How To Get United Miles From Booking Some Eco-Lodges

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Tara

Since PointsHound has unfortunately discontinued their relationship with United Airlines you will need an alternate method if you really need United miles and aren’t happy with any of PointsHound’s other partners.

For people living in the USA, the best current option is Ultimate Rewards. Hotels.com offers a bonus 3 points per $ when you click through their link. Ultimate Rewards transfer to United and other partners at 1:1. For example if you book a lodge that costs $150 a night, you will get 450 bonus Ultimate Rewards points on top of whatever credit card multipliers such as 2x for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. (Sorry folks, don’t have an affiliate link).

United Airlines & PointsHound Discontinue Partnership

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Tara

Not exactly the news I wanted to hear as United is my priority program to collect miles in at the moment. If you haven’t already, please see my post on how to use Pointshound to get airline miles for booking eco-lodges.

Dear Tara,

You’re receiving this message because you signed up for PointsHound and added a United MileagePlus number to your account.

We wanted to make you aware that United and PointsHound have decided to discontinue our partnership at this time. As of July 24^th 2013, we’ll no longer be offering MileagePlus miles on new hotel reservations made through PointsHound.com.

For reservations made before July 24^th, there’s no need to worry. We will deposit miles according to our normal process and schedule.

PointsHound was created as a platform for earning any type of loyalty points and miles so we are committed to restoring our partnership with United. In the meantime, we work with nine other loyalty rewards currencies and are continuing to add new ones regularly.

That’s why we’re confident PointsHound can continue providing great benefits to you.

In appreciation of your early support of PointsHound, we’ve upgraded your account a level so you’ll earn more miles with every hotel booking you make with us. We’ve also added a 1,000 point bonus to your account which can be claimed in the program of your choice on your next booking. To redeem this booking bonus, please make sure to log in to your My Account page and update your earning preference and account numbers.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact either of us directly.

Thanks again for your support.

At least they are honoring the United miles on the 3 bookings I already have. For the time being, I have added American AAdvantage in my profile for future bookings. Hopefully they will restore United as a partner soon!

Lodge Review: Kurisa Moya, Magoebaskloof, South Africa

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Tara

Kurisa Moya has several types of accommodation available including a farm house and the two Forest Lodge cabins. The farm’s varied habitats are home to about 250 species of birds, including the Narina Trogan, the Black-fronted Bush Shrike, the Green Twinspot and the Buff-spotted Flufftail. The Woodbush area is one of the top birding sites as mentioned in Callan Cohen, Claire Spottiswood and Jonathan Rossouw’s book South African Birdfinder and in Hugh Chittendin’s book, Top Birding Spots in Southern Africa. Co-owner, Ben de Boer, the co-ordinator of the Greater Limpopo Birding Routes is an avid birder and can offer birders great advice. Guided walks or outings in the area can be organized with renowned local guide, David Letsoalo, who is based at Kurisa Moya. Of course being parrot lovers above all, we were hoping to see some of the few Cape Parrots (Poicephalus robustus robustus) left in the world. There are around 80 in Magoebaskloof and according to the Cape Parrot Working Group, they counted 1229 on the last census that took place the first weekend of May. More details are on their website. You can book both accommodation at Kurisa Moya and birding walks with David on their website.

If you are coming direct from Polokwane, you will have a good tar road all the way to the turnoff to the lodge, then you have 2.3km of a really rough road. Like the previous reviewer, we did this trip in the dark coming from Phalaborwa where the first 9km or so are also a bad road and we had a little Ford Focus.

Once you actually get there, it is a wonderful eco-lodge and ideal for bird watchers. You can book tours with one of the top bird guides in South Africa-David Letsoalo and he will do everything he can to find the species you are interested in. For us, it was Cape Parrots which were very elusive on the first day (heard but not seen) but the second day, we got to see 5 of them!

We stayed in the Forest Lodge which overlooks primary rainforest and even though it rained the first day, we still saw lots of birds, we also went up to the farm house to see birds in the garden. We self catered with pre-packaged supermarket food but you can also get Lisa, the owner to cook you a meal and judging by the guestbook comments, she is a great cook! The lodge is gorgeous, very rustic and charming, well stocked wood burning fireplace. It gets pretty chilly at night so you need lots of wood! We did two of the walks on the property (Bird Watchers and Forest Walk) which were really nice.

If you want to do a bird watching tour with David, you will need a 4WD, there is no way a little sedan car would make it in the Woodbush Forest roads. We paid extra to use his truck. Also, bring all the food you need if you are self-catering, there is no place to shop nearby and you also need to charge up your camera and cell phone batteries. Shopping is available nearby, see my Destination Magoebaskloof post.

Kurisa Moya is a wonderful place to visit if you love nature and especially birds! Judging by the rave reviews on Trip Advisor, I am not alone in my opinion!

Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Tara

Punda Maria is the northernmost of SANParks rest camps and is in a great position for bird watchers. It is supposed to be a 6 hour drive from JNB airport but add on an hour or so to allow for traffic and getting lost. It’s best to start in the morning so if your flight arrives late, plan on staying near the airport and pick up your rental car in the morning so you can inspect it properly.

JNB to Punda Maria Rest Camp

Over the last 20 years, I have stayed at several of the Kruger NP rest camps and Punda Maria is by far my favourite. Even if it wasn’t in prime birding territory, it has such a beautiful, restful setting and feels more remote and wild than some of the larger camps such as Pretoriuskop. Going by Trip Advisor, I am not the only one who likes this place! Siyabona Africa also has a great review.

Punda Maria Camp lies in an area of fascinating history and unsurpassed bird watching. It also recognized as the best region inside the Park for Kruger National Park safari accommodation in which to spot the often shy Nyala Antelope.

Punda Maria boasts 7 luxury safari tents and a swimming pool. Punda Maria Gate has received a new building, reception area and ablution blocks; providing trouble free Kruger National Park lodging.

It’s easy to book in advance on the SANParks website and you definitely want to do this, especially if your visit coincides with South African school holidays, though this camp won’t be nearly as crowded as the ones further south.

This is a map of the camp. I highlighted in yellow the safari tent we had in 2009. we absolutely loved it! The deck is a great place to relax and watch birds fly by while you are cooking dinner and also watch the sunrise!

Notice the bird hide just in front of the pond at the bottom of the map? If you are lucky, you may see Brown-headed Parrots there.

HOW TO BOOK

Bookings are easily done on SANParks website. Prices are very reasonable. Here is a sample of prices for Punda Maria and availability for a non-school holiday period. As a rough guide 10 Rand is around 1 USD.

Punda Maria rates as of July 2013

Here is a sample of availability 2 months from now. As you can see, there are only a few bookings left for safari tents which is why you need to book early.

Availability Sept 2013

This is our safari tent. They do cost a bit more but worth every penny!

RANGER GUIDED SAFARI DRIVES

Don’t miss out on these! They give you the best of both worlds-the independence of your own car during the day and a chance to see the surrounding area with an experienced ranger-guide. They generally do them at sunrise, sunset and/or night and are very reasonably priced. We did one that left in the late afternoon and stayed out around 4 hours if I remember correctly. It was awesome, here’s a few pics.

BIRDING IN PUNDA MARIA

In the camp (particularly on the Paradise Flycatcher Trail) Yellowbellied Greenbul and Terrestrial Brownbul (Bulbul), Bearded Scrub Robin should be looked for. Birding throughout the camp is excellent. Birds of prey are common overhead. Verreaux’s (Black) Eagle is sometimes seen, while in winter the White-necked Raven is a regular visitor. The Mahonie Loop, (the 25km circular drive around the camp) is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding birding drives in the Park. One should give oneself plenty of time to cover the distance, and travel with windows down and stop frequently, particularly for calls.

On a good day one could record several of the following ‘specials’: White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike, Arnot’s Chat, Crowned Hornbill, Grey-headed (Chestnut-bellied) Kingfisher, Crested Guineafowl, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Grey-headed Parrot, African and European Golden Oriole (both summer), Eastern (Yellow-spotted) Nicator, Stierling’s Wren-Warbler (Barred Warbler) and Dickinson’s Kestrel. Narina Trogon has also been recorded on the loop, but is shy and elusive. On the drive from Punda Maria to Pafuri via the Klopperfontein Dam, Racket-tailed Roller and Southern (Mashona) Hyliota have been recorded. This is also one of the best areas to search for Yellow-billed Oxpecker. This species was absent in the park for many years, but returned in the 1980s and their numbers are still increasing. Buffalo are the preferred hosts.

This video was shown on a South African travel show and gives an orientation of the camp.

Eco-Lodges Amongst The Top 50 Hotels In The World

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Tara

Travel and Leisure magazine has released their list of the world’s best hotels for 2013. What I find very interesting is that 5 out of the top 10, including #1 are ecolodges! 4 of them are safari lodges in Africa and one is in Costa Rica and appears to be frequented by Scarlet Macaws. You have to scroll through one of those slide-shows to see all 50 of them but it’s pretty interesting if you are looking for “aspirational” hotels to stay at. Unfortunately, very few on the list are available on hotel points.

No. 1 Mombo Camp and Little Mombo Camp, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

No. 4 Nayara Hotel, Spa & Gardens, La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Birding Without Even Leaving The Lodges

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Tara

Birding is often such hard work. Sometimes you have to trek through mud, trudge up a mountain for hours or endure tropical humidity and rainstorms. So even the most hardy birders appreciate when the birds make it easy to see them. Still wild of course – but when you have a lodge such as Refugio Amazonas located in the Peruvian rainforest that attracts birds in the grounds, why not just sit back, relax and enjoy the view?

For more information, please see my review of Refugio Amazonas. Peru is easily reached with frequent flyer miles.

I think this video was shot in the same bungalow we had, it sure looks like it!

Bangkok Tree House

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Tara

Who would have thought you would find this gem in the thriving metropolis of Bangkok? Away from the bustle of Sukhumvit & Patpong, this gorgeous eco-friendly lodge offers peace and serenity rather than city hustle and bustle yet it is still easily accessible from the airport and city.

The accommodations are amazing! I’m not sure I would go for a floating mattress (what if you have to get up in the night) but I love the “View with a room” one!

River Nest

View With A Room

The rates are surprisingly reasonable considering the uniqueness of this place.

The best things in life should be free, that is why the room tariffs at the Bangkok Tree House already include:

Free delicious ice-cream 24/7
Free Bicycle Rental to explore the “Green lungs of Bangkok”
Free WI-FI
Free cell-phone rental with local Thai number during your entire stay
All taxes included in room tariffs, so no nasty surprises during check-out
Complimentary full-service a la carte breakfast

I don’t have any upcoming stays in Thailand unfortunately but I’m keeping the Bangkok Treehouse on my wish list!

HT: Very Good Points

Review: Cendana Resort In Ubud, Bali

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Tara

As I mentioned in my Eco-Lite post on the Bali Bird Park, it can be easily accessed from Ubud. When I was planning this part of the trip, 5 days of R&R in Bali after the challenging birding adventure in West Papua I had to decide whether to stay in the pleasant small town of Ubud in central Bali or at one of the beach resorts. Since I was short on cash and had Priority Club points to burn I ended up splitting the stay between 2 nights in Ubud paid and 3 nights in the Holiday Inn Baruna Beach on points.

I booked this resort on Hotels.com as I was working towards a goal of 10 nights to earn a free night in the Welcome Rewards program and these 2 nights put me over the top, plus I used the Ultimate Rewards mall to click thru.

Cendana Resort is well located in the centre of Ubud on Monkey Forest Road within walking distance of both the Monkey Forest and the Art Market. It’s reasonably priced at around $50-80 depending on room type and season. We arrived in the night so didn’t get to see the gardens at first but the room itself was gorgeous! I love traditional Bali/tropical decor and this place has it in spades! A large bathtub was a welcome sight after roughing it in Papua!

The next morning, we were delighted by the beautiful gardens surrounding the large swimming pool. Our room looked out onto a rice paddy giving a rural feeling even though the hotel is on Monkey Forest Road. There were a few birds flying over the rice paddies.

The room rate includes a delicious buffet breakfast including my favourite pineapple pancakes!

The one criticism I could make was the very small cages the myna birds were kept in. They are beautiful birds, tame and can talk pretty well but I would have preferred to see them in a large aviary where they could at least see each other if they can’t be kept together. Birds are flock creatures and don’t like to be alone.

Earn Frequent Flyer Miles On Non-Chain Hotels Including Some Eco-Lodges

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Tara

Pointshound Partners

Pointshound is a fairly new hotel booking engine that gives you frequent flyer miles in your choice of several airline programs. This is a great option for people who don’t travel enough to get any benefits from joining hotel loyalty programs but still want to earn some miles and book using a secure credit card payment system. The one frustrating thing I have found is that many smaller hotels and lodges want you to email your credit card details which is very insecure as you don’t know who will have access to them. Even if the lodgekeepers are honest, it doesn’t mean someone passing by or cleaning the waste bins may not see it. I like being able to use either Paypal or

First you need to join Pointshound. It’s free and if you use my link, both you and I will get a bonus 250 points when you book your first room.

Here’s how to find eco-lodges to book on Pointshound. Let’s use the example of Montverde, Costa Rica which is famous for its cloud forest, Respendant Quetzals and great birding. I have chosen to earn United miles since that is the next goal I need to achieve for a future trip. (Not my real dates, just being used as an example). Pointshound supports 3 of the airlines (AA, UA, US) on my Top 8 Frequent Flyer Programs for Eco-tourists.

Booking Pointshound

Since I have been researching this town for my upcoming trip, I know that it’s easy and cheap to get a taxi for the short ride to the park entrance but if your lodge is too far out of town you will be limited on dining choices. The first screen you see will be sorted on popularity and show which airline program you chose and a list of how many miles you will earn.

Pointshound booking

It’s a good idea to check out the map view to see what location suits you. I also like to check the reviews on Trip Advisor to be sure the hotel is well located and there aren’t too many complaints, especially from people with at least 10 reviews overall.

Map View

As I scan the locations, prices and descriptions, Cala Lodge jumps out at me for being an attractive small lodge but close to town which is important since we aren’t renting a car but using public transport on this trip. The reviews on Trip Advisor are good and I am pleased to see that one of the owners is a knowledgeable birding guide.

Select the lodge you want and you will see this screen that tells you the price and how many miles you earn. Choose the room you want, in this case the standard room will do.

Pointhound booking

Lastly, fill out the screen and see the confirmation of the price and how many miles you will earn, also which account they will credit to (which I blacked out here). Be sure to check the cancellation policies and make sure you are comfortable with them. For more information about Pointshound, see their FAQ page.

Pointshound booking

Waigeo And The World’s Cheapest Overwater Bungalows

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Tara

If you are coming to this blog from the miles and points community, no doubt you will have read some other blogs about the beautiful over-water bungalows in Bora Bora and the Maldives. They average about $500 a night, cost between $200-500 to get to the island the resort is on and meals are not included. One blogger did try to find some bargains but even those started at $280. Yes, you can get to some of them on miles and hotel points but with the recent devaluations even that can be expensive. I have a new addition to the 16 cheapest overwater bungalows in the world!

What if I told you there was a small but attractive eco-resort with overwater bungalows at high tide in one of the world’s top diving locations, not to mention many exotic birds? All this for the princely sum of $70 per couple including 3 meals a day!

Introducing the HamuEco Resort! As I said yesterday, it is easy and cheap to get from Sorong to Waigeo and if you contact the English speaking manager Hasna via Facebook, she will send a taxi to pick you up at the dock and bring you to the resort for around $20.

HamuEco Resort

Entering our OWB

The trees behind my husband Ina are where you see Palm Cockatoos

Beds have mosquito nets

What I loved most about this place was the fact that I could lie on the bed, look out the door to the right and see Palm Cockatoos flying over the trees and to the left was the deck facing the sunset!

I saw several Palm Cockatoos and one Eclectus.

Bathrooms are shared and located ashore down the pier so you will need a flashlight at night. They have a generator which they shut off at night but they are flexible if you need to charge your batteries.

Bathrooms are to the right of the building on shore

The main course will be catch-of-the-day but for people who don’t eat fish, they can do eggs and veggies, not sure what else as that was all I asked for.

Dinner

You can see fish when you sit on the deck!

Hammock on the deck

Watching fish from the deck

High tide

Low tide

Hasna can book you on scuba diving, snorkeling trips and also arrange an excellent bird guide named Benny. I will put the birding info in the next post so stay tuned!

Stormy sunset

View from the room

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