Eco Holidays

posted by Catherine on Jan 6

Taking great photos of your eco holidays or adventures can add even more to your experience!

Even if you only have a standard camera, you can still take some great photo’s if you get the angles right, and space out your subjects.

And, bringing home some amazing images of the places you have been or the people your have met can make sharing your experiences so much better.

Why Photo’s?
I know that most of your memories are in your head after an amazing holiday – but sometimes having the images infront of you can remind you of them – I mean you don’t always remember everything about your past – but see a picture of that old top you used to wear or the neighbours cat, and all sorts of memories come flooding back!

Also, any old image of the place you stayed while backpacking through Costa Rica, or a corner of the train carriage you got stuck in on that Trans Siberian Railway will be fine for you to remember the trip – but not really good material for sharing with friends to get them into the ‘feel’ of it!

If only you could capture the moment in a great photo?

Taking Great Pictures:
There are several rules to follow if you want your picture to be better than average – and you don’t need a fancy SLR or 5 different lenses to achieve these either.

Just take a peek below and get practicing:

1) Use The Rule Of Thirds: Try to put your important focal point to one side of the centre.  Always avoid putting the focal point in the center – especially if it is a landscape or wildlife.  So make the horizon is in the top third of the shot, or that tree is a bit to the right…..

2) Move Into The Picture: If you have an animal looking left or a sign pointing right – make sure that they are looking or pointing into the rest of the shot rather than straight off the edge of the shot!

3) Complete The Picture: Try not to have a little bit of something in the corner of your shot.  If you can see the edge of a roof in your viewer, then it will detract from the finished image.  Try to zoom in a little bit to get rid of it, or move the camera towards it an make it a part of the image.

4) Use Your Macro: Find your macro feature and practice using it for close ups as you can get some great blurry shots in the background.  You don’t just use this feature for tiny things – you can zoom in on a piece of fruit on a bush close by and have a great blurry shot of trees in the background.

So, go get outside with whatever camera your have and get snapping!

posted by Catherine on Nov 28

I can’t tell you how much it will improve your experience and enjoyment of your vacation!

I was always one to accept what I saw with the naked eye, and to enjoy just that.  I could identify the basic species where I lived and would hazard a ‘best guess’ at the others.  Until I borrowed my friends binoculars!  They were only 8×25, and nothing too fancy or expensive – but what an amazing difference they made!

The ‘muntjac deer’ I saw at the woods edge was actually a hare!  And another muntjac was actually a ginger dog!  What have I been doing these past few years?

I mean, the habitat was right for the munjac as I had seen then hopping away – which a lost dog simply wouldn’t – but I had assumed what I saw was actually what I thought.

Now with the binoculars, I have become a new wildlife enthusiast.  I want to see the different colour beaks of the 2 similar birds in the tree, I want to know if it is a house sparrow or tree sparrow by looking at the cheek patches – I want to know!

A Changed Person:
Also, as I see a closer image of the wildlife – I am learning the things to look out for when trying to tell similar species apart – for example the white wing colourings on the back of the great spotted woodpecker is a downward band, whereas on the lesser spotted woodpecker they are horizontal.

And you can tell the sexes apart too – for example the female common kingfisher has an orangey bottom mandible whereas the males is all black.

I always get well versed in a guidebook, so I can learn what key features to look out for when using the binoculars – there is nothing worse than getting a good look at a key feature of a creature – like a stripe on the face – and you get back to the guidebook and it says ‘did it have a dark or a light spot next to the stripe?’  Too late – it’s gone.

A Perfect Team:
Binoculars, guidebook and planning.  The perfect team for increasing your wildlife enjoyment 100-fold!

posted by Catherine on Nov 20

Less miles is good, but fuel-efficient driving is even better!

I know that driving your car less is a great way to lower your carbon footprint, and that always will be true – but you could improve the fuel used when driving by following the golden rules below:

1) Different Day – Different Car
We all have certain things in the car that we need there all the time, like a map-book and a car jack, etc.

But, just because we use the roof rack occassionally or that baby seat for the weekend there is no need to drive them to work every day – or to the stores for your shopping. And that 5 litres of oil in the back is costing you more in gas – every day it’s there!

Every extra pound in your car is using more fuel, so make sure that everytime you plan a day out, you make sure that the car only contains those things that it needs for that one time.

However, that doesn’t mean have less people in your car or only car share with skinny people! Cars are designed to carry 4 or 5 people, so make sure that yours does. Always offer to car share for work and vacations. Just 1 less car on the road in your region every hour can make huge savings over the year – and over the whole country!

2) Bike Racks & Trailers
There are times when you want to have your bikes on the back or the roof, or a small trailer attached to your car to move those awkward items about – but consider the aerodynamics!

There was a recent survey where different bike racks were used on the same car to drive 2 bikes a long distance – and there was quite a staggering difference in fuel economy depending on where the bikes were positioned.

Some bikes created huge drag as the wind hit them when driving at speed and others just created an instability in weight distribution causing the car to perform differently over distances.

And of course they would produce much less drag (and so save more fuel) if they were inside the vehicle – so maybe a longer car is better for certain people?

So, before you buy your next car, van, trailer or bike rack – read the facts about it. Ask the retailer or check online for more details about fuel efficiency – or you could be costing yourself a lot more in fuel than the amount you saved on your purchase!

3) Creating a Draught
The same goes for having your windows or sunroof open as well. The air flowing into the windows or over the sunroof cause drag on the car, making it use more fuel to keep the same speed.

Close them for most of the faster portions of your driving to be more fuel efficient, using your vents to create a cool draught. Using the air conditioning uses a lot of fuel too – and make the engine work harder, putting it under more strain than it needs!

4) Clean Cars
Do we all really need them? Using an inefficient automated car wash can use over 100 litres of water per wash – that is just totally unnecessary – and that’s what younger brothers and scouts are for!

With a bucket of warm soapy water and a sponge – you could save endless gallons of water being wasted – and help earn someone some extra pocket money!

Although, make sure they wash on gravel or grass rather than the road – otherwise the soapy bubbles will flow straight down the drains rather than percolating through the soil – so could possibly cause low level pollution or diseases!

And anyway, as long as your vehicle has clear windows, lights and licence plates – the rest doesn’t matter really if you are on vacation – or driving through woods or countryside. Why clean something that is going to get dirty again? Save it for a special occasion……..

posted by Catherine on Nov 16

Just because you want a great eco vacation – you don’t have to pay full price for it!

Everyone likes to know that they aren’t paying too much for their winter vacation – especially this year when things are a bit tight for most families.

So, why not hunt around for something great but at less than full price?  That way you can still afford an eco holiday without having to compromise to fit your budget. 

I do it all the time, and have found some really fantastic deals.  There’s nothing better than finding out you have paid less than other people at the same resort!

Why Is The Same Vacation Cheaper?
Well, there are 2 main reasons for getting a cheaper vacation.  One is that is the company reduce their prices and the other is that the company arrange for cheaper vacations in the first place!

So, lets start with the reduced prices option – which I have used frequently.

Basically, it is quite common for a vacation firm to set a price for a certain trip as a starting point – and that’s all it is – a starting point.  Anyone can offer the vacation at less than that price – you just have to find them!

Some companies reduce their prices early on to make sure that they sell their share of the spaces, other companies wait a while to see if they can sell most of their trips at the full price before reducing the final few, and some (my favorite source of great offers) wait until the very last minute to offer their budget prices – literally within the last few weeks before your arrival – and you can find yourself some great deals.

The number of times I have found a vacation cottage the week before my trip, or booked a trip so close to departure that the travel firm don’t have time to post the tickets out!

Obviously the downside of this option is finding a trip that you actually like or one that suits your needs – you have to be flexible.

If you are very fussy about where you want to visit or if you have a large family group – this method might not be at all suitable.  It’s unlikely that you will find a last minute family vacation that includes 5 or more allocated seats on a train, plane or ship!  And heavily discounted trips to popular resorts don’t often crop up!

Option 2: Find a vacation firm that offers low prices in the first place! 
There are many travel companies and organisations that deal direct with resorts, or even own those very resorts or accommodation, and so can afford to offer you heavily discounted prices from the very start.

They may get rooms in certain destinations at a wholesale price, therefore can offer you vacations at what appear to be just a fraction of the normal prices!  So rather than paying the retail or high street prices, you get them at rock bottom – even though they are the same great vacations that other people are paying much more for!

Such companies may also specialise in offering accommodation in places that aren’t the usual choices – meaning that hyped-up touristy destinations are avoided, and quieter but just as clean and comfortable locations are offered instead.

I have found several cabins this way – and they were well off the tourist track – and were definately worth visiting.  However, it’s not always possible to find such delightful places unless your agent already knows about them!

Finally, as wholesale travel packages are cheap from the word go, you can plan your vacation way in advance – ideal for families hoping to book during school breaks, or for large groups who all want to be together!

So, if you are like me and want a great deal this winter, then don’t go to the regular travel firms first – look for something different. 

Reduced price vacations are out there – so go get yourself one!

posted by Catherine on Nov 5

It doesn’t have to be an Eco Holidays Show – but there are people there to answer your questions!

These large-scale travel shows are a fantastic place to get some real info on eco holidays and adventures! But also to get some opinions out there.

Not only will you have all day to wander around asking all the eco questions you ever wanted to ask, and to buy some fantastic gifts or equipment at discount prices, and to speak to people who have already been there – done that, but you will be able to make one huge contribution to the eco holidays movement!

What’s that you ask?
Well, if all the big names in holidays are here in one place, listening to consumers and offering their services – then what better place for you to voice your opinions and concerns about the way holidays impact the environment, tours affect communities and the way profit is spent!

If the companies at the show hear person after person asking about their eco credentials and how their packages and tours support the people and wildlife they visit – they will start to improve on those areas to keep the customers?

Imagine if a person approaches ‘Company A’ and asks them whether or not they employ local guides on their tours. If they don’t, then they will find themselves in a sticky situation, but could still answer you politely enough for you to carry on at their stall and that might be the end of that. No one else gets to hear of it.

But what if 50 people ask that same question?

How will that company feel after a day of saying ‘no’? I’m sure that there will be some serious re-thinking of their tactics for the next day – and I can almost guarantee that this feedback will get back to the people who make decisions. Hopefully spurring some change.

Now imagine the positive buzz around those companies that can answer ‘yes’ to that question.

We all know that the companies which survive are those that offer what their customers want or need. So, if they offer holidays that encourage eco tourism, habitat conservation and community development – they will get your eco dollars!

If they can’t answer your questions positively or they blatantly offer tours or cruises that offer no benefits at all to the destination – then they won’t see your money – and hopefully they will have empty seats on their trips!

If people don’t ask for things – they won’t get them.

So, get your questions ready and make a difference!

posted by Catherine on Aug 14

Welcome to the second part of this article – so I’ll get straight on with it.

Now, think about the alcohol.  What if half the people on your plane were carrying a 2 liter bottle of alcohol they had brought cheap at the airport to drink on holiday?  Just imagine the extra weight involved for the plane to take off. 

And – as people expect to be able to buy duty-free on the plane as well – the airline will be carry liters and liters of the stuff themselves – just in case!  Make sure you aren’t the people who buy it from them – it only means that they will keep supplying it.

Anyway – it would probably only cost people a few extra $’s at most to buy brand name or generic versions of their favorite alcohol at their destination (helping the local economy as well – rather than the global airport firms). 

And most travellers probably haven’t even thought that the extra cost in fuel will no doubt be added to costs elsewhere on the flight – or onto the airline ticket prices for the following year!

So, to help the planet out, follow a few simple guidelines here.

1) Don’t buy your duty free goods on the plane – that way airlines will stop carrying it.  They won’t carry things that never sell.  It just doesn’t make good business sense.

2) If you need to buy your alcohol or perfume before your trip – then buy them at the airport instead.  Then you are not encouraging the plane to carry them – and so in the future – only the drinkers themselves carry these on board rather than the airline carrying enough for everyone!

3) Many airports offer a service where they hold your purchases at your departure airport for you to collect on your return.  This will save you carrying fragile bottles around the airport with you there and back.  Think about using this service for anything you buy duty-free unless it is vital to your vacation. 

4) Some airports even have a tax-free store on the arrivals side – so you can buy your cheap products just as you set off for home – having carried nothing all the way.  Not every airport does this and they don’t hold as many items – but if you research your airport before flying you could save all the agro of carrying everything on the plane – as well as the extra fuel.

Multiply these ‘savings’ up to the other 500 passengers on the plane – and we are getting somewhere!

Add this to the other 500 planes that leave that day – and we will start to see some real changes, and you could be a part of that!

posted by Catherine on Aug 11

Could 1 liter of Bells Whiskey & an extra large bottle of Tommy increase your carbon emissions?

I think that they could if they were tax-free goods you brought at your departure airport!  Then multiply that up by everyone who ever travelled on a plane this week – and that’s some serious extra emissions right there!

We always talk about the little things adding up – and so it is your responsibility to help take those first tiny steps towards the solution.  It may put you out a little bit and mean that you have to plan a bit further ahead than others – but it is all worth it in the end.

So, What Am I Talking About?
Well, for just this 2-part article I am going to be focusing on the extra weight we might be taking onto a plane with us, just because we aren’t really thinking about the bigger picture. 

For example, planes use more fuel the more weight they carry – and we all have a maximum baggage weight when we check in so that’s a given.   Only we can make things worse from here.  Say we buy loads more stuff in duty free and then take it on the plane – are we making things worse?

What if we all refused to buy canned drinks on planes – how much weight could we save them?

What if we boycotted the sale of tax-free alcohol on flights – would it make a difference to our trip?

It is certainly obvious that the sale of glass bottles of perfumed water are just wasting valuable fuel – so why do planes still carry them?

The Answer?
Us – it’s all our fault.  We buy these things (even if only occassionally) and that is why they stock them on board.  Products on airplanes are exactly the same as in stores – if people ask for them – they get stocked.  If people buy them – they order more.

You might only have ever brought one thing on a plane, but there were about 500 other people on that flight too – and on the 30 other flights that morning that left the same airport.

So lets just think about the impacts of just 2 things here that could help to reduce your impact on your future flights.

Duty Free Alcohol & Perfume:
As soon as you get to the airport and through to the lounges – many people head for the duty free stores to get cheap alcohol and some tax-free perfumes.

Both are in glass containers and contain liquid – both of which are very heavy for their size.  Therefore this extra weight is now coming all the way to your destination with you – weighing the plane down. 

And in the case of the purfume, we usually want to savethe most money possible – so we buy ourselves a jumbo sized bottle of our favorite scent.  And we are well aware that even a well-worn scent in a normal sized bottle will last us several months – so why on earth are we buying the largest bottle we have ever seen – and taking it away with us on a 2 week vacation – we can’t expect to use it all while we are away!

Therefore, the whole thing is going to be carried all the way to your destination, left in the room the whole time we are there – then it will be coming all the way home with you – minus a few squirts!  And it is fragile, so could get smashed at any point anyway.

Think of the energy it takes to do that, all the extra care you take with it and it hasn’t added to your trip at all – in fact probably got on your nerves a bit.

Well, read Part 2 to find out how you could still get your favorite smell without all the hassle…..

posted by Catherine on Aug 6

Are you working for a company that are looking to save money without losing staff?

Then why not offer to help them by taking 6 months off to work in an orphanage in Africa or rescue wildlife in Central Asia?

Maybe your company haven’t thought of letting staff take reduced or unpaid time off to help save money. So why not tell them?

How Will It Help My Bosses?
When your company pay your wages, they also have to pay other contributions on your behalf as well as many other expenses that you may not have really though about.

So, when you take unpaid leave – you could be saving them more than just your salary. I’m not talking pensions, petrol and other expenses here, I’m talking general costs.

Take the following things as examples:

Toiletries: Toilet paper, tissues, soap, dryers are all used on a daily basis by all staff, running up energy bills and paying companies to do the dirty work.
Cafeterias: Ordering, cooking, preparing, eating and disposing of food and drinks isn’t cheap – and there is always waste. If your company know they have less staff, they can cut down on deliveries and reduce waste.
Other Vending: Water coolers, hot drink machines and food vending machines can all be re-filled less often if there are less staff – therefore lower costs of maintenance and staff to refill them.
Stationery: I know people will still need to use stationery even while you are away, but there will be a noticable reduction in use if there are less people in the office. For one: there will be less people to leave notes for – so your Post-It notes use will drop! Less pens will get ‘lost’ or taken home by accident, less email to print, etc……

Other Benefits To Your Bosses:
If they can reduce outgoings with reduced wages then they may well be able to stay in business and pull through the current financial crisis. Therefore – you are actually helping to make sure that you keep your job!

Your gap year may also help you to learn new skills and bring them back to the company on your return. For example, many developing countries have to learn to make do with less – and the skills and techniques that you pick up while working abroad could really benefit the company on your return.

You may even find that the skills that you bring back to your role are better and more usefull and applicaple in this changing climate – possibly even giving you better propects on your return!

However, make sure you check the details before you leave to make sure that you return to your role exactly as you left it – otherwise a great trip could be followed by a heavy thud back down to earth!

posted by Catherine on Jul 26

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Did you know that climbing Ayers Rock is offensive to the locals?

So is calling it Ayers Rock if you think of it.  And so is calling the people that live there ‘the locals’.

But, how often do you read up about indigenous cultures and beliefs before you set of on your green holidays?  How many countries have you already been to that you didn’t really know anything about?

We need to be more considerate of other cultures and religions before we traipse around their villages and ‘sites’.

Ayers Rock In Australia:
Recently, this large red sandstone formation in Northern Territory is becoming known by it’s ‘original’ name of Uluru – as according to the 2 Aboriginal tribes in the area: the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara.

For years tourist have driven to the middle of the ‘Outback’ to see and climb this giant ‘rock’, not having a clue that it is extremely disrespectful to the local people to do so.

Yes, there is a path to the top, with a loose handrail hammered into the stone itself to help you on your way – but it doesn’t mean that we ever had any right to just clamber all over it.

To tourists it’s just an public Australian natural landmark – just like a mountain or something – and therefore it is assumed that we have a right to do what we want to it.  However, to people from the Pitjantjatjara or Yankunytjatjara it is like a church or other sacred or personal building.

Turning this on it’s head then is like tourists coming to London and climbing up the side of Westminster Abbey and sitting on the roof eating lunch.  Or hacking a path across the faces of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

What would you think of that?

Another World Heritage Site At Risk?
Tongariro in New Zealand is also a place where traditional Maori culture has been ‘taken over’ by tourists.

In 1887 a local Maori chief gave the volcanic peak and the surrounding region to Queen Victoria so that it would be protected for the future – but other tribes in the area are now hoping to claim it back and stop tourists walking all over it!

Apparently the local chief who gave it away was only one of the many chiefs that worshipped and revered the volcanic peaks of this area – and now the others are trying to have their say as they want to keep their cultural rights alive and give the region the respect it deserves.

What can you do?
Before traveling to areas where indigenous people still live and work – find out a bit about them.

Find out how to act in their prescence, how to react to their questions and what not to do!  The latter is probably the most important.

Find out a few words in their language as well so that you can let them know that you planned to visit them and wanted to make the effort to be welcomed – rather than get dragged there by a tour guide and offend them left right and center with your behaviour.

Mistakes could be a simple as keeping your shoes on in buildings, showing your bare soles to elders, pointing, baring your shoulders and all sorts of other everyday things in our culture!

It only takes a second to offend someone – so take care not to!

posted by Catherine on Jul 3

How much paper is wasted while you are off on your vacation?

When you think of your trip away – I bet you don’t really think about it’s impact on the paper industry?

What I mean by this is that it isn’t just the tickets and the passport that are the only important tree-based items you need to worry about. For example do you think about your insurance documents or bank statements?

I thought not.

What Have My Statements Got To Do With Anything?
Well, while you are off on holiday, I don’t think you are going to be opening your post. Am I right? So why have you bank statements sent to your home? And why print out loads of mini statements from cash points around the world if you can check your bank account details online – from almost anywhere?

If you were traveling for a long time – like 4 weeks or more, why not make sure that everything was set up with your bank to check everything online. You can transfer money between your own accounts or you can pay off bills or credit cards from other accounts – all without a single piece of paper changing hands or getting folded up in your diary or rucksack.

And if you think online banking isn’t ‘safe’ – how secure so you think bits of paper are floating about your bag that you leave on top of buses or in your empty room while you are out exploring?

And, if you start using a ‘top-up credit card’ – where all the money is on it already – you don’t need statements printed out on headed paper – as you only have a certain amount on it in the first place. And, if it gets lost, you know that there is a maximum to your loss rather than the dread of some thief buying a Lear Jet with it!

What Else Can I Reduce?
Your Junk Mail can be stopped! If you are away on vacation – or whether you just want less junk mail anyhow – can stop all unsolicited mail! Think of the trees you could be saving – and the ink and energy and transport, etc.

You rarely need junk mail when you are at home anyway – but a build-up of junk mail out of your mail-box while you are away could also encourage thieves to investigate further! So get it cancelled! Apparently, the average American gets almost 560 pieces of junk mail delivered to them every year! This totals to about 100 million trees being used every 12 months just to produce the 4.5 million tons of pizza and diet pill flyers that clutter our mailboxes!

To help out here with normal mail – you can get your mail company to re-direct your mail to an alternative address for a short period of time or they may be able to store it for you until you return. That way, nothing sensitive will be sitting out there while you are away. For longer trips you can redirect your mail for up to 2 years to an alternative address at home or abroad.

You can also put a hold on most magazine subscriptions while you are away – therefore not returning home to a whole pile of out-of-date news – but having all those ‘missed’ newsletters or magazines added on to the the end of your current subscription. Also setting up any renewals by direct debit or in advance can save on all those company reminders letters being sent out for nothing.

Anything Else Here?
There are probably a whole host of other things relating to boring paperwork that you can plan better for while you are away – like not losing important documents that will need to be replaced or buying guidebooks you forget to take with you!

Things not even related to your actual trip can also help to make your vacation even more eco frindly – reducing your impact on the environment even further.