[password]waiknot
[position]18 49.982S 178 31.552E

[status]
Sitting in the rain today, so catching up on emails. We are at Buliya island. There is only one village here, with 120 people plus 60 children (that is how the villagers say it, as if the children are not people!) So you might be surprised that we have internet here. So are we!

The internet does not come from Buliya though, but a nearby island called Yaukuve Levu. This uninhabited island has been leased by Australian billionaire Lang Walker and he has built a resort on the island. We are talking 6 star luxury. Private villas, each with their own private deck and their own swimming pool. The one bedroom villa is US$1995 per night, for two people. The 3 bedroom villa is US$4950 per night, for up to 6 people. But if you want real luxury, you book a 3 bedroom luxury residence for US$6950 per night. There are 4, 5 and 6 bedroom luxury residences as well, up to US$12950 per night. If you would like a beachfront luxury residence of 6 bedrooms, it is a mere US$18,000 per night. Of course, on top of this you need to pay for transfer from the airport in Nadi, which is US$295 each way. There are 64 bedrooms in total at the resort, so if you have a big party and wish to book out the whole island, they will do you a special deal - you can book the whole resort for US$120,000 per night! A real bargain for up to 150 guests.

The resort is called Kokomo and now the island is referred to as Kokomo island as well. Presumably Lang Walker was a Beach Boys fan. When we were here 3 years ago they were building the resort and about 60 men from Buliya and nearby islands were helping with construction. The resort is now open, with the first half of the plan, and building work has started on stage two. Some of the local ladies have jobs working at the resort now as well, as nannies for the guests with children as well as doing landscaping, cleaning and various jobs in the restaurants. According to the locals here, most of the guests at the resort seem to be from the USA. Movie stars, super models, big business rich list people.

Naturally, all of these guests at Kokomo expect to have wifi during their holiday, so the resort has large cell ph towers and we are anchored just a few km away at Buliya :-)

This kind of resort is so far removed from how the local people live here that it seems like a different planet. For the last 2 months we have been in the Lau group of Fiji and there are no resorts there at all. Although, we were surprised that most of the villages in the Lau had solar panels, generators and some even had cars. The Lau is not as remote or primitive as we expected. Supply ships from Suva or from Savusavu visit the Lau about twice per month, so they are not cut off from mainland supplies. But village life is basic. Fishing, growing veges, drinking kava. A slow pace and a peaceful life, without stress. Most villagers only need money to buy petrol for the outboard motor. $20 will last them a week or two. So they sell some fish, or kava or mats or tapas or twine or copra to the mainland and get enough cash for the next month or two. Life is simple.

In the Kadavu region where we are now, they are a bit closer to Suva and have more regular trips to the mainland and the city, but still life is simple. We can only imagine what the local people here think about the guests that stay in the luxury resort on the next island. They are glad of the job opportunities, but life at this resort would be a culture shock even for us!!

[weather]10-15 knots ESE, gusting 20 at times, 100pct cloud, rain. 1015 baro

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