback whales are on their annual migration back to their Antarctic feeding grounds.  Usually, the humpbacks are sighted from July to October at the retreat.

A humpback whale.

This year, Eco Beach says the whales have been “extremely active, gracefully frolicking around Eco Beach’s luxury 50′ catamaran ‘Windcheetah’, breaching, rolling, tail diving and slapping their pectoral fins.”

There are four hour Whale Watching cruises from Eco Beach operating on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

An hour’s drive south of Broome, Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat features 25 solar-powered Eco Villas linked by wooden boardwalks and 30 safari-style Eco Tents (above).

Aerial view of Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat.

Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat also offers a Full Day Eco Sailing Cruise from Broome on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Guests go on a 3-hour sail to Eco Beach then have lunch and a tour of the Retreat before the return cruise.  Other marine life that may be seen on the cruises include turtles, dolphins and manta rays.

Beach.

For more info, visit the Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat site.

Images courtesy of Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat

Are you a Canadian who loves Canada’s wilderness?  You’re not alone.

Take The Big Wild, a conservation movement funded by Mountain Equipment Co-op and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

The Big Wild, whose motto is “Do Something Small To Save Something Big”, encourages participation in Canadian wilderness protection campaigns.

We’re always looking for inspiring green organizations and videos so we’re featuring The Big Wild video (above).

Video courtesy of The Big Wild

Bar lounge, Aloft Portland.

Looking for a greener hotel in Portland?   One place is Aloft Portland Airport at Cascade Station which has received Green Seal certification for its commitment to environmental responsibility.

Recently, the hotel also began participating in the Blue Sky program, a Pacific Power renewable wind energy project.

Bikes at Aloft Portland.

“Travelers have come to rely on Aloft Portland as an eco-friendly place to stay, and receiving the Green Seal is a huge accomplishment for our environmental efforts,” says Randall Thayer, hotel spokesperson.

Under the Green Seal certification, hotels must:

• Minimize waste;

• Reuse and recycle;

• Be energy and water efficient;

• Reduce or eliminate any hazardous substances and

• Establish an environmentally sensitive purchasing policy.

The Green Seal certification lasts for one year and then the hotel is audited for continued compliance.

Since opening in 2008, Aloft Portland says it has been driving eco-friendly programs.  The hotel was built along the MAX light rail line for accessibility to public transportation.

Guests can check out bikes from the hotel’s fleet of Electra cruisers and Bike Friday folding bikes and ride from the hotel or jump onto the MAX light rail line and head to downtown Portland.

Aloft also offers a “Bike & Fly” program, which allows guests to leave their bikes in the locked bike parking storage area for up to 14 days at no cost.

Image courtesy of Aloft Portland

A sculpture from the Fragments collection by Blake.

Siem Reap’s Hôtel de la Paix will host the Asia debut of Fragments, a collection of sculptural works by artist Blake.

From September 23 to November 3, 2010, the collection will be exhibited in the hotel’s Arts Lounge.

Inspired by landmine survivors, the exhibition will raise funds for mine clearance and survivor support in Cambodia.

Says Blake:

“My sculpture has given me a voice that has led me to create an exhibition for the benefit of landmine clearance, and to raise awareness of the issue and mobilize action to support this cause. The Fragments exhibition provides a mechanism for the public, corporations and individuals to support the arts and to make a tangible contribution towards the solution of the problems caused by landmines and unexploded weapons.”

Each of the 15 bronze works is named after a type of landmine. Thirty per cent of sales prices will be donated to the Siem Reap-based NGO Cambodian Self Help Demining.

For more info, visit the hotel site.

Image courtesy of Hôtel de la Paix

Planning a trip to London?  If you fancy self-catering options, then take a look at onefinestay, London’s “unhotel” service.

“onefinestay offers more than a ‘home from home’ in the capital – by checking into a Londoner’s own home while they’re out of town for a few days, you can truly get under the skin of your chosen neighborhood in a way that bland hotels don’t allow,” says the company.

For this year’s London Restaurant Festival, October 4 to 18, onefinestay has high-end, self-catering homes across London including Mayfair, Highgate/Islington, Holloway and Brixton.

For more info, visit the onefinestay site.

Image courtesy of onefinestay

BlackBerry Tour.

Research In Motion has launched the free application and service BlackBerry Podcasts.

The app gives BlackBerry smartphone users access to free audio and video podcasts from leading content providers.  These podcasts can be downloaded over Wi-Fi or cellular networks.

BlackBerry Podcasts is available free on BlackBerry App World for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS v4.6 or higher.

BlackBerry Curve 9300 3G.

Smartphone users can search the Podcast Catalog by keyword, category, channel or top downloads.

They can subscribe or preview a specific podcast or be notified when new content becomes available.  Downloaded podcasts can be stored on a microSD card.

Content providers in the Podcast Catalog include Bloomberg; CBC; Corus; Discovery Networks; NPR; Reuters; Speed TV; TVO; The Onion; Wizzard Media and more.

Images courtesy of Research In Motion Limited

Stunning, subtropical, Portuguese archipelago Madeira is a year-round walking destination.

Travel company Headwater features guided and independent walking holidays on Madeira. Until November, the company is offering discounts on these walks.

On Walks in the Floating Garden guided walking tour, guests see coastal and mountain scenery, hill villages, fishing ports and old manor houses.

The Marvels of Madeira Walk starts from the sleepy wine village of Santana on the north coast.  Via the island’s levada water channels and wine terraces, guests walk to bustling Funchal in the south.

Established in 1985, Headwater specializes in independent and guided walking, cycling and canoeing holidays.  The company offers 120+ itineraries in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.

For more info on the Madeira walks, visit Headwater.com.

Images courtesy of Headwater

Hamilton Island.

Spa wumurdaylin has opened on Australia’s Hamilton Island.

The name ‘wumurdaylin’ means dragonfly which “symbolizes renewal, freedom and beauty.”  It becomes the Island’s first full service Day Spa and the newest spa in the Whitsundays.

Inspired by the nature of the Whitsunday Islands, the spa was designed with locally sourced and natural materials such as bamboo furnishings and natural stones.

The spa menu features body cocoon wraps; exfoliations; facials; massages; body treatments; manicures; pedicures; naturopath consultations and reiki treatments.

Luxury Australian spa products from Waterlily and LI’TYA are used to give an indigenous experience.

LI’TYA is an organic product line with a tread light philosophy and botanicals, organic Australia native plants and essential oils.

Signature spa treatments include:

• LI’TYA Susu Dew: A rhythmic body massage, inspired by traditional Australian Aboriginal techniques;

• Especially for Him and Her: Full body massage, oriental head and scalp massage, de-stress foot exfoliation, Moroccan rose and guava hand hydration treatment and a petite spa facial;

• Mother of Pearl Body Polish: A full body exfoliation treatment that’s rich in marine and plant collagens, crushed mother of pearl, walnut and wattle seed and

• For mums-to-be: Organic honey and cocoa body wrap or a full body pregnancy massage.

Image courtesy of Hamilton Island

Singita Sweni Lodge, Kruger National Park, South Africa.

National parks worldwide can be unforgettably green destinations.

Take South Africa’s Kruger National Park which is known for its stunning scenery and high concentration of wildlife.

Small, intimate, contemporary Singita Sweni Lodge is located in the national park on the banks of the Sweni River.

“Singita is committed to making a sustainable difference to local communities and to protecting the environment and wildlife,” says the company.

Recent Singita community projects have included:

• Building schools;

• Micro-financing small businesses;

• Supporting agricultural initiatives and

• Training people in the conservation and hospitality sectors.

For more info, visit the Singita site.

Image courtesy of Singita

Restoring an old place to its former glory can have beautiful results.

One such place is the village Borgo Finocchieto, in the rural Siena Province of southern Tuscany.

The ancient village has become a popular destination for issue-related conferences, study groups, academic gatherings, reunions and corporate think-tanks.

In 2008, it was restored to five charming residences surrounding a central piazza with views of Tuscan hillsides.

Patron John Phillips discovered Borgo Finocchieto in 2000.   Then he engaged a team of planners, architects and designers to restore the medieval buildings to their original beauty.

“(It) is not just a physical rebirth, but also a place — surrounded by the peace and beauty and history of the land — where people can be inspired to think, discuss and create,” says Borgo Finocchieto.

The Borgo features 22 bedrooms and suites arranged around a central piazza.  The Manor and Village Houses offer a variety of accommodations, common indoor spaces and private outdoor terraces.

The Manor House has an aristocratic country house feeling grand but comfortable.  Two smaller houses Colussi and Filippi are cozy, rustic retreats.

Former church Santa Teresa offers four bedrooms, including a master bedroom overlooking the hillside.

Fede features five bedrooms and an outdoor terrace facing the hillside.

Menus are created by the owner’s chef using regional ingredients accompanied by local Tuscan wines.  Borgo has also forged a friendship with Alice Waters, the American pioneer of the Slow Food movement.

In the Borgo area, popular activities include hiking and biking with mountain and road bikes.

Images courtesy of Borgo Finocchieto