A reader of my column Ethical Traveller in The Irish Times, Jean Callanan, wrote to me about this place in Bali, which she fell upon by chance. She wanted me to share it with fellow traveller – it will be a while before I can get there, I’m afraid, but perhaps those of you seeking a sustainable stay might be able to. Over to Jean….“Bali has long been known as the Island of the Gods – it is a glorious place. Since mid 2009 it’s got a new little bit of Heaven in the Munduk Moding Plantation a small intimate resort and boutique hotel. It’s located in lush green countryside near Munduk in the center of Bali (about an hour and a half from Denpasar) high up in the mountains. It’s a beautiful area with relatively little tourism despite its reputation for being a wonderful place for walkers. Munduk Moding Plantation is a wonderful example of sustainable and responsible tourism. We were fortunate that we were there at the same time as the main owners – Gert Jan and Irene, a Dutch couple. Four years ago on a visit to Munduck they met a young Balinese guide, Gede Uliadnyana, who showed them his home area of Munduk, and talked about his vision of creating a sustainable tourist resort that would create employment (unemployment in this area runs at 40%+), integrate and benefit the local community and sustain the beautiful local environment.
On their return home to Europe the couple – parents of teenage girls, both with demanding jobs decided that they would like to invest in bringing this vision to fruition. It’s very much a work of love for them as they only gets to spend about two weeks in Bali a year given their jobs and family commitments. Gert spends one day of every weekend working by email and Skype supporting the Gede and the team in Bali. Irene commented that when she gets frustrated by the time her husband spends on this away from his family, she consoles herself by thinking of the twenty five plus families in Bali whose lives have been transformed by the employment provided by this project.
Munduk Moding Plantation is a working Coffee plantation with four luxury villas and two suites, designed in keeping with the local area by award-winning Bali architect, Popo Danes. From our suite we had a spectacular view – with Java visible in the distance. It also has one of the most stunningly located infinity pools I have ever seen.
We loved this place. From the big four poster bed in our suite we had a glorious view of the sky… we felt as if we were in heaven. The nature is stunning, with coffee, cloves and vanilla growing all around the grounds of the plantation. There are opportunities to do amazing things with the local community – like attend the celebration at a neighbouring family’s house where a three month old baby put its feet on the ground for the first time. The staff will also arrange for you to have a consultation with the local healer or Shaman.
The staff couldn’t have been more friendly or attentive to our needs. Food is great (all coffee served is grown on the plantation (you can go and watch it being roasted and ground by hand and help if you wish). Order the Balinese reistaffel and have it served by candlelight in the pavilion under the stars. All visitors are brought on a complimentary tour of the plantation, and for a small fee staff will accompany you on treks to visit nearby waterfalls and villages. They also have horses and bicycles available for exploring the stunning countryside.There is lots to do for a three to five day visit, but it is not the best place to use as a base for sightseeing around Bali – it may be in the centre, but it’s reached by narrow windy roads which I for one would not wish to be going up and down every day. We met several people with children staying there – and the families were having a ball.
The room with a view Photo: Jean Callanan
The development on the plantation continues – this year they planted five hundred trees and have been donating seedlings to every household so that every villager will be able to plant five trees. Two more villas are due to become available this year. We loved this place and will be back. We spent three days here which we felt wasn’t enough – next time it will be longer”.
We spent three days as part of a Munduk Moding Plantation15 days visit to Bali where we also stayed in Lovina (in the Damai Lovina. www.damai.com – beautifully located, but we found the dinners extremely expensive), and Ubud (in the Kajane Ubud www.kajane.com; great location and lovely staff – if you are booking a shared bungalow make sure you specify the upstairs as the downstairs ones can be rather dark.)
BrookLodge Wells and Spa Hotel, County Wicklow Photo:Catherine Mack
‘WILD!” is how my dad described something that was so good it had an emotional impact on him. It would be shouted enthusiastically, with warm Northern brogue at the sight of an amazing view, the taste of a fine wine or the sound of some rousing music. It just works in certain situations, when superlatives don’t do the trick.
Having inherited the “wild” word, it was certainly appropriate on a visit to BrookLodge Hotel and Wells Spa in Wicklow, where not only is just about every ingredient of this family-run hotel’s ethos infused with a sense of care for the local environment and economy, but many of the ingredients on their exciting menus are also, literally, wild.
My dad would not get quite as animated as me, however, about the fact that their two beautiful pools use water from their own wells and are geothermally heated. Or that they have a wood chip boiler. But he would have been moved by their menus and wine lists. If you are a foodie, you will probably already know that BrookLodge’s main restaurant, the Strawberry Tree, is the only certified organic restaurant in Ireland, and has been since 1992.
When I was there, almost everything on the menu was Irish. All the vegetables and salads come from Gold River Farm in Aughrim or Denis Healy’s in Baltinglass, for example. They smoke their own salmon on site, but buy their fish from Colin O’Shea in Dungarvan, Co Waterford. They pre-order all their spring lamb in November, so that their supplier Jimmy Mullhall in Co Carlow can budget for the year. This is how they work with all their produce requirements preparing all menus – which adhere strictly to season – so that their valued suppliers can plan their growing and breeding for the year with a guarantee of purchase.
The wine, also organic, is imported of course, and joy of joys you can order it by the glass if you are abstaining a little. It’s just part of the common sense attitude to the good things in life here, inviting kids to have smaller portions of everything on the menu, so they can try wild scallops and venison, with no sense of snottiness about having children in the restaurant.
The wild foods used at BrookLodge include rowans, elderberries, sloeberries, mushrooms, blackberries and wild garlic, all to accompany wild pigeon or crab, organic beef or chicken. They wisely won’t reveal their favourite foraging locations, but the sight of their team of committed chefs picking wild leaves and berries along Wicklow’s long-fields must be something else.
The fact that the hotel has put the 5th century village of Macreddin back on the map is pretty wild as well. With its own bakery, brewery, pub and village store brimming with local goods, as well as a monthly farmers’ market, it is certainly alive and kicking again. Golfers will already know the place for its celebrated course, but they make life easy for hikers and bikers too, having created a series of Macreddin Walks, which give an itinerary, map and bits and pieces of local information en route. Needing to walk off dinner before breakfast, I tackled the 6km Sean Linehan Walk at sunrise, an off-road trek through Tinnakilly Woods, following the Ballycreen Brook for most of the way, and with enough of a climb to make me feel I earned my pancakes, bacon and smoothie on return.
There are mountain bikes available free of charge, and with a BrookLodge picnic popped into a backpack for you for €15, you are set up for an afternoon exploring the wooded hills of south Wicklow the green way. This is one superb place to celebrate “wild” Wicklow, especially as the seasons change and the menus adapt accordingly. Come back from a day on the hills to bask in the eco spa, followed by their current harvest offering of a complimentary glass of organic bubbly, with a shot of home-made wild elderflower cordial before dinner. Just to give it that added “wild” touch.
Europe’s leading Accessible Travel organisation, Tourism for All (TFA, www.tourismforall.org.uk) is teaming up with the global travel community (and all round coolest ethical tourism site around at the moment) Tripbod.com. The aim is to find as many local people as possible with a knowledge of accessibility in their area to become ‘Tripbods’ and offer their local knowledge to visitors.
Tourism For All’s Carrie-Ann Fleming, a Tripbod herself, explains that the idea is an extension of the core Tripbod philosophy. “It’s all about empowering truly independent travel. Connecting with a like-minded local Tripbod before you arrive means you get straight to the knowledge source you need. Disabled people already have all the knowledge they need gained from experiences, good or bad, to offer others with similar concerns all the information they need before they travel”.
The two organisations have been working together for some time, but are now ramping up their activity to make accessible travel core to the whole offering. Tripbod are pioneers in truly embracing accessibility into the responsible tourism model, something which has been long overdue in the ever growing supply of responsible tourism businesses on the market out there right now. Tripbod.com’s founder Sally Broom says “You will see that every product we list on the Tripbod.com website has an accessibility rating. We wanted to launch with this because we know it’s a central consideration for very many travellers who want to know if a particular activity is suitable for them.”
The announcement comes within days of Easyjet hitting the news for two cases of discrimination against disabled travellers and Broom acknowledges the timeliness of the partnership. “These cases reflect poorly on the travel industry and we want to show another side of the story. 2012 is a massive year for travel in the UK and it would be both a shame and a failure if visitors are unable to enjoy fully their visit due to poor information”.
Thankfully that will now not be the case as Tripbod and TFA will be ensuring that every traveller has access to a like-minded local Tripbod to help plan the perfect trip. Fleming adds, “The initial focus of the partnership will be on recruiting Tripbods in the UK with a knowledge of local accessibility, but the existing Tripbod network is global and we are welcoming everyone everywhere with a passion for independent accessible travel to join us. What’s more, we will be offering simple and effective training for Tripbods who want to help disabled travellers but need a bit more advice and support.” Let’s hope this starts a global growth in accessbility being included in the responsible tourism agenda from now on too, as Tripbod trip the light fantastic into a sector which has been in much need of attention for a long time now.
Read my other recent article on accessible tourism here.
The beautiful house in a Chestnut Tree Photo: Catherine Mack
People find solace in different ways. Some escape to islands, others to mountains. But I have always had a thing about trees. High up in the branches of an ancient Chestnut tree was my favourite getaway as a young child at boarding school. Leaves or no leaves, it was always a place to hide or take stock of the world rushing around below me. But I have never gone as far as hugging one, never mind sleeping in one. Until I discovered a perch extraordinaire. Far from the Belfast branches of my distant past, this old Chestnut was hidden away in a Monet-esque meadow in the Orne region of Normandy.
Marching across the evening’s dewy grass, we had no idea what to expect. I was a bit nervous, as it was a fit of momentary madness which had jolted me out of my state of autumn cabin fever, to the middle of a French field in November. To a cabin.But the jaw-dropping moment was the one which we all hope for when we arrive in a new place. The red cedar of this vast treehouse, nestled in the most majestic of Chestnut trees, glowed in the last of the day’s sunshine. Suspended on four mammoth wooden stilts, and built organically around its magnificent natural infrastructure, this was not only my idea of getting closer to holiday heaven, but also immediately transported me back to my happiest childhood memories. I could almost have hugged it.
I resisted the temptation to climb up first, and let my children race up the wooden steps, ducking at the top to avoid one of the vast branches, which guarded the balcony and entrance like something from The Hobbit. The views of the surrounding area were superb and, blessed with blue skies, we were able to see the endless undulating pastures and forests all around
Look what the tree fairy left for breakfast Photo: Catherine Mack
On our first night we had a superb dinner at the local creperie, Les Secrets de Jeanne, in St. Germain de la Coudre. It is in a restored barn with vast log fire and every wall covered with antique toys, books, and French bric a brac. Being apple season, and the centre of the apple-producing region, we sampled an array of local ciders with our savoury crepes, and finished off the meal with caramelised apples ones, lathered with ice cream and chocolate sauce.When in France, and all that.
Back at the treehouse, Claire, the English woman who dreamt up her arborial work of art with French husband Ivan, gave us a torch to lead us back across the field from her farmhouse. Not that we really needed it that night. I am not just being a romantic when I say the stars almost lit our way, because they really did. There are no big towns in this area, and consequently little artificial light. Which is why this region is extremely popular with star gazers and amateur astronomers. Tucked up in our beds, the rustling leaves sounded deceptively like rain, but luckily we were spared any downpours. There was no obvious creaking of branches as the wind picked up through the night either and we slept, of course, like logs.
The view changes every second Photo: Catherine Mack
Being winter, the birds weren’t quite as omnipresent, but the dawn chorus must be verging on philharmonic in the height of summer. The only noise to waken us was a gentle tapping on the door by Claire who, like a little wood nymph, had crept up our stairs to leave a basketful of breakfast goodies on the balcony. Flasks of hot chocolate, coffee, warm bread from the local organic farm, yoghurts, fresh seasonal fruit, and homemade jams like only the French seem to be able to do. We wrapped up in some of the blankets kindly provided, and sat out on the terrace, watching the mist lift off the hills of this, thankfully, protected landscape, also known as Le Perche Natural Park. We were literally perched over Le Perche and that was definitely worth raising our glasses of homemade apple juice to.
LePerche traditionally meant ‘Old tree’, according to our guide at the NaturalPark’s centre, Le Manoir de Courboyer, as this area has always been heavily forested and, luckily, still is. As well as having a fine 15th Century manor house as its centrepiece, Le Manoir is the place to learn about all the natural heritage of this area. It also has a restaurant brimming with fine local and seasonal foods, and a shop with all the ciders, juices, jams, and natural local produce that you could hope for. You won’t find one Made in China souvenir here. Tackiness is forbidden. This place lives and breathes pride in its region, and rightly so.
This passion for Le Perche stretches beyond the normal French pride in one’s region. There is an abundance of ‘natural’ producers here. L’Hermitiere is one of several traditional cider producers in the area and so, with the season that was in it, we couldn’t miss out on that one. The doors of the barn were open when we arrived, revealing the floor to ceiling stockpile of red apples, all waiting to be washed and pressed. There are no machines to shake apples off the trees here. They just do it as it should be done. Wait for them to fall, and they are ready. The proof was in the tasting session in their shop. Superb, and if you don’t like cider, you can always treat yourself to one of their fine bottles of Calvados.
It didn’t take a glass of Calvados to fire up our final host. Michel Frenard was the personification of
It’s all in the eyes Photo:Catherine Mack
Percheron pride. He is a horesbreeder of the world famous Percheron, which is the region’s icon, and has played a major role in its history. It is a huge stout working horse which, until recently, was in danger of disappearing. But now several impassioned breeders, supported by the Park, have managed to put them back on the map again. With no agricultural funding to help them protect this fine example of equine elegance, these breeders are motivated by genuine passion to keep the breed alive and kicking. Monsieur Frenard taught us how to look for sadness or joy in a horse’s eyes. That’s what makes or breaks their chance of winning a medal at competitions, apparently. I was hardpushed to see sadness in any of his fine horse’s eyes, as this man’s passion for life, and protection of all the natural resources in his region, seemed to infect everyone around him. I asked him if he had ever travelled to Ireland, another land of horselovers. “I admit I have never travelled far beyond Le Perche. I have no need. I wake up every day and my local landscape brings me joy. As long as I can earn a living from it, I have no need for anything else in life. Le Perche brings me all the happiness I need”. I hope my translation does his passion justice, but we didn’t need to understand it all anyway. We could see it in his eyes. The tears in my sons’ eyes when it was time to leave our precious perch in Le Perche, pretty much said it all too.
A seven-night stay at La Renardiere treehouse, costs €120 pppn including treetop breakfast or from €775 for two persons for seven nights Weekend stays of minimum two nights cost €250 for two persons. (00 – 33 2 33 25 57 96 orwww.perchedansleperche.com).
Catherine and her family travelled to France overland from London with Eurostar and SNCF. For the greener way to travel, contact Irish Rail’s European Rail Reservations (01) 703 1885, or for those outside ROI, see RailEurope, www.raileurope.co.uk.
Munduk Moding Plantation is a working Coffee plantation with four luxury villas and two suites, designed in keeping with the local area by award-winning Bali architect, Popo Danes. From our suite we had a spectacular view – with Java visible in the distance. It also has one of the most stunningly located infinity pools I have ever seen.
