Australia, a unique Island Continent

Australia is so isolated from the rest of the world that it is no surprise it has very unique flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world. It also have an amazing huge reef - the world famous Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system,with about 3,000 reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2,600 kilometers. It is the only single structure of living organisms visible from outer space and supports a wide diversity of life. The Great Barrier Reef was granted the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.

Australia has an association for ecotourism, the Ecotourism Association of Australia (EAA) and the Wildlife Tourism Australia (WTA).

Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia

Burleigh Heads is an suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. There are nature parks in Burleigh Heads such as the David Fleay Wildlife Park which have many native Australian animals living in habitates as close to their natural habitats as possible. Another one is the Mount Cougal Springbrook National Park featuring spectacular waterfalls and luxuriant rainforest,and if you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the world's largest skink, the land mullet. Other parks in the area include the David Fleay Wildlife Park where you can see unusual native animals and the Burleigh Head National Park 81 km southeast of Brisbane.

Environmentally friendly way to get your accommodation is via the environmentally friendly Internet and book online at websites like Burleigh Heads Hotels and you need not burn up green house gas emitting fossil fuel and make worst our environmental problem of the century - global warming.

I understand that the above website have been revamped and a directory section has been added which makes it far easier to drill down and search for heavily discounted last minute accommodation in Australia. I checked and found last minute accommodation search. Perhaps this is what they were referring to.

Coolangatta, Queensland

Photo of Coolangatta and TweedHeads from the air is property of Tim

Coolangatta is a border town between Queensland and New South Wales. Its economy is based mainly on a thriving fishing industry, seafood restaurants, holiday clubs and retirement place for both states. Ecotourism can be found in Coolangatta's hinterland. There are company offering sustainable eco-tour on bicycles in the Tweeds Heads/Coolangatta region, promising a fantastic ride with magnificent scenery, taste bush tucker produce and subtropical fruits, watch native wildlife, see fresh coffee grown and roasted sample native macadamia nut plantations and learn about early settlers.

This online accommodation booking website Coolangatta Hotels claims to be able to offer last minute heavily discounted accommodation.

Manly, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Manly is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia located about 16 kilometer east of Brisbane, capital of Queensland. It lies to the west of Moreton Bay.

Manly Cabbage Tree Bay had been declared a "No Take" (meaning take nothing except photographs, no fishing, destroying of marine life, even collect alive or dead organism including empty shells) Aquatic Reserve on 31st March 2002 to help conserve the Bays natural aquatic habitats, processes and unique biodiversity for sustainable use and future generation's enjoyment. The Manly Cabbage Tree Bay Eco-Sculpture Walk has been organized to give visitors to the area a view into Cabbage Tree Bay's unique animals, plants, marine life, history and attractions. You can get to Manly Cabbage Tree Bay Eco-Sculpture Walk by walking along Marine Parade from either Manly or Shelly Beach. The Manly Council have arranged for brochures and further information for visitors from the Manly Visitor Information Center or the Manly Environment Center.

Book your accommodation online at Manly Hotels

Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia

Photo of sunset over Byron Bay is property of Aidan Beanland

Byron Bay is a town in New South Wales and is the eastern most point of the Australian mainland, 140 kilometer south of Brisbane and 600 kilometer north of Sydney and. Byron Bay is also well known for its wildlife and whale watching. You can take day mountain biking tours to the finest and most spectacular places various World Heritage Parks and Rainforests of Byron Bay's hinterland and enjoy panoramic views from rocky volcanic plateaus, visit deep gorges, lakes, waterfalls, and lush sub-tropical rainforests full of wildlife. Learn about various animal species such as fruit doves, small marsupials, koalas and tree frogs.

Get last minute deeply discounted accommodation from Byron Bay Hotels.

Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur and ecotourism

Ecotourism and Nicaragua

Nicaragua has 3 main region known for ecotoursm - the Pacific region, Central region and Atlantic region. Nicaragua has 78 protected areas representing 20 percent of it landmass, 7% of the world's biodiversity, home to Bosawas in Northern Nicaragua with the largest rainforest north of the Amazon, the largest lake in Central America, Lake Cocibolca with tourists flocking to Ometepe, a large volcanic island formed by two volcanoes in Lake Cocibolca, Charco Verde Nature Reserve which boasts of great diversity of flora and fauna, has some 700 species of birds, more species of trees, birds, and insects than all of Europe put together plus many areas with claims to unspoiled natural beauty.

In addition to these, Nicaragua has one of the lowest crime rate in Latin America and what may consider an additional attraction, still the least visited country in the Central America.

Popular cities in Nicaragua

While the colonial city of Granada was rated the most popular city for tourist by the Ministry of Tourism of Nicaragua, other popular cities include León, Masaya, Rivas and San Juan del Sur.

San Juan del Sur

San Juan del Sur sunset and fishing boats photo uploaded to Flickr by Bruce Thomson

San Juan del Sur, a fishing town, is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in south-west Nicaragua at a crescent-shaped bay. It is only 1 1/2 hours from the colonial city of Granada. San Juan del Sur popular with tourists as it has many beautiful beaches which are great for deep sea fishing, surfing, scuba diving and snorkeling. For those who do not like crowds, this is paradise.

If you prefer land based activities, you can go hiking to the volcanic hilltops which on a clear day, you can get spectacular views all the way to Costa Rica. Or just enjoy the San Juan del Sur’s carefree Pacific lifestyle, nap in a hammock, woof down sea food fresh from the fishing boats, watch sea turtles waddle lay eggs at nearby La Flor beach in late autumn.

Accommodation in Nicaragua, San Jan del Sur

Because of low tourist traffic, you can enjoy bargain vacation at San Juan del Sur. For accommodation, there are many comfortable Nicaragua Hotels and San Juan del Sur Hotel. For more information on its location, surf ove to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. May I wish you an enjoyable vacation at San Juan del Sur.

Ecotourism and Investment in New Zealand

New Zealand is really a unique place on earth. There is nothing similar to what you can find in New Zealand. Think kiwi (small flightless birds), kiwifruit (fruit of Actinidia deliciosa and hybrids. Actually, it is native to southern China but made popular and commercialised by New Zealanders), Maori and its culture (first thing that comes to my mind is a warlike warrior with tongue sticking out), all kinds of amazing birds and a unique flora. There are no wild animals and no snakes that attack people in New Zealand.

Admittedly, much of its bush cover, lowland forests and wetlands have been destroyed, but there are still have many unspoiled, unsettled, and even some unmapped areas of wild country ideal for ecotourism. For activities, you can go for whale watching in Kaikoura, go bush walking in the Waitakere ranges, try sea-kayaking at Abel Tasman National Park, visit the albatross colony and penguins at Taiaroa Head on Otago Peninsula, look at dolphins swimming playfully at Bay of Islands, walk on a deserted beach, visit the Waipoua Forest walk in Northland, go seal-watching at Kaikoura, go diving to see the Rainbow Warrior wreck in Matauri Bay, explore coastal wildlife and rain forest of the Catlins area, observe penguins at Nugget Point, visit the Fiordland National Park, see rare and endangered birds in Auckland and seals and dolphins in Westland. There is endless things you can do in New Zealand.

Tourism is a major foreign revenue earner for New Zealand. You may want to consider looking for property for sale in New Zealand to take advantage of this. A good alternative to consider is Birkenhead property, which is located located on the north shore of the Waitemata Harbour just four kilometres northwest of the Auckland city center.

Another promising area is property Nelson. Nelson is practically at the center of New Zealand at the southern shore of Tasman Bay and the northern tip of the South Island.

Many people want to holiday in New Zealand for extended periods or even migrate there permanently. My former colleague migrated there immediately after his retirement with his entire family. Why is New Zealand so popular? Well, it has a pleasant temperate climate, unspoilt diverse scenery, great surfing and skiing opportunities plus a relatively low cost of living.

Are you tempted? I am.

Ecotourism in Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country and has the largest rain forests in Central America. Located just 11 degrees north of the Equator, it has a tropical climate. Its series of volcanoes and mountain ranges form a divide between the wet Atlantic Ocean and the dry Pacific Ocean and Nicaragua is also wedged between Northern America and Southern America. Because of these factors, the habitats are diverse, ranging from savanna-like plains to dry tropical forest, sub-montane tropical forest to rain forest or cloud forest. In terms of aquatic habitats, there is also great variety on both Caribbean and Pacific Coasts, volcanic crater lakes, and the largest bodies of fresh water in Latin America. It is one of the most biologically diverse areas of the world and represent an ideal destination for nature lovers. New species being discovered almost everyday.

If you are not that adventurous as to track deep into the forest, there is always Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. It is located on the southern shores of Lake Managua (Lake Xolotlán). The topography is varied, it has naturally fertile soils with abundant rain and water sources supporting a great variety of flora, many species trees, some of which you cannot find in any other part of the world. Among them are royal palms, chilamates, ceibos, genizaros, pinuelas, pochotes, tiguilotes and Nicaragua's national tree, the madroño. There is also the Tiscapa Lagoon Natural Reserve.

Because of past instability, revolution, and civil wars, much of the natural forest remained untouched (barring logging), making it a heaven for ecotourism. The infrastructure for ecotourism, unfortunately, is also poorly developed. This may be a curse as well as a blessing, for you can invest in Nicaragua for a song. Nicaragua Real Estate described it well. They compare buying properties in Nicaragua to buying beach front properties with stunning ocean views in Malibu or San Diego 100 years ago at amazingly low prices. You may not get such opportunities in the future.

Buying properties is not like buying McDonald beefburgers. It is way more complicated, involving financing and legal issues. Nicaragua Property has devoted a whole page on that at Buying Nicaragua Properties: Legal Process.

If you are not into investing, but only going to Nicaragua for a vacation, Nicaragua vacation Rentals can help you find your dream holiday accommodation.

Enironmentally friendly accommodation

The majority of visitors to this site are from the United States of America, and for the sake of the environment, if you plan to vacation in another place, it would be preferable to chose a place near to your home so as to shorten the journey. It is a good thing that this worldwide online accommodation booking site list all the 51 states of America. Not only that, they have special categories of hotels such as eco green lodging which is most relevant to what this site is all about.

In addition to category of hotels that have adopted environmentally friendly practices, they also have other special categories such as spa resorts, yoga retreats and a few others, even a haunted hotels!!! category for the brave ones.

Unfortunately for our one and only Spaceship Earth which still have no lifeboat, either hotels in the United States have not taken to environmentally friendly practices on a wide scale, or for reasons of their own, are not listing their environmentally friendly hotels with this site because I checked quite a number of America's state, but all those I checked had no environmentally friendly hotel listed. I can't check all the 51 states, so if you happened to be staying in one of those states listed and you check your state, you may just find something. Further, things are not static, and I am sure operators of this site are hard at work, and hopefully before 31st December, 2008, you will find such American eco green lodgings listed in the site without any problem.

Why before 31st December, 2008, you may ask. Simple. With the Special Offer Code SPC7258603, you can get $10.00 off for reservations over $100. But this special offer is not forever. You have until 31st December, 2008 to make use of it.

Ecotourism in Sarasota County, Florida, United States of America

Sarasota County is in Florida, in the south eastern part of United States with its administration seat in Sarasota. It has 2 state parks and have very good beaches. It also has many barrier islands, one of which, Siesta Key
, have one of the best beaches in the United States. More about that later. This a haven for diverse wildlife including ducks, warblers, hawks, ospreys, meadowlarks, herons, ibis, wading birds, waterfowl, migrating birds, wild turkeys, snow geese, bald eagles, hummingbirds, falcons, etc. Dolphins and manatees are aplenty in Sarasota. There used to be plenty of turtles laying eggs on its beaches, but unfortunately the are now few and far in between. But there are conservation efforts going on.

It has Florida's biggest and oldest state parks - the Myakka River State Park. It has excellent hiking trails. The Myakka River, fondly called "Florida Wild and Scenic Myakka River", flows through its woodlands, wetlands and prairies. It is good for wildlife observation and you can go hiking and fishing, among other eco friendly activities. There are canopy walkway for you to take to the treetops and view foliage, twigs, birds, caterpillars, and insects at the tree tops, plus get spectacular views of the entire park.

The other state park is the Oscar Scherer State Park. Its habitats include pine flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods and the hardwood hammock plus varieties of other plants like wild grape, blueberry, cabbage palm, persimmon, prickly pear cactuses, coontie, wax myrtle, mangrove trees and giant leather ferns. You can see rabbits, river otters, bobcats, foxes, indigo snakes, alligators, gopher tortoises and gopher frogs in the state park.

A walk on its beaches can be considered an ecotour for you are likely to find prehistoric sharks' teeth and marine fossils washed up to its beaches from the sparkling ocean water.

If you are a bird watcher, the place to go is the Celery Fields, a low, marshy area drained to grow celery. Its deep lakes attracts many bird species. It is also a site of archaeological findings.

If fine beaches is what you are looking for, head for Siesta Key, a 8 mile long barrier island off Sarasota on Florida’s West Gulf Coast, famous for its white 99% quartz sand beaches. The white sand is very reflective and deflects off the heat from the sunlight so that the beach feels cool and comfortable. The most famous and popular is Siesta Key Beach where the sand is finest. It is one of the best beaches in the United States and have plenty of awards to prove it. However, if privacy and being away from the crowd is what you value, there is Crescent Beach and Turtle beach.

Siesta Key also has lush foliage, mature trees and tropical flowering shrubs, wild sea oats. Its mangroves is a habitat for diverse native birds. In its sparkling green ocean water are dolphins, manatees and other aquatic wildlife.

If you plan to go to Siesta Key, you can do it on line at accommodations, where you can find a variety of choices, including hotels, motels, apartments, condominiums, beach resorts and houses, cottages and suites.

Siesta Key, Florida, United States of America

Siesta Key has the word "Key" in it, but don't get confused and think that it is located in Florida Keys. Siesta Key is actually a barrier island off of the central western coast of Florida situated between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, just below Tampa. A portion of it lies within the city boundary of Sarasota. It is famous for its beaches, especially Siesta Beach, a long stretch of 99% pure white quartz sand with a texture like refined sugar, and which never feels hot. The beach has won for itself numerous awards including being named the “Best Overall” in the "1987 International Sand Contest", the “Best Sand Beach in America 2004” by the Travel Channel, rated one of the best for walking by National Geographic Traveler, ranked third in the Top 10 US beaches in a poll by USA Today.com reader poll ranked and voted Number 3 in its list of Top 10 U.S. beaches Best Beach 2000 by Florida Living Magazine.

There are other beaches like Crescent Beach and Turtle beach, but are not as popular as Siesta Beach. There are lifeguards on Siesta Beach all year round, but Turtle Beach has no lifeguard. However, you can be sure of getting a parking space on Turtle Beach. They all can be referred to as a crystal beaches because the beaches consists of quartz crystals. There are people who believe that quartz crystals have physical, mental or emotional healing properties, but these are not backed by any scientific studies.

Siesta Key is covered by lush tropical foliage and inhabited by wild rabbits, herons, wild parrots and other native birds, gulls, terns, plovers, pelicans, egrets, herons, ibis, spoonbills, storks, cranes, manatees, dolphins and an estimated 1000 species of fish in the Gulf, bays, lakes, rivers and streams.

If you plan to visit Siesta Key, various kinds of accommodations are available, including hotels, motels, apartments, condominiums, beach resorts and houses, cottages and suites.