Camel, crocodile, turtle, fish, frog, dog. These are all iconic animals of the Kimberley. But did you know that you can twist, stretch and balance your body into yoga positions that bear these names and look just like these animals! Ancient yogis observed animals for long periods and derived many yoga positions from them in a bid to emulate their flexibility and power. They noted that many animals seemed free of stress, illness, aches and pains. We have so much to learn from the animal kingdom! And it’s true – you can liberate your body and mind through yoga.

Personally, I’m still trying to master the ‘frog’ and I most aspire to mastering ‘ Eka Pada Galavasana’or put simply, ‘Flying Crow’. I know it’s a long shot – check out a photo of this pose on the web. But we all need to aim high, even in the most relaxed of sports!
So how about you? What are your aspirations for looking after ‘self’ this year? Do you aspire togetting completely blissed-out? Emptying your head of busy, unproductive thoughts? You’d be mad to say otherwise. Last year I attended one of Eco Beach’s yoga retreats and I now aspire to one every year! When I returned home, everyone kept asking, “Where have you been? You look so well, so relaxed, so at peace with everything.” And that’s exactly how I felt. As the wise Buddha says, “You can’t stop the waves in life, but you can learn how to ride them.” Yoga helps us achieve this.

At Eco Beach we embrace yoga everyday. Even our staff are encouraged to attend yoga to get the balance of life right – “work, rest and play” (minus the Mars Bar!). The thing about Eco Beach is that the environment is so conducive to yoga….peaceful, inspiring and jaw-droppingly beautiful.We have a dedicated yoga studio – our ‘Dragonfly Sanctuary’ – which overlooks the Indian Ocean,captures the sea breezes and is nestled in amongst the coastal vegetation, attracting many birds andtheir alluring birdsong.

Eco Beach guests can enjoy complimentary yoga every morning at 6am. It’s pure bliss watching and listening to Mother Nature wake up as you wake up your own body and mind. There’s even “Yoga for Fun” for kids in the school holidays and private classes upon request. A yoga retreat is the best way to immerse yourself in yogic bliss. A year has passed and I realise my blissed-out feeling needs topping up, so I have my sights set on Eco Beach’s next yoga retreat – 5 nights and 6 days (May 23-28)with Fiona Lansley, “combining twice daily yoga and meditation with beach walks, gourmetmeals, cleansing juices and a stunning natural setting for complete relaxation and renewal”. More retreats are scheduled during the year. Find out more about our yoga retreats online.

Meanwhile, happy dog posing and aspirations for a lithe body and calm mind.

Come and get blissed-out at Eco Beach.

Did you know that Eco Beach has a sister?!   She lives just across Roebuck Bay in Broome and her name is ‘Broome Stay’.  She’s your solution to Broome town accommodation  that’s all about kicking back in comfort, style and location, location, location.  Put simply, Broome Stay is all about luxury holiday rentals in Broome  - short term apartment accommodation that will make you want to settle back in your deck chair on Broome’s famous Cable Beach and stay longer.   At the end of the day, we care about how your head hits the pillow……and what you tell your friends!  Good feedback sells beds right!

Oh and the choice!  Choose from Shiba Lane Apartments – swish two and three storey Broome apartments overlooking historic Chinatown (sleep 4); Catalina by the Bay – an apartment that has the waves literally lapping at your doorstep (sleeps 6) or Koolinda by the Bay - a contemporary luxury Broome holiday home overlooking the unbelievably turquoise waters of Roebuck Bay – the perfect pad for families and friends to hang out in style (sleeps 8).

Between Eco Beach and Broome Stay, we’ve got the recipe just right for a taste of the Kimberley – first course in the old pearling town of Broome where you can relax on Cable Beach, ride a camel at sunset, and drool over pearls, followed by second course at a remote coastal escape where outback wilderness meets Indian ocean, you’ll have stretches of white sand beach all to yourself, gourmet food to feed the soul and activities designed to reconnect you with nature and restore your energy bank.   We’ll have your tummy rumbling for more….

The Broome Stay team has been living, working and holidaying in Broome (and Eco Beach!) for over 20 years.  We know the town and its surrounds inside out and upside down.  Broome Stay is not just about a bed – it’s an experience.   And if you want the ‘lowdown’ on what to see and do, where to eat and where to get the best coffee (in Broome and the Kimberley) – you won’t be able to stop us talking!  We’re passionate about sharing our knowledge.

Well as Christmas enveloped the shores of Eco Beach this December 25th, there wasn’t a snowman in sight.  Like most other celebratory Australians though, we did hang up some of the rather incongruous snowy decorations – snowflakes, sleighs and snow covered angels!  But the Kimberley bush flora and ocean flotsam and jetsam which adorned our tables, somehow seemed more fitting.  After all, Eco Beach, on the edge of WA’s coast, really is closer to Mother Nature than Santa and his sleigh ……and far far removed from the mayhem of the pre-Christmas craziness that engulfs our cities.  As one who has braved this materialistic madness, let me tell you, I know where I’d rather be.

To reflect on the true meaning of Christmas – birth, renewal, love and giving, a time when miracles happen – you really need the head space.  Yes, we ate a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, but we were also able to gaze out to sea and marvel at the small natural wonders that Mother Nature ‘presents’ us -  two new Osprey chicks learning to fly, a colourful family of Harlequin beetles resting in a joyous cluster on a nearby leaf, the prospect of turtles nesting on our shores on Christmas night…maybe even some hatchlings emerging the next morning…….

We laughed a lot and reflected on another great year at Eco Beach, in contrast to the rather turbulent year experienced by the wider world.  Tucked away in a very safe, untainted corner of the world, we counted our blessings.

The next morning, as we began to “batten down the hatches” for the cyclone season ahead, I had a quiet word with Mother Nature to please spare our beautiful resort from wild wet season winds.  I think I heard her whisper back her reassurances – you could call it a little Christmas magic!

Eco Beach will be closed from January 9, 2012 until April 1 2012.  But not before a New Year’s Eve celebration with a theme to honour Mother Nature and her gift to us of the stunning Cape Villaret coastline – “When the land meets the sea”.  Happy New Year fellow Eco Beach lovers. We look forward to seeing you in 2012.

My inspiration for this blog came from an article written by Michael Leunig for The Age newspaper.  Follow the link: http://www.theage.com.au/national/bush-christmas-with-butterflies-and-child-20111223-1p8pf.html#ixzz1hjLvUVJf

It’s always good for business to get some ‘high flyers’ come and stay at your resort or dine at your restaurant .  Eco Beach was graced with the eminent presence of the Eagles football team for 3 nights last week.  The entire playing squad and coaching staff ‘flew’ in to nest in our Eco Villas, train on our endless stretches of white sand beach and attend leadership and ‘game style’ workshops in our ‘Dragonfly Sanctuary’ conference room.   With no-one else to disturb them, they achieved their goals of some close team bonding, intensive, uninterrupted training and some well-earned respite.

Now, football teams…well some players of football teams…. can suffer some bad media wraps, but Eco Beach staff were more than impressed with the conduct of these young men.  They reported (amongst ‘hot bods’) – beautiful manners, friendly dispositions and said the boys were so dedicated to their sport and form that they even declined the croissants and other pastries at breakfast!  Such will power.  Oh and no alcohol to boot!

The boys were allowed to play a little too!  They enjoyed a fishing competition (won by Mark LeCras), kayaking, stand-up paddle-boarding, bush walking and even yoga!  I mean surely they’d have to stretch those (lovely) hammies!  The team completed their stay with some “Mud ‘n Fun” (no “Mud ‘n Bubbles” for these elite athletes!) – a therapeutic, team bonding experience, which saw them cover themselves in healing mangrove mud, then close their eyes and be wooed by the sounds of the ocean and nature.  Can you picture them – covered in mud laying in a circle (heads in) on a remote stretch of beach on the edge of the Indian Ocean, on the edge of Australia?  Quite a sight to behold. You’d never see a Sea Eagle take time away from the nest and fishing to chill like this.  Well done West Coast Eagles.

As always, Eco Beach is all about giving guests – high flyers or not – a holiday with a difference.   I think the Eagles left with a few good stories to tell.

In the last few months we’ve been bombarded with campaigns with strong messages to help conserve our planet – National Recycling Week, Conservation Week, Great Northern Clean Up Weekend, WA Beach Clean Up Weekend…….

At Eco Beach we rate ourselves as pretty good recyclers, but there are people out there taking recycling to a whole new level.  I mean they are making whole houses out of recycled materials.  Take for example the ‘Earthship’ – a radically sustainable home built mostly from old tyres, powered by the sun and wind.  The tyres are filled with compacted earth to form rammed-earth brick walls.  Aluminium can and glass bottle walls also feature in Earthship homes.   Earthship “biotecture” makes use of the by-products of modern civilisation that are accessible to common people (e.g. bottles, cans, tyres) – products that require minimal energy to be transformed into usable building materials.  Check out these homes that work in harmony with the earth.

Oh, and then there’s the creative art of “upcycling”, where trash-obsessed artists create inspiring art from rubbish.  Artist HA Schult’s “trash people”, created from crushed cans, computer parts and other significant refuse, offer a powerful message.  They are designed to be a reflection of human beings – as humans, we create trash and therefore are becoming trash.  These “trash people” travel the world to prominent world cities in places as far-flung as the Arctic.  They invite us to take a look at ourselves and reflect on how we can reduce our ecological footprint.

Now this invention will strike a chord with most people, just  because it’s SO whacky! Theo Jansen, a physicist, turned artist in the Netherlands, is creating wind-powered beach animals that roam Holland’s sand dunes.  One of his creations –  Animaris Percipiere – has a stomach made out of recycled plastic bottles containing air that can be pumped up to a high pressure by the wind.  This whacky innovation really deserves a look.

On our own shores, we have clever companies like The Flat Bottle Company,  founded in Broome, making clocks and cheese platters from flattened recycled bottles.  Bring out the Brie please!

Of course we can’t forget our own original Eco Beach.  70% of the original retreat was built from recycled materials such as old railway sleepers and telegraph poles.  All timber for the walkways was recycled, salvaged from Lord McAlpine’s former Pearl Coast Zoo in Broome.

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.

I just love the quote ” You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” (Mahatma Gandhi – pre-eminent leader  of Indian nationalism).  We could all do with being more environmentally conscious  locally, to make a difference globally.

Now I know statistics can be boring, but you have to admit, they’re always good for putting things into perspective.  Listen up – you’re in for a quick lesson.  ”Clean Up the World 2011″ took place in September 2011.  This simple, effective environmental campaign  is the largest annual worldwide volunteer event.  It  attracts 35 million volunteers in 130 countries each year!  The idea was brought to life by Australian Yachtsman, Ian Kiernan and began in Australia’s most famous backyard, Sydney Harbour, in 1989.  Kiernan made it a national event in 1990 and a world event in 1993.  Top effort!

Eco Beach joined the event this year with a coastal clean up focus.   Our world oceans contain 97% of all living matter and produce 45% of Earth’s oxygen.  Worth caring for wouldn’t you say.  After all, it’s ” Our Place, Our Planet, Our Responsibility” ( the 2011 theme for “Clean Up the World”).  In Australia alone, 77 of our marine species are regularly impacted by marine debris – 20 of which are already listed as “endangered”!

Now this would have to be the ultimate test of character – you’re on holiday and the retreat you’re staying at asks if you want to help clean up the beach.  Mmmm…..you take in the question, pause and silently debate – “should I recline on my beach deck chair this afternoon with cocktail in hand or should I collect rubbish?”

Well, 4 guests dedicated to making an environmental difference, put down their cocktails for 1 hour and collected over 6 bags full of rubbish, including over 40 plastic bottles!  A truly self-sacrificing act for Eco Beach and indeed the planet wouldn’t you agree?!

Eco Beach has an ongoing commitment to clean beaches with a weekly  “Coastal Care Walk” open to guests and staff who don’t mind spending  an hour collecting coastal rubbish.  All refuse data is sent to Tangaroa Blue Ocean Care Society and debris is sorted into recyclable and returnable items.

“Making a Difference” – isn’t that what it’s all about these days?  Whether it be putting a smile on someone’s face via a small act of kindness, recycling paper or going for the extreme act of collecting rubbish on holiday…..if we all contribute, imagine what a happier, cleaner world we could live in.   Go on – make a difference.

Interested to find out more? Click to find out more information about our eco credentials and eco accommodation.