Ten epic ways to travel that also improve the world

Tasmanian Walking Company

You know they’re genuine when general manager Heath Garratt, out for a weekend walk, carries 20 tangled kilos of fishing boat flotsam kilometres along the beach, up the steep steps and back to the van. The TWC philosophy (they’re known as the Australian Walking Company for mainland adventures) means no trace left on the trail and low food miles are embraced. Sustainability is also at the fore in the design and operation of their huts and lodges, most of them off-grid. Their foundation supports wildlife and landscape conservation programs and their guides acknowledge the traditional owners of all the lands they walk on and explain how it was used and cared for. See taswalkingco.com.au

Palau

Despite being one of the world’s smallest countries, an archipelago of around 340 islands in the Western Pacific, Palau is a leader in sustainable tourism. In 2009, it declared itself the world’s first shark sanctuary. In 2015, it became the first nation to protect 80 per cent of its waters with a marine sanctuary. And in 2020, it was the first country to ban reef-toxic sunscreens. Visitors must also play their part. On arrival, everyone signs the Palau Pledge, a promise stamped in your passport that you will be culturally and environmentally sensitive during your stay – another world first. See pristineparadisepalau.com

Earthship Biotecture, New Mexico

Started by visionary conservationist Mike Reynolds, Earthship Biotecture is a community of innovatively designed self-sufficient homes near Taos that includes an academy for people who want to learn how to build one of their own. An Earthship home provides for all the basic human needs – shelter, food, heat, clean water, sewerage and rubbish disposal – with minimal impact on the environment. You can learn more about the project at the onsite visitor centre, take a guided tour of the community and even stay in a home from $US165 ($250) a night. See earthshipbiotecture.com

Tiny stays

A US-led movement that picked up steam in the 2000s, tiny houses have gone global, encouraging a more sustainable lifestyle by inhabiting compact, eco-friendly homes – even if it’s just for a holiday. Tiny Away hosts frazzled city dwellers in fully furnished tiny homes in rural locations throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Other operators include Wander, which has glass-fronted WanderPods on the Scenic Rim and Kangaroo Island, and CABN, which offers off-grid sustainable cabins in pristine South Australian locales. All promise the chance to escape urban life and recharge in nature. See tinyaway.com; wander.com.au; cabn.life

Earth Lodge, South Africa

Built into a downward slope, Earth Lodge’s audacious design still has the same stride-stopping wow factor as when it first opened. It is invisible on approach and is only revealed when you walk down a narrow pathway leading to an open-sided lounge overlooking the bush. What gets less attention is the property’s commitment to conversation and community engagement – it was the first South African reserve to employ a black ranger and one of the first to employ a female ranger. Current initiatives include a catering facility for vulnerable kids, a digital learning centre and a school netball and soccer league. See sabisabi.com

Headwaters Eco Lodge

Queenstown has an ambitious plan to become the first tourist town on Earth to be completely carbon-zero by 2030. And no operator in the region has done more to help Queenstown achieve this than The Headwaters Eco Lodge in nearby Glenorchy. It’s the world’s first accommodation to be recognised by the Living Building Challenge, the most rigorous of all assessment programs only completely self-sufficient buildings can pass. It’s made entirely of recycled building materials, runs on solar power, offers compost toilets and all waste water is used to irrigate a wetland in the middle of the property. See theheadwatersecolodge.com

Ethical Adventures

Owner and lead guide Rob Woods makes sure guests discover their own piece of the Northern Territory away from the crowds, during single and multi-day experiential tours in Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. Tours go beyond the obvious and most popular attractions of the parks and deep into secret places not usually revealed, which helps those on his trips connect with the environment in a more personal way. There are private waterholes to swim in and waterfalls away from tour coaches. Part of Woods’ tour ethos is also to educate people on the need for a more sustainable future. See ethicaladventures.com.au