You don’t need to book a wake-up call at the Daintree Ecolodge. At about 6am each day, you will be woken by an explosion of squawking, chirping and croaking as North Queensland’s rainforest comes to life.
Venturing out onto the balcony of your villa, you can enjoy a cup of locally produced Daintree tea while admiring the shady green vista of ancient palms and ferns broken only by a flash of electric blue as a Ulysses butterfly goes by.
There’s just time for a quick shower – using water from the on-site waterfall – before joining the lodge’s owners, Terry and Cathy Maloney, by the swimming pool for a ‘ki’ session, which uses meditation, deep breathing and exercises to relax the mind and body.
And if that isn’t enough to restore the jaded traveller after a gruelling 24hr flight to Australia, you can always book in for a massage or relaxing mud wrap at the recently opened on-site spa.
Just a 90min drive north of Cairns Airport, the Daintree Ecolodge and Spa is set in 30 acres of ancient tropical rainforest with accommodation in 15 villas. It is one of a handful of projects to be highly commended in the 1999 British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards taking place next week.
The awards, now in their 10th year, exist to recognise and reward the efforts of people like Terry and Cathy who have succeeded in creating a low-key, high-quality tourism product which causes minimal damage to the environment.
The Maloneys followed guidelines from the World Wildlife Fund when designing the resort. Buildings are constructed on stilts to cause minimal disturbance to the rainforest floor; waste water is treated on-site and used to irrigate the gardens; glass, cardboard and paper are recycled, and biodegradable soaps and detergents used.
The couple have a policy of employing local ground operators and using locally farmed produce in their restaurant and are looking into the possibility of generating their own electricity using solar or water power.
The lodge is living proof that ‘eco friendly’ doesn’t have to mean guest unfriendly. It only took two days at the lodge to restore this jaded city dweller.
At the airport on the way home, I bought one of those sounds of the rainforest CDs to remind me of my stay, but it wasn’t a patch on the real thing.
What are they?
The Awards recognise tourism organisations which have made a positive contribution towards their environment.
Who can enter?
Anyone involved in the tourism industry worldwide.
How are they judged?
Projects should fulfil one or more of nine criteria which include natural heritage,innovation and environmental communication.
Who judges?
The judging panel is made up of representatives fromenvironmental organisations, and is headed by Sir David Bellamy.
What awards are given?
A shortlist of five regional winners has been drawn up for the 1999 awards (Southern, Pacific, UK, Americas, Europe). The global winner will be announced on February 22 at a ceremony in London. Additional awards will be given for best entry from a national park, hotel and mass tourism project.
What does the future hold?
The awards have been revamped for 2000 with new judging categories that will group entries by product type rather than region. There will be new categories for tour operators, national parks, accommodation and mass tourism projects, dealing with over 200,000 visitors a year. The 2000 awards ceremony will take place this October.