I recently went on holiday to Fiji with my daughter, Miss Four, to Plantation Island. It was her first time travelling overseas and she was in awe of the TV’s on the back of the airplane seats, saying “Bula” to everyone, having her hair braided and being able to swim all day long.
I too loved the swimming, the odd cocktail and having the chance to take a breather from my day-to-day of work, cooking and cleaning – what a treat!
Another highlight was how great it was to catch up with one of our Beyond Recruitment clients in Fiji and being invited to take a look around Vunabaka, a residential and luxury resort development run by world leading hotel and resort developer, Six Senses, that is currently being built on Malolo Island. Marcus Langford Lee is the Managing Director of this piece of paradise and is shaping up to be simply stunning.
The logistics and scale of this project is huge, with 456 people working on this 120-acre development. They currently feed 42,000 meals a month and have 75 people working on the landscaping. Each bure (the Fijian word for wood-and-straw hut or cabin) has 11 builders working on it and the detail they include in every element is mind blowing.
They had just finished a mock up bure that was built to spec and then studied with a fine tooth comb to see if changes or improvements were needed to be made. This was to ensure it is up to the world class standard required for high-net worth clients that will stay at a Six Senses resort. From there the other bures are built.
The project was running like a well-oiled machine and the Project Manager, Daniel King, also from New Zealand, ran a tight and well organised ship. The logistics of getting all the materials to this island is clearly a massive project and one that takes considerable time and planning to get right.
I felt a tad guilty as Miss Four and I swam in this crystal clear water while the sun shone brightly, while everyone else was busy working away. Then I lost the guilt and simply enjoyed this special moment with my daughter who was giggling away and realised this was our time, our special holiday that would leave an imprint on both our minds for forever.
