This festive season is likely to be another 'big spender' for South African consumers – how you spend that money can make a positive impact on the country and its people. You can walk into any shop at the moment and get the message: this is the season when we spend it. In fact, South Africans spend almost twice as much money in December than during any other month of the … [Read more...]
Green goes platinum for cool hotel
When a local green hotel receives the honour of becoming the first Elite Platinum building on the African continent, there is cause for celebration. A celebration which we were happy to share, inspired by a range of magnificent green tweaks which confirms that indeed the world is changing and all the hard work in the green industry is not in vain. Hotel Verde also … [Read more...]
Flower Feast beckons: join Mini Spring Break
Ladies! Would you like the freedom to travel and experience, grow and enhance, connect and enjoy creative play in the safety of a tour group for women only? Join Pam Evans on her travel club LILA Tour’s maiden voyage from 4-7 September to blend the joys of spring flowers, whacky culture, ancient knowledge, fossil digs and wine tasting. Independent ladies seeking freedom … [Read more...]
Have a green Valentine’s Day this year
It’s all hearts and roses this month with Valentine’s Day around the corner and the shops are stocked with brightly coloured cards, special chocolates, stuffed animals, plastic roses and more. However, when considering what to buy for your loved one, think about all the waste that is generated from these gifts - the plastic, the wrapping paper, the cardboard and ribbons that … [Read more...]
Eco speed week 2013
So, you’ve probably heard of Speed Week where you can scream your vehicle down a 5 km dirt track at Hakskeen Pan in the South African Kalahari desert? What you may not have heard of is “eco speed week,” where you can do the same but with your alternative fueled vehicle. Neither had I until late last year. Bob Bond, of Tshwane University of Technology, had been trying to … [Read more...]
Tourism industry urged to raise awareness
World Wetlands Day on 2 February marks the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in Ramsar, Iran. The aim of the convention is to protect the World’s highly sensitive and declining natural wetlands and to raise awareness of the importance and value of wetlands to people around the globe. The Convention has been signed by almost all national governments … [Read more...]
Tread lightly on your travels
The Vineyard Hotel & Spa, a leader in sustainability in the South African hotel sector, has made huge strides in implementing various “green” initiatives over the last couple of years. Chris van Zyl (pictured below), group sustainability manager and horticulturist at the Vineyard Hotel & Spa, has highlighted a few essential tips that hotel guests can implement in … [Read more...]
Have a gas without costing the earth
If you’re looking for a world-class tourism experience that will not only be kind to your pocket but will also ease your Earth-conscious concerns, you’ll find a winner in City Sightseeing’s double-decker open-top tours. One can’t miss seeing the good-looking big red busses in and around Cape Town with the inevitable happy faces staring around from the open deck on top and I … [Read more...]
Beautiful Burman Bush
The Durban municipal Open Space System (D’MOSS) is a system of open spaces, some 74000 hectares of land and water, that incorporates areas of high biodiversity value linked together in a viable network of open spaces. Examples of areas included in D’MOSS are nature reserves (eg. Paradise valley, Burman Bush and Kenneth Steinbank Reserve), large rural landscapes in the upper … [Read more...]
Hotel fights aliens to save fynbos and water
On Earth Day one of Cape Town’s greenest hotels gathered together staff, guests and friends to clear alien vegetation in the Silvermine Valley in the Table Mountain National Park during their 45th Adopt-a-Spot initiative. The Vineyard Hotel & Spa in Newlands, Cape Town, were assisted by three Miss Earth SA finalists, Nayha Gautam, Lara Potgieter and Luanne … [Read more...]
Hands-on greening becomes a passion
If you’re not passionate about the earth, don’t bother to do the 5 hour trip from Cape Town to Forest Edge along the Knysna forest. Although it is a multi-award-winning resort with very well equipped and serviced cottages, this is ultimately a Nature Lovers’ Retreat. I had been there before and of course loved the chilled vibe as I wrote poetry in the hammock on the cottage … [Read more...]
Awaken your spiritual intuition this June in Bolivia
Sacred Earth Retreat, owned by Elizabeth Bardin once again offers a thrilling journey to Peru and Bolivia from 8-22 June 2012. The year holds special opportunities and being at Machu Picchu for the winter solstice promises to be an unbelievably exciting opportunity for all! Sacred Earth Retreats are planned to make travelling affordable on a budget without having to do … [Read more...]
Time to explore our beautiful area
There are some great cycling routes in and around the green Winelands expanse of Stellenbosch. The maps were developed to encourage more people to cycle as a mode of transport. They aim to do this by: identifying a network of safer, connected routes locating bicycle lanes and parking educating cyclists about their rights and responsibilities … [Read more...]
