Take these 7 environmentally friendly safaris

Tree Hugger reports on seven safaris with an environmental focus.

Kenya: Eco-Resorts' 11-day,10-night tour of Kenya singles out the country's ecotourism hotspots by booking stays at properties owned by residents of the communities you'll pass through

Rwanda: Rwanda Eco-Tours' Inside Nyungwe tour is a six-day trip takes you into Nyungwe Forest National Park, home to more than a dozen different primate species.

South Africa: The Earth Organization's safaris are practically a mini-course in conservation under the direction of Lawrence Anthony, best known for saving the animals in residence at the Baghdad Zoo at the beginning of the Iraq War.

Read the full story: 7 eco safaris around the globe

Photo from Rwanda Tourism

Gorgeous gardens around the world

Concierge.com reports on 12 lush and gorgeous gardens worth visiting around the world.

Terra Nostra (picture left) Furnas, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal

others include:

Wörlitz Germany, near Dessau
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Cape Town, South Africa
New York Botanic Garden the Bronx, New York City
Saiho-ji Kyoto, Japan
Kennerton Green Mittagong, outside Sydney, Australia
Amber Palace Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

See the slide show: Green retreats

Photo from concierge.com

Epic and global train trips

Orange County Register via The Wichita Eagle reports on epic train journeys around the world.

Writer Gary A. Warner shares some of his favorite train trips

VIA Rail: Vancouver-Jasper. The route from Vancouver to Jasper in the Canadian Rockies is called "the ski train" in winter. Come summer, the 1950s dome car features views of pine forests, vast lakes and some of the tallest peaks on the continent.

The Indian-Pacific, Australia: This epic 2 1/2-day Australian rail ride from Sydney on the Pacific Ocean to Perth on the Indian Ocean covers 2,704 miles.

Rovos Rail, South Africa: A fatal accident has cast a shadow over the once exemplary record of this luxury train that operates throughout South Africa and sometimes to the north. Rovos excursions in the past include an epic trip to Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border and then on to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Southwest Chief: The successor to the classic Santa Fe train roughly parallels old Route 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago.

Read the full story: Great train journeys: riding the rails around the world

Photo by Bruce C. Strong / MCT

South African baboons raid and eat tourists' car food

The Associated Press reports on the South African baboon "gang" who are opening tourists' cars and eating the food inside.

On Tuesday, a troupe of 29 baboons raided four cars outside Simon's Town, a small coastal neighborhood [in Cape Town]. A baboon dubbed "Fred," (background in pic left) the leader of the group, opened unlocked doors and jumped through windows to search for food.

He ransacked a bag in the back seat of a red car as a couple panicked about their passports. A girl screamed nearby as a baboon hopped into her car through a back window. Others climbed on car roofs and hoods, looking for ways inside.

Many of those who stopped to watch the raid had their own cars broken into by other baboons.

Read the full story: Furry felons rob S African tourists, steal food

Photo by AP