Back from Bali

Well I’m back from Bali, I loved it. Imagine 24hrs shopping, a woman’s paradise. I have bought so much for the Tourist Park that I think that we will have to go into the retail business. While in Bali I finally got to meet Harry, our Agent, he introduced me to Made who will be making our Huts and Gazebos, and we went to East Java to source some furniture. Harry also introduced me to Yoyok who will be making most of our furniture. I have also bought some stone products, pavers, tiles and statues to place around the Park. As a result I am sure that Elvira’s Paradise with now be a beautiful place to visit.

I went to Bali to buy the huts and gazebos but fell in love with the culture. It was a business trip but was also the best holiday that I have ever had. Every other trip I have ever taken has ended up with me needing to have a rest afterwards, this time I managed to relax a little, maybe Bali rubbed off on me. I tell everyone that Bali is a Holy place, it just seems that way to me. The people are friendly and not because I had money, when I got there I had a little cash but intended to use my credit cards, after the first day of shopping my cards were put on hold even though I notified the companies that I was travelling. So Harry paid for everything for the next couple of days. Have you ever heard of such a thing, going to Bali to spend up big, and then having to rely on people with whom you intend to do business? But they were very nice about it.

One little problem that I saw in Bali is that the plumbing seems to be the same as the Philippines and they drive the same, if you have ever been to either place you will understand what I mean. While Harry was taking us to East Java he was driving on a single lane dirt road, passing buses and trucks and sending text messages on his phone at the same time, that was scary. Other than that it is a beautiful destination.

Elvira and Amanda ouside their Bungalow in Bali.

Road Building

The roads for the Tourist Park are near completion. We have trucked in over 200 tonne of road base to use for the roads and caravan pads.  So far we have utilized nearly 40 hours of heavy earthmoving equipment hire with more to come. It would have been a lot quicker if we removed some of the trees, then the machines would have been able to drive in straight lines instead of manouvering around the trees, but with no trees it is just like nearly every other caravan park. We want our guests to feel as though they have lots of room to move, not jammed in against each other like sardines. 4 of the 8 caravan sites are drive through sites and the pads are approximately 10m in length and 7m wide, the camping area has been top dressed and the sites for the cabins have been cleared of grass and surface rocks but we haven’t removed a tree. The camping area is right next to the swimming pool and will have a gazebo for each site. I hope that our guests will feel as though they are camping out in the bush and not in an over-commercialised caravan park.

The cabins or huts as I like to call them will be something special, but I wont talk about them until they are erected, but believe me when I say that I doubt if there is a Tourist Park or Caravan Park in Australia that will have anything similar.

This is a photo of Mick (one of the landscape workers) taking a dip in the pool at lunchtime.

Gardens, Gardens and more Gardens

For the last 2wks we have been filling the cavities of the rocky outcrop between the gazebo and the pool with soil, planting a variety of plants, putting an irrigation system in and covering it with woodchip. This week-end a few of our friends are coming over to continue the work. I am hoping that the end result will be a beautiful garden that will give a feeling of serenity when our guests are sitting by the pool. The garden around the pool will take up about an acre of land and will be visible from all parts of the Park. I personally love to walk around our gardens and see how all of my plants are growing. We are trying to make the rocks a feature of Elvira’s Paradise. I am going to line the walkways around this garden with Roses, in amongst the rocks we have planted Desert Roses, Cactii, and various ground covers, nothing that will grow too tall and obstruct the view of the pool from the gazebo. The steel for the Ablutions block has been ordered, and I have been inundated with replies to my request for quotes for our Cabins. It is a bit mind boggling sorting through all of the possible designs that have been offered to us. The one thing that i want to be sure of is that the cabins will fit into the theme of the Park. I want something different, something that will look good in any form of advertising that we undertake, and something that our guests will remember when they get home after their holiday. As far as I am concerned the best Advertising is when someone who has stayed with you tells everyone that they meet what a memorable holiday they had at your place. I want people to remember their stay with us.