3 travel destinations to support when we can

The worldwide destinations that need our support from Australia to the Amazon

1 June 2020

3 travel destinations to support when we can

Travel is powerful. It opens minds and changes lives. But even before coronavirus, the world had a tumultuous time: the Sri Lanka attacks; the Amazon burning; riots in Hong Kong; Venice flooding' fires in Australia. Now, where and how we choose to go, spend money and support local business is more important than ever. When we can travel again, these are the destinations to run towards not away...

Jac Giltrow
Australia
While our favourite corners are still drawing us in, two more alt-utopias are emerging near Byron Bay
BYRON BAY HINTERLAND
A 20-minute drive from the micro-influencers in town, there’s a smart bohemian scene unfolding in the hills of Byron’s hinterland. The allure? Mist-covered forested slopes that hide multimillion-dollar homes and cute small towns such as Newrybar where restaurants including corrugated-iron shack Harvest serve a forward-thinking, hyper-local menu. And now there’s a steady stream of openings: rustic three-room escape Blackbird Byron is a reimagining of a B&B that’s all about the natural elements, with rooms decked out in timber and a mineral-rich magnesium-salt pool. There’s also Ochre, a secluded eco-conscious bell tent with 360-degree views. But it’s the recently opened wellness retreat Soma – co-founded by meditation expert Gary Gorrow and created with his designer-turned-hotelier brother, George Gorrow of The Slow in Bali – that’s drawing the crystal-carrying crowd. The hills are officially alive.
Pictured: BlackBird Byron
BRUNSWICK HEADS
This lo-fi fishing village and in-the-know surf spot has slowly been stealing some of the limelight from Wategos Beach. Back from the breaks, the tiny town has serious foodie status, too, due to Astrid McCormack and Josh Lewis. First it was their pocket-sized 14-seater Fleet, winning two Chef Hats – Australia’s answer to Michelin stars – for plating up dishes such as mud-crab congee and sweetbread schnitzels. But when they opened Mexican joint La Casita, it really drove the weekenders north from Byron for the promise of tacos done every way. And just-opened The Brunswick, a retro, 18-room revived motel opposite the beach, is giving the linen-clad set a fresh place to stay. By Chloe Sachdev
Pictured: Ochre
Kara Rosenlund
KANGAROO ISLAND'S POST-CRISIS RENAISSANCE
On 20 December 2019, a lightning strike triggered bushfires here which eventually blazed for more than three weeks across 210,000 hectares, taking much of rugged Flinders Chase National Park, farmland and habitat, as well as the pioneering Southern Ocean Lodge, in its path. But the island, which is a 45-minute ferry journey from Cape Jervis or 35-minute flight from Adelaide, is open again, recovering and rebuilding its ecosystem. Home to more than 1,100 types of flora and hundreds of animal species, many of them endangered, it has always drawn travellers but now needs them more urgently than before. This July and August, Australian Wildlife Journeys’ conservation action days will work alongside experts, supporting regeneration in a number of ways, from carrying out biodiversity surveys to planting trees. And with more than half of the island unaffected by the fires, there arestill plenty of opportunities to see the famous wildlife, which includes wallabies, sea lions, cockatoos, koalas and echidnas – and, of course, kangaroos. By Tamara Hinson
Pictured: Kangaroo Island
Saul Goodwin
THE HEALING-HASHTAG RELIEF EFFORT
Where to eat
Launched by three Melbourne friends, @emptyesky encourages city folk to pack a cooler and head out of town to stock it with local produce, from farm-gate fruit to sustainable chocolate. And plot other routes with @roadtripforgood.
Pictured: BlackBird Byron

Kara Rosenlund
What to drink
The Adelaide Hills wine country also took a strike in the flames. Raise a glass to its struggling producers with @morethanagooddrop, which highlights badly hit vineyards, as well as outfits such as Bright Brewery and North of Eden Gin.
Pictured: La Casita
Matthew Lennon
Where to shop
For do-good goods, @spendwiththem spotlights fire-affected small businesses including Masuki Store, selling organic baby clothes on the New South Wales south coast, the Southern Highlands’ Berrima Village Pottery, which has handcrafted mugs, as well as surf shops, beauty brands and concept stores.
Pictured: Soma, Byron Bay
Saul Goodwin
Where to stay
From farmsteads to inns in off-the-beaten-track rural towns, @stayinthebush gathers the sweetest finds, among them The Black Barn overlooking the Blue Mountains or safari-style huts at Worrowing Jervis Bay. By Fiona Kerr
Pictured: BlackBird, Byron
Marcos Amend
The Amazon, Brazil
HANDS-ON HOTELIERS HELP TO REGENERATE THE BIOSPHERE
Earlier this year, Brazil’s environment minister Ricardo Salles announced plans to create a Secretariat of the Amazon. ‘We believe preservation requires recognition of the forest as an economic activity that generates sustainable development and population inclusion,’ he said. Most of those involved with the country’s eco-tourism quickly dismissed the announcement as fake news. After all, this doesn’t sound like the same government that relaxed laws around deforestation – which led to fires – cut funding to indigenous peoples and legalised harmful pesticides.
Pictured: View from one the Canopy Towers, overlooking the Cristalino Rainforest Reserve

Bob Shevlin, co-founder of Uxua Casa, is particularly dubious: ‘In reality, it’s actually up to us – hotels and their guests – to protect the lands we occupy.’ He and his business partner Wilbert Das famously changed the fortunes of Bahian beach town Trancoso when they furnished their hotel entirely with homewares by local artisans and the Pataxó community. Today, Uxua is still one of the most environmentally forward-thinking hotels in Brazil – but part of a growing movement – while Shevlin assumes a role that is more activist than hotelier. When he’s not campaigning for civil rights, he’s partnering with NGO Despertar to foster a generation of green activists. He is also on the board at Conservation International and communications director for the Brazilian Luxury Travel Association, where he created the biannual Sustainable Vision Award for socially responsible hotels. The current award holder, Cristalino Lodge in Alta Floresta, created a 700-hectare Private National Heritage Reserve in 1997 that now spans 11,400 hectares. The project is one of enormous scale and complexity, maintaining biodiversity through research, conservation and educational projects.
Pictured: Uxua Casa
Elsewhere in the Amazon, Uakari Lodge helps to preserve the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, an area of 1,124,000 hectares – the biggest protected flooded forest in the world. Here, 10 local communities manage the lodge which will be handed over to them entirely in 2023. And Comuna do Ibitipoca in Lima Duarte invites guests to volunteer for a programme that involves reforestation and rewilding. This is eco-tourism from the frontline. By Alex Moore
Now read: Visiting Brazil's Amazon rainforest
Pictured: Ukari Lodge
Chris Schalkx
Sri Lanka
THE ISLAND'S LOCALLY DRIVEN COMEBACK
After last Easter’s terror attacks rocked the country, intuitive spaces and community projects are digging deep and giving back, proving that there’s now even more reason to return to Sri Lanka.
Pictured: Driftwood
Chris Schalkx
THE SURF SPOT WITH SOUL
The southern coast has never been short of wave-riding corners, but increasingly big developments have rippled along from Unawatuna to Weligama. Not so in the seaside village of Ahangama, where a thoughtful brand of hotelier has breathed life into the Bawa-esque villas. Bolthole The Kip put the town on the radar in 2017, and this year added a shop selling island-made low-waste products. Now, the industrial-cool Palm Hotel and four-bedroom Abode Ahangama have boosted the buzz without diluting the community focus. Also causing a stir is the laidback bar Driftwood for sundowners. The area could be early Tulum, but this tight-knit crew aims to keep it firmly in the slow lane.
Pictured: Palm Hotel

Maxwell Gifted
THE GIRL-POWER PROJECTS
A raft of recent schemes are championing the island’s future as female. SeaSisters, a Midigama-based nonprofit empowering girls with swim and surf lessons, teaches ocean safety and environmental awareness, something also promoted by women-only Arugam Bay Surf Club on the east coast. Among the tea estates of Nuwara Eliya, Amma works with local mothers to create sustainable textiles, naturally dyed with food waste such as avocado stones. In Matara, Sambol Setting, an NGO, operates a shelter for female domestic- violence victims as well as two guesthouses, making sure that visitors’ rupees end up in the hands that need them most.
Pictured: Arugam Bay Surf Club
Chris Schalkx
THE WELLNESS WAVE MAKERS
With more than 3,000 years of Ayurvedic tradition, Sri Lanka is of course known for its wellbeing scene. Upping the ante is the new Haritha Villas in Hikkaduwa, where seven clean-lined bungalows share a hilltop with two colonial mansions. Resident Ayurvedic doctors tailor programmes to each guest, which can include herbal baths and meditation at the nearby monastery. In the central plains, eco arrival Ayurvie Sigiriya mixes yoga with treatments. And at You Are The Sea in Ahangama, Argentinian holistic therapist Franco Rebagliati leads intensive bodywork sessions and watsu-like guided therapies in the ocean. By Chris Schalkx
Pictured: Abode Ahangama
Keep scrolling for more pictures of destinations to support...
Like this? Now read:
Which destinations will need tourism most to survive?
Why you should still visit Australia in 2020
What kind of holidays will we take when we can travel again?
Chris Schalkx
A bedroom at Palm Hotel in Sri Lanka
Inside Uxua Casa in Brazil

Uakari Lodge in the Amazon
Brazilian eco-tourism spot Comuna Do Ibitipoca
Kara Rosenlund
Stuffed chillis at La Casita in Coast
Jac Giltrow
The pool at BlackBird Byron

TopicsInspiration Australia Armchair Travel Sri Lanka The Amazon Brazil Sustainable Travel Magazine May 2020 Issue

Australia

The Amazon, Brazil

Sri Lanka