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A way to identify eco-friendly accommodation is to check they’ve already started to take initiatives to address sustainability issues; for example, look for information such as “our hotel has halved its dependency on natural gas by installing solar panels for heating 100% of the hot water used in 2020”. In the UK, Hotel School is a joint venture between The Passage (London’s largest voluntary sector homeless resource centre) and The Goring Hotel, supported by London’s Five Star hotel community, Westminster Kingsway catering school staff, and over 50 local businesses. A hotel should engage with the local community to ensure its activities are not negatively affecting the life of the local community, such as access to food and water, rights of way and transport. * Other examples include:supporting local entrepreneurs in the development and sale of handicrafts made with the traditional materialsservices that represent the local history and culturepromoting tours managed by locals to ensure that the community benefits from the money spent by tourists.

I was desperate to go and swim in the incredible rock pools in Litchfield National Park, get up close (not too close) to crocodiles in Kakadu National Park and experience the tropical climate and scenery of the NT. This is another fantastic site for Aboriginal rock art, in fact, it is considered one of the best Aboriginal rock art sites in Australia. From $149 AUD for lodges and glamping or $30 for unpowered and $40 for powered sites per night. It’s a really great budget option with rooms from $80 AUD per night and apartments from $169 per night.

At the end of a three month trip in the South Pacific, we flew from Tahiti to Rarotonga and enjoyed two weeks in the Cook Islands, exploring the best of Raro (as it’s affectionately known) and neighbouring Aitutaki. Beachfront bungalows from $710 NZ and overwater bungalows from $1425 NZ. Check out the island’s main village – Arutanga – where you can buy tropical fruit at the market, meet some of the lovely Cook Islands people and stop for a look at the oldest church in the Cook Islands, built in 1828. On the last day of your Cook Islands trip, spend the day snorkelling at Aroa Lagoon Marine Reserve, then have lunch at Charlie’s Cafe, before a second snorkel and beach time at Tikioki.

Sevenhill produce some excellent Clare Valley wines and as well as table wines, they produce 90% of the sacramental wine used in Australia. Other things to do in the Clare Valley Visit the Clare Valley Wine Food & Tourism Centre which offers lots of helpful information on Clare Valley activities, as well as serving Clare Valley wines and local produce. If you don’t fancy cycling there are a number of Clare Valley Wine Tours, including minibus tours offering the history of Clare along with wine tasting. If you have longer than a weekend in the Clare Valley, why not take a trip along the Epicurean Way and visit the South Australian wine regions of McLaren Vale, Barossa and Adelaide Hills too.