Cristina writes of news of Kulana Artist Sanctuary in Hawaii:

You know how you can make one decision that takes on a life of its own & whirlpools you towards all kinds of future galaxies?
Well, that’s what’s happening at Kulana these days!

Between Cristina’s movie adventures, & 3+ year resident organic food grower Carl’s move to the mainland, & our newest long-term visitor to Kulana being a builder with skills she’s excited to share…we’ve decided to sell the 3 cabin/4 bedroom + main house on 3 acres with its meditation trails & organic food beds, etc. “retreat” that has been our special home & business for the past 10+ years!

We may be selling the property whole to someone dreaming of creating their own retreat/b&b/intentional community/creative sanctuary/yoga or healing oasis/etc. who finds value in having cabins of various sizes along with the main house/land…OR if the right new owner is only interested in the house and land, we may wind up taking our country-cabins with us!

In either case, this means: not only will we be relocating, but also that we have some version of this special property FOR SALE…in case you know anyone interested in purchasing Hawaiian property blessed-by-kahuna in the temperate-year-round tropics?

Though quiet & private, we’re located near national park hiking, Hilo employment, UH, art galleries, the free bus line, etc!

And as the ONLY retreat in our price range in this special neighborhood (or actually anywhere on the island!), we’d be delighted to hook the right buyer up with our realtor (and can provide partial owner financing for the sale of the complete retreat).

Though Cristina will be back & forth to L.A. & elsewhere from time to time, some version of creative community with her will most likely continue to exist. The shape, location, & perhaps how we operate will be different…but the spirit of special people coming together to co-create, with the intension of sharing our best selves & lives will remain.

Right now discussions are afoot with current, new, past, & returning Kulana-ites about what we’ve enjoyed most this past decade that we want to bring forward…along with our evolving goals for the future! Care to offer your 2 cents?

Meanwhile, we’re continuing to welcome visitors & potential new residents to the artist sanctuary as usual…

Huge thanks to recent planters of poha berries & deck stainers & singers & old-time volcano storytellers & massage therapists & inner sanctum healers & weedeatters & pond lilly transplanters & pig fence builders & filmmakers & gourd carvers.

It has been a total joy living creative community with you…& investing in your/our past/present/future as world visionaries.

And for those of you reading this…if you’re someone nostalgically fond of what Kulana has been, or if you are one of the people who perused our almost 11 years of guest books and said: “I wish I could have been part of the dream-storming inception of all this!” …now’s your chance to come be part of our transition & rebirth!

We hear from the latest travelers that Hawaiian
& some of the other airlines are having particularly good deals!

Sometimes we want to travel but are intimidated by being by ourselves.  We want company, but don’t want to be on a bus load of couples travelling around Europe.  We want to explore out of the way places, but are nervous going on our own.

The good news is there are a lots of companies out there who are ready to meet  your need. Many of them are offering tours especially focused on the needs of w0men travellers.  Women Travel the World has a special Tour Calendar of these tours – you can explore the great cities of Europe, walk through Kenya, barge through the French countryside or travel the Silk Rd…

I just surfed into the site and there are currently these tours on offer:

• Australasia/Pacific (38)
• Europe (47)
• Africa/Middle East (30)
• Asia & Eastern Europe (70)
• Central/South America (13)
• North America + Hawaii (10)

All you have to do is name your dream destination and surf in to find what is on offer from a variety of travel companies.  It could not be easier – and there are new tours being added all the time.

Find your Dream Tour now

One of our series exploring accommodation for travelling women

Frauenpension – Frauenferienhaus – Frauenlandhaus – called various names in Germany but all offering a warm welcome to women travellers. You can find them on the Women Travel the world website – www.womentravel.info The Google maps let you know where each is located, and there are links to follow for more information or to book directly with your hosts. Read more

Who wouldn’t want to travel the world over? Admit it, you’ve wanted to travel to far flung places, but maybe there’s something that’s holding you back. Perhaps it’s the expense, or getting time off from your job, or not knowing how to find the best places to go, or simply being afraid of getting in trouble. Traveling can be exciting, fun and educational, and you only need to use common sense to make sure you stay safe. If you’re thinking about planning a trip sometime soon, we have some expert advice to help you navigate your way.

26-year-old Kristina Wegscheider is an avid traveler and the founder of travel website for young women, Do It While You’re Young, which strives to break down the barrier stopping most young women from traveling abroad. She spoke to website Crushable about her own experiences — having traveled to nearly 50 countries and trying to blend in as a 6-foot tall blonde — and gave them some ideas for tips and tricks to use along the way. Read more

A Journey of Discovery at Machu Picchu by Gayle Lawrence founder of Journeys of Discovery: Mind, Body, Spirit Travel Adventures
An Outer Discovery… An Inner Journey
Read  more about her company and tours on offer here Read more

Soulful Woman Bali Retreats:
Pampering and Empowerment in One Package

There’s a quiet revolution happening in women’s self-care. Women are seeking respite and healing from the stresses of daily life through taking well-earned retreats. Imagine taking a week-long retreat dedicated to rejuvenating your body, mind and spirit. Imagine taking this retreat somewhere lush and tropical and at an affordable price. Read more

Servas – My Favorite Organization Ever

Excerpt Reprinted with permission from “Female Nomad and Friends” by Rita Golden Gelman. Copyright © 2010. Published by Three Rivers Press/Crown Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. BUY IT HERE

Being a part of Servas is like having family all over the world. It’s actually better than family. People join Servas because they want you to visit them when you are in their country. Not always the case with family. Read more

Lisa Pollen writes in the The Travel Editor

Lime Tree Lodge, Wanaka, New Zealand

Lime Tree Lodge is as sweet as its name suggests. Located just outside the adventure paradise of Wanaka, in the South Island, it’s so incredibly pretty I feel as though I should be wearing my most summery, flowery sundress and have petals in my hair as I skip through the front door.

I’m already on top of the world after the most spectacular drive yet during my trip to New Zealand – and there’s stiff competition. The journey down the West Coast from the glaciers, then inland through the Haast Pass, Mount Aspiring National Park and down towards the Southern Alps encompassed four hours of thrilling alpine scenery and magnificent lakes, all sprinkled with a generous dose of sunshine. Lime Tree Lodge is the icing on the cake after our adventures, which took us through steep gorges and lush rainforest, past racing rivers and waterfalls. It could easily have taken twice as long had we have stopped at even a fraction of the photo-worthy opportunities.

But enough about the drive. Now we have reached our home for the next couple of nights, set in 10 acres of land just minutes outside the relaxed, lakeside resort of Wanaka. It was built as a lodge in 2002 and taken over by Sally Carwardine and Rebecca Butts in 2004, who are gracious, welcoming hosts. Our room is named the Linden Suite after the Linden, or lime tree. It is spacious and elegantly decorated with crisp linens, fresh flowers and billowing white curtains that beckon you through French doors onto a small private terrace. There’s a good bathroom stocked with delectable Linden Leaves toiletries and we find homebaked chocolate cookies and local cheese thoughtfully placed in our fridge. In the modern, large communal lounge there’s an open fire and shelves stacked with Home & Garden magazines, books, CDs and DVDs which you can take to your room.

The lodge wouldn’t be out of place in Provence, and that’s where I’m reminded of as I sip a glass of chardonnay on the terrace and admire neat rose and lavender scented gardens, where white butterflies flutter and bees rummage for pollen. Smartly trimmed hedges form a wall around a swimming pool and shaded hot tub. But the snow capped Alps in the distance assure me I’m in New Zealand’s South Island and haven’t been transported to the South of France. Sally and Rebecca makes guests feel at home and are only too happy to advise on local attractions and restaurants, but they are also discreet and leave us to our own devices, which we are grateful for. We take a dip in the pool and play at being Tiger Woods (minus the transgressions) on the lodge’s five-hole pitch-and-putt golf course. He’d be sure to appreciate the on-site helipad, too.

In the evening we meet the handful of other guests – there are only six rooms in all – over a complimentary aperitif before heading into town. Dinner at Missy’s Kitchen is excellent, and we happily tuck into seafood followed by sirloin steak and venison while ooh-ing and aah-ing at the breathtaking lake and mountain views. I can also recommend the Trout Bar for a tasty, informal lunch, and Botswana Butchery, where we dined on our second night. My whitebait to start, simply fried with garlic, chilli and lemon was superb, and eye fillet steak practically melted in the mouth. Exceptional ambience, flawless service; I was extremely impressed.

In the morning, our hosts back at the lodge serve us poached eggs – from their own hens, of course – and bacon outside on the sunny terrace, accompanied by Rebecca’s delicious homemade tomato chutney, and they direct us on a walk to Diamond Lake. It’s a 15-minute drive out of town and then a steep, challenging walk up to a lookout point, but it’s well worth the effort as we’re rewarded with such jaw-dropping scenery. The stuff dreams are made of, as is the entire experience of staying at Lime Tree Lodge.

Well I guess we all have to do our thing – if Liz Gilbert with Eat Love Pray did it for my generation, someone has to do it for the under 30s – Jen, Holly and Amanda have done it and written Lost Girls – three friends, four continents, one unconventional detour around the world Read more

For those who living with and beyond cancer, it is sometimes a struggle to hope again, to regain confidence and self love.  A new travel company Travel Toward Wellness based in Seattle has been set up to focus on the needs of these women. Their current programmes include a weekend in the San Juan Islands, shopping in Tuscany and  spa retreat in Sausalito, California – and more are planned. Read more