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Isola Polvese is the largest island in Lake Trasimeno which is part of Castiglione del Lago. The whole island is a paradise of quiet and a base for scientific studies and education. Beyond that the island does not offer much more than healing stressed souls so it really is very peaceful and off the beaten track - you won't see many fellow tourists. There are school field trips organized for students to come to the environmental laboratories prepared to acquaint them with biodiversity and sustainability. The Garden of Aquatic Plants is a perfect example to learn about biodiversity. On the island there are some interesting sights to do such as the Monastery of San Secondo, the Church of San Julian and the vestiges of a 14th century castle. It's also amazing to swim there with clear calm waters and a sandy shore. The boat trip over to the island is regular and cheap and has stunning scenery. It is a hidden gem in this region. There is also a lovely restaurant on the island and a cafe and a great gift shop with local honey wine etc etc. You won't be disappointed.
www.umbria-by-divino.com/isola_polvese.html
Google map: bit.ly/jEUZcJ
Skomer is a nature reserve island utterly dedicated to the preservation of wildlife so every path, every building, every wall every pool- everything is there to assist visitors appreciate the natural environment. There is much to see at differnt times, but the highlights must be the accessible puffin colonies in early summer and the spectacular burrows of the Manx shearwaters. The whole Island can be covered and enjoyed in a day but be warned - you'll want to return.
www.welshwildlife.org/skomerIntro_en.link
Google map: bit.ly/kakAZh
Please get out beyond the shopping malls (which aren't even that cheap these days - HKers all go to Shenzhen!) - the new territories are a superb, rich, diverse habitat full of cultural heritage.
envirohk.wordpress.com/
Google map: tinyurl.com/388d3ud
Grand Etang Lake glimpsed through the mist of the forest reserve is beautiful and atmospheric. Take a drive up there from St. George's and go to see the Annandale waterfalls as well.
Google map: tinyurl.com/2cmwrc5
An eco-friendly tipi holiday with only one tipi on site which sleeps six in luxury while offering a great outdoors environment to explore. Each group receives a hamper of locally produced, fairtrade and organic produce. The toilet has a turf roof and there is wildlife everywhere.
Covering an area of 10 square kilometres the magical forest of Huelgoat abounds with amazing gigantic mossy boulders and sparkling clear pools as the river Argent winds its way through the trees.
Follow the main path and your first stop should be Le Chaos de Rochers (Chaos of Rocks) and the Grotte Du Diable (Cave of the Devil). Here the water from the lake plunges dramatically ten meters below ground into a large cavern, the noise of the water is thundering and if your brave enough to climb down the slippery rocks and steep iron ladder its well worth a visit - but take care!
Between Morlaix and Carhaix just off the D764
When shooting in Africa I always find it helpful to take a Gold reflector with me. Africans have great skin tones and by using a gold reflector you can really bring out the detail.
A diverse Caribbean universe: more than a dozen isles, each a world of its own, like satellites orbiting the double suns that are Grande Terre and Basse Terre. These two islands make up the "mainland" of Guadeloupe, two butterfly wings, divided only by a narrow channel, but completely unlike one another. In the east, on Grande Terre, sugar plantations dominate the flat terrain. Mountainous Basse Terre in the west plunges from the 1500m high peak of the Soufriere volcano down to the turquoise blue Caribbean Sea below: blanketed in dense rainforest, it has gorgeous golden beaches in the north, and natural wonders in the south, like the sea-bed hot springs in the Jacques Cousteau diving area
A wonderful cottage in the remote forest of Vastergotland, 100kms east of Gothenburg close to Ulricehamn. The cottage has two bedrooms, a living room with views of the nearby lake and a wonderful garden full of wild fruits and mushrooms, and complete with a wood burning hot tub for perfect relaxation. We loved it!
This is a stunning place with a huge garden surrounded by vineyards. The rooms are large, clean and well decorated. We were welcomed by the host with nibbles and wine like friends and not like paying guests. They provided us with all kind of information even for our way back home. I especially loved the breakfast with all kinds of hot and cold food, freshly picked out of the garden. It was a fantastic stay and we will definitely come back.
Near to Matlock is the National Stone Centre. It's open all year round and there is no parking charge and admission to most of it is free, which is very refreshing these days! There's a Discovery Centre with a quiz for the kds (or adults) and also onsite trails. It's all fairly simple and basic but a great day out for the kids to do something different and not cost the earth. Lots more info on the website, including details of dry stone wall courses, educational trips etc.
www.nationalstonecentre.org.uk
Porter Lane
Middleton by Wirksworth
Derbyshire
DE4 4LS
Tel/Fax: 01629 824833 (NSC offices)
Tel: 01629 825403 (Discovery Centre and Shop)
Email: nsc@nationalstonecentre.org.uk
This is Wolf County - one of the few remaining areas in Portugal and indeed in Europe! We spent four days based in Castro Laboriero exploring the national park, high, rocky and rugged with wild horses and the remnants of traditional peasant agriculture. We had a sunset/moonlight guided walk through a high plateau with leading wolf conservationists and journalists Pedro and Anabela Alarcão (www.ecotura.com), extensive views of wild horses, Hen Harriers and other birds of prey, a Wild Cat, neolithic rock carvings, and as for the wolves - plenty of excremental evidence but that was all!
Far North of Portugal up against the Spanish-Galician boarder, Eastern part of the Alto-Minho. From Oporto, travel Northwards up the coast to Viana Do Castelo, take the A27 then N 203 East.
It's a wildlife centre which supports its work of helping endangered species by keeping wild cats. They have lots of different cats from cheetahs, to servals to African wild cats - and you can go into their compounds with the guides and it's fascinating.
The top bit for me was being able to stroke a baby cheetah and then to walk two teenage cheetahs. They are on a harness and walk along with you. They alternate sitting on the ground purring and refusing to move with leaping off into the undergrowth to chase random small squeaky things. It was a wonderful experience and I got some great photos!
We went on the sunset cheetah walk (pre booking essential - it was full the first time we tried) then had a glass of wine with the owner, who was charming - and heard all about the work they do.
Unreservedly recommend the place.
It's based about 20 minutes east of Plettenburg Bay - near Birds of Eden and Monkeyland.
Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre
The Crags 6602
South Africa
Tel +27(0) 44 534 8170
info@tenikwa.co.za
www.tenikwa.co.za
But what a countryside. Trust me, if you are willing and able to make the effort, an amazing array of beaches, flora and fauna await you at Wilson's Promontory.
We travelled from Melbourne by coach to a small town called Foster where we stayed in a nice little hostel. The lady that ran the place was kind enough to drive us to the 'base camp' which is where we got the necessary permits to access the Prom.
We stocked up with as much as we could carry and set off. You must do your homework before you even get there. Know where you're heading and don't stretch yourself too much. When you find a nice campsite, pitch your tent and explore the locale.
The chances are, you may even have an entire beach to yourself overnight if you catch it in the right season and it's not too busy. We once spent an entire evening in one of the places called Oberon Bay with a beach about five times the size of Bondi all to ourselves. Truly magical but as I said before, it's a lot of effort because everywhere can only really be accessed by foot and you must carry everything with you.
The facilities at most the campsite are basic so you need to take water with you and also water purification tablets for any top-ups you get while you're exploring.
We followed a circuit around the coastline which took us about three days which I think was enough. It meant we had access to all of the bays and beaches that were on offer.
Wilson's Prom is a very remote part of Australia but is very lush and green which is an amazing contrast to the red dust and rocks of other less accessible parts of Oz. Even though the Great Ocean Road is in itself a very nice place to head to, make the effort to head towards Wilson's Prom and you will not be disappointed.
Possibly one of the greatest beaches in Australia. One of the only beaches I have been on where you have to wear sunglasses to look down as well as up! The white silica sand stretching along the coast makes for an awesome sight. Of course, unlike some places, you won't be alone but the beach is big enough to find your own quiet spot. There is no shade of any kind so make sure you dress appropriately and take lots of sun block!
The beach can be reached either from nearby Hamilton Island or even from Airlie Beach on the mainland. Both of these places are a little bit too swamped by tourism in my opinion so you should really only go for the Whitehaven experience.
Remember to make sure you take only photos and leave only footprints as this place is truly unspoilt by the modern world.
Google map: tinyurl.com/npam7x
A beautiful secluded old hill farm, renovated in a sustainable way. Great views, comfortable, and a chance to really get away from it all. They've just been awarded a Green Tourism "Gold" rating, and have a pellet boiler and their own wind turbine.
Strong links with RSPB, WIldlife Trust, and Malewa Trust Kenya.
Sanctuary Barn, North Stainmore, CA17 4DQ.
www.thegreenbarn.org.uk
The delightful Kingfisher Lodge, near Pakse, is a lovely place. For once, it's an eco-lodge which isn’t just a case of greenwash – they really do everything possible to minimise their carbon footprint, from using low-wattage light-bulbs to installing their own rainwater storage tanks. The lodges look out over flooded paddy fields, with hammocks so you can lie back and enjoy the scenery.
From there, you can take an elephant up Mount Phou Asa, a forested outcrop standing up above the plains where black columns of flat stones are all that’s left of a former temple. After gently swaying up a forested track, we descended from the elephant to explore the smooth rock summit, amongst rain-fed pools and tranquil groves and the temple pillars. Birds flit back and forth and, looking outwards, the plains stretch far into the distance.
Environmental education charity offering eco holidays that include training in ecology/traditional skills plus guided walks via woodlands, hills, bogs and lakes.
Also enjoyable local culture with traditional music, dancing, arts and drama.
Scariff, County Clare, Ireland.
www.celtnet.org (+353)61-640765
nearest station Birdhill
It's a cross between a hotel, a youth hostel and a summer school for families and adults into sustainable living. They run brilliant Family Weeks and workshop courses on environmental issues like composting, preserving, finding wild food and a few more whacky ones like Sacred Trees and Five Rhythms Dance.
Beautiful space - an amazing gothic Victorian building with great views, 11 acres of land, organic walled garden (lots of the food is grown on site) and a farm - and a really good atmosphere. It's three miles from Charmouth and Lyme Regis for seaside fossils and swimming. You can also go there as a volunteer - help out in return for free board and lodging.
www.monktonwyldcourt.org
monktonwyldcourt@btinternet.com
Tel 01297 560342
Malapascua is small island just north of Cebu. Good diving, amazing beautiful beach - much better than the world-famous, but now too spoiled, Boracay beach.
Getting there is really quite hard work. Small native pump-boats run from the end of the road, Cebu-City bus terminal, at a very small place called Maya. Many taxi drivers will be willing to take you there, direct from Cebu City, but it's so little known, that not many of the local taxi drivers really know the right way to go! The bus takes 4+ hours from Cebu City.
When you finally reach Maya, there's no pier, so expect to get your feet wet! Last pump boat leaves at 5pm. Later than that - you must pay lots for a special boat trip.(PhP1500+ or negotiate with the captain!)
Dano Beach resort is at the far end of the white beach. Bungalows cost Php 1,200 - which is not a lot UK£12 / US$25 but service was appaling. I requested a chair to sit on, on the verandah, and was bluntly told none were available. Simple plastic chairs can easily be purchased locally for less than Php200. I tore a hole in my new shorts sitting on a homemade table of nailed bamboo strips as there was nothing else to sit down on.
In the morning the resort's water pump stopped and wasn't fixed, so no way to wash; the beach resort owners just shrugged and said to wash in the sea.
A few bigger resort places on Malapasqua have better facilities at maybe double the nightly price. Try Blue Water or Cocobana if you want to stay here. Ging-gings is a good place to eat. Greedy local owners have been overbuilding on the beach (which is public, govement-owned property) and a lot of illegal constructions have been marked with big painted red Xs to signal their demolition, if less than 30 metres from the high-tide line.
Will this really go ahead, or will the often lazy and corrupt Philippine bureauracy allow one of the world's finest beaches to be destroyed by greed and over-development?
Is this your business?