Australian Gourmet Traveller — May 2017

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Trail blazing

The views of the Southern Ocean render some hikers

speechless, or it could just be the attention required to

avoid limestone potholes along the way. Opened late

last year, the five-day, 61-kilometre Kangaroo Island

Wilderness Trail promises to boost the island’s appeal

among hikers and food lovers. The luxe Southern Ocean

Lodge is working on trail options; KI Odysseys runs a

guided two-night walk; Auswalk Walking Holidays has

a guided six-night itinerary with stays in the historic

lighthouse keeper’s cottages; and SeaLink has walking

packages of one to five nights. Or DIY and sleep at the

new campsites.kangarooislandwildernesstrail.sa.gov.au

PHOTOGRAPHY TERENCE CARTER (SIEM REAP) & SOUTH AUSTRALIAN TOURISM COMMISSION (TRAIL) MERCHANDING ANNA LAVDARAS (VANITY CASE)

Siem Reap goes sustainable

A new café in Siem Reap serves Cambodian street-food with a difference.

They say every meal at Spoons makes a difference to someone living in the north

Cambodian tourist city of Siem Reap. Opened late last year, the rustic-chic café

serves polished Cambodian street food in a cutting-edge bamboo building

constructed from raw materials supplied by a sustainable farming enterprise. The

supply chain, from napkins to vegetables to rice liquor, is resolutely local, and the

staff are young hospitality trainees from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Spoons, run by hospitality school EGBOK, is the latest in a raft of community

initiatives aimed at easing the growing pains of Siem Reap. About 2.2 million tourists

visited the city last year, drawn by the nearby temple complex of Angkor Wat.

The first substantial community project was Asana Organic Farmers Market,

which opened two years ago in the last traditional house in the colonial quarter.

Green Gecko Project’s recycling business, called Rehash Trash, trains impoverished

women to crochet colourful ottomans and placemats from plastic bags, while the

#RefillNotLandfill campaign has persuaded scores of tourism businesses to offer

guests reusable aluminium bottles that can be refilled free at filtered-water stations.

The aim is to reduce the 4.6 million plastic water bottles discarded by visitors monthly.

The ripple effect of these initiatives is felt throughout the country. Spoons, for

instance, is committed to using as many eco-friendly products as possible, from

biodegradable straws and menus printed on banana-tree paper to placemats woven

from waste plastic. Used cooking oil is converted into biofuels and soap, and food

waste that can’t be composted is given to local farmers for use as animal feed.

On the table expect fruity cocktails based on infused rice spirits, and street

food-style dishes such as grilled chicken skewers marinated in kroeung, an aromatic

Cambodian herb paste. Spoons, Bamboo Rd, Wat Damnak Village, Siem Reap,

Cambodia, egbokmission.org/spoons-cafe LARA DUNSTON

DESTINATION DINING

SPOONS,

SIEM REAP

KANGAROO ISLAND

WILDERNESS TRAIL

VANITY CASE MOISTURISERS

1 GUINOT AGE SUMMUM Anti-Ageing Immunity Face Cream,

$375. 1300 811 024

2 AESOP Perfect Facial Hydrating Cream, $125. aesop.com

3 KIEHL’S Clearly Corrective Brightening and Smoothing

Moisture Treatment, $73. kiehls.com.au

4 DR DENNIS GROSS C + Collagen Deep Cream, $105.

mecca.com.au

5 LA PRAIRIE White Caviar Illuminating Moisturizing Cream,

$660. laprairie.com.au

Vitamin C-rich moisturisers brighten

and hydrate travel-weary skin.

travelNEWS

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