At Eco Beach, we’ve hired a few detectives to spy on mother nature for us – all for a good cause of course.  Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) has been putting Flatback Turtles under the microscope so we can learn more about this “data deficient” migratory species – population, nesting behaviour, nest predation and hatchling success rates.  For the 4th year in a row, our detectives have spent over a month patrolling Eco Beach’s shores at night to gather information.  They have determined that our very own Eco Beach has a “small yet robust nesting population”.  In fact, some turtles keep coming back for more! 13 out of 29 tagged turtles in 2008 returned to nest in either 2009 or 2010.  One of our transmitter-tagged turtles, ‘Trash’, has nested at Eco Beach every year of the program!

But where do our nesting turtles go in the meantime?  A highlight has been CVA’s migratory tracking program, where a transmitter is attached to a turtle via a harness, which then delivers information via satellite on the turtle’s whereabouts.  This helps researchers determine where Flatbacks migrate to and where they like to nest.  ‘Kurlibil’ (which means “turtle” in the local Yawuru language) is one of our most recent Guinea Pigs – oops, Flatbacks -  deployed into the Indian Ocean, complete with transmitter to give us some answers.   You can track her movements on the Sea Turtle website.

This is Kurlibil equipped with transmitter and feeling very happy with herself after laying 58 eggs!  Since 17 December (to 7 February), she has travelled 1346 km!  Photos courtesy of Glenn McFarlane, Marine Species Manager CVA.

Glenn McFarlane, Marine Species Manager for CVA, is stoked with the Eco Beach Flatback Program progress so far.  He believes his team of detectives may have flipper-tagged the majority of the Eco Beach population in the first four years.  We can’t wait to see who turns up on our shores during the 2012/13 season.  Will Kurlibil return?  You can don a detective cap and microscope and find out by taking part in a turtle patrol later in 2013 when our CVA detectives return.

Want to keep track of Kurlbilil? Like us on Facebook page to keep track of her.

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

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.

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”.

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.

I know I’m lucky.  I live in this amazing coastal pocket of WA – Broome.  And to top it off, I’ve been blessed with the chance  to escape to Eco Beach whenever I want for the last 17 years.  I helped market  the original “huts on the beach”  style Eco Beach back in the retreat’s “hey days” during  1997-2000.  I’ve walked nearly every inch of its beautiful beaches, explored its secret coves and dived into its pristine oceans many times.   And whilst the retreat infrastructure has been blown down and rebuilt, Mother Nature continues on in its timeless zone.   I think the same Osprey pair still inhabit “Osprey Rock” that I spotted in 1998 – their average lifespan of 25 years does make this possible!

What sort of holiday is on top of your list?  Is it one where there are a million things to do? How did you feel when you came back to reality?  Refreshed?  I know I didn’t.  Coming back rejuvenated is all about having less to do and more time to marvel at the simple things, like what Mother Nature is doing – not what the glitzy department store in downtown Tokyo has in its window displays.  Did I just say that?!

I recently spent a day with Eco Beach’s Volunteer Naturalists, Dave and Fiona Harvey.  Down at the lake we spotted a juvenile Osprey so mesmerised by a buzzing bee, he was oblivious to our presence .  On the beach, we spotted a duelling pair of colourful crabs – one of which was  Western Australia’s endemic Blue Back Soldier Crab, only discovered and named in 2008!  It’s rival was a Flower Moon Crab named after its beautiful shell patterns.  We strolled past the ‘Mini Bungles’, a unique outcrop of sandstone rocks that resemble the iconic Bungle Bungle range in Purnululu National Park, to arrive at Oyster Cove where my husband and I got married 14 years ago.  I noted that the rock we stood on to take our vows was now covered up by years of sand, but the wine-glass shape of the cove remained.  A White-bellied Sea Eagle tussled with an enormous sea snake nearby on ‘Old Boot Rock’ – this rock looks exactly like an old boot!  With cloudless skies at Eco Beach from May to September and a range of wildlife, the playful art of making rock shapes has replaced the traditional cloud shapes game!

Hours later, Dave and Fiona took me out whale watching and we witnessed a playful Humpback calf perform a full breach on its way to the nursery waters of Camden Sound, north of Broome. My day out with Mother Nature was all consuming – I didn’t once think about all the pressing things in my life.  Who needs to meditate?

Life and holidays are all about balance.  So maybe shop your heart out first and then reflect and rejuvenate on one of Eco Beach’s many empty beaches……………

Join us at Eco Beach for an unforgettable stay, find out more about our accommodation and packages & special deals

Have you tried Supping yet?  That’s Stand Up Paddle-boarding.  The Hawaiians started it back in the 1950s, modern Hawaiians have revived it and now it’s taking the aquatic sporting world by storm!   Some say it’s the biggest thing to hit our shores since surfboards 50 years ago.  And at Eco Beach, you don’t need to worry about a surfing ‘code of conduct’ either – you’ll have the Indian Ocean all to yourself.  I’m a barefoot windsurfer by trade, but I’m a supping convert now!  It’s an even more relaxing, peaceful way to enjoy the ocean. It’s a great way to get intimate with the marine life too.  You can sneak up on turtles, stingrays and fish before they even know you’re there. And if it’s a ’6 pack’ ab look you’re after, this is the sport for you! It demands core abdominal strength to balance and twist from side to side as you paddle.  It’s such a balanced package of kicking back and body toning all at the same time.  So serene, it’s almost spiritual.  If you prefer, you can explore the ocean sitting down -  in a sea kayak.  It’s an equally serene way to get around.

Other barefoot activities to tick off your list are: complimentary yoga each morning, sipping chilled sparkling champagne on your private deck or on the beach, swimming in the  signature infinity pool, beach fishing and meditation at the caves.  For a real blast of a barefoot experience, try the “Mud ‘n Bubbles” tour.  After a sand exfoliation, release your inner warrior as you cover yourself from top to toe in revitalising, healing mangrove mud.  Wash it off in the ocean and then wash down the experience with a glass of bubbly.  It’s all about letting your inhibitions go, bonding, pure fun and relaxation. Eco Beach guests rate this barefoot experience as their favourite.  I’d have to agree.

Maybe you want less action and a barefoot beach stroll, beach picnic and ocean swim will do just fine.   If you’re an Imelda Marcos type person, such wild abandonment will test your resolve to remain barefoot, but you can don a pair of special shoes to wear to dinner if you really have to!

For more details on the Barefoot Weekend at Eco Beach, follow the link to November Events http://www.ecobeach.com.au/events-calendar.php

Then God forbid, we slept in a 4-poster bed 3kms down the beach!  And strolled back along a deserted beach the next morning to join our guests for breakfast.

Eco Beach still specialises in ‘weddings with a difference’.  With unsurpassed pristine beaches, coves and cliff tops, bride and groom can choose from a bunch of secluded locations to say “I do” – all with the turquoise Indian Ocean as a backdrop.  Brides can make a dramatic entrance by helicopter, boat, beach jeep or take a leisurely beach stroll to their choice of ceremony location.  They can even arrive by kayak!

Eco Beach’s wedding team is full of creative spirit, prepared to make every bride’s dream a reality.  They can coordinate the whole kit and kaboodle – wedding menu, celebrant, photographer, hairdresser, make-up artist, florist, live music, wedding cake, food and wine.  And yes………you can still sleep on the beach if you want to!

The great thing is you can book out the whole resort too! That way, bride and groom can indulge in family and friends with ‘Mother Nature’ the only other witness.  And She won’t disappoint – from May to October the days at Eco Beach are perfect – 32ºC with clear, cloudless skies, endless horizons, low humidity and no rain.

Find out more about our Broome Weddings and get swept away to Eco Beach Broome

It’s October again, which means turtle time at Eco Beach Resort Broome.  Flatback females start to come ashore to nest, laying up to 50 eggs at a time, sometimes nesting 2-3 times.  The sand has to be just the right temperature so this might involve a few test runs.  Turtle enthusiasts from Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) have been coming to Eco Beach since 2009 to conduct turtle monitoring and tagging and they’ll be back again soon.  In 2009 they tagged ” Lucy” and tracked her nearly 5,000 kilometres in 300 days!

From November to January, Eco Beach guests can join CVA researchers on moonlit beach tours in search of nesting turtles.  I remember the 1st time I saw turtle tracks, I thought some insensitive beach ‘hoon’ had had been tearing around on a quad bike….the 2 tracks, so incongruous in nature, look amazingly similar.  Real turtle tracks lead to the safety of the dunes where nests can be dug, eggs safely laid and turtle enthusiasts can rejoice.

Hatchlings can emerge anytime from January after an incubation period of about 6 weeks.  Then it’s a dash for the ocean to start life before goannas, birds of prey and dingoes grab them.  The life expectancy of a marine turtle hatchling is remarkably low – less than 1%.  That’s why CVA is keen to find out more about where sea turtles breed and nest so they can protect these areas.

Join the Eco Beach turtle conservation monitoring program from $1120 per person

The answer was quickly evident – “to change”.  Everyone – single, couple, family or group –  wants to holiday at “one of the world’s most remarkable destinations”, but more economically and with greater self-sufficiency.  So….drum roll……Eco Beach is very happy to announce to the tourism world that self-catering is now an option.  It’s all about choices.   As if we don’t have enough in today’s world!

Self catering accommodation in Broome is now an option for all our guests. All ‘Eco Villas‘ now have everything you need to cook up and eat a holiday storm: tableware, cooking utensils, microwave, toaster, kettle, bar fridge and shared barbeque.  If you’re in an Eco Tent, you can also play chef with an esky and the use of a shared self-catering tent. The ‘tent scullery’ has cooking utensils, microwave, single hotplate, kettle, fridge space and barbeque.  Picnic sets are also available.

And to top it off, you can choose to dine with others at the outdoor barbeque areas or dine alone in the comfort of your air-conditioned villa or if you’re in a tent – on your private deck, close up to Mother Nature.

And if you want a night (or a week!) off cooking, Eco Beach’s signature bar and restaurant, ‘Jack’s’ is still open, boasting the freshest seasonal ingredients, mostly from Chef Kenneth’s organic gardens.  Oh and beer, wine and cocktails to boot!

Eco Beach Broome is now about “something for everyone”.