We are entering the second half of the contract for sure. The common areas are taking shape, and we can see progress on a daily basis, all the hard work is paying off. Here we can see the rear of the restaurant.

We hosted the inugural "Mr Lupita Competition" last weekend. There was a healthy line-up of 11 competitors, who took to their tasks with willingness and vigour. Tasks included several disciplines, similar to those found in "Strongman" competitions around the world. It was huge fun and was very well received. Training has already started for next year...........

Tom issued the three closest villages, with brand new schoolbooks last week. The looks of joy and excitement on the faces of the kids was lovely to watch. Because we are in such a remote area, most of the schools here have never had the privilege of studying from books. It is wonderful to be a part of such a worthy cause!

Chris' progress

Last year Chris concentrated on the building of the Staff Village. This was used as a training ground for the unskilled staff that were hired to do the building of this lodge. The Staff Village is now almost complete and consists of:

The Manager's House
2 x Sub-Manager's Houses (each with 2 rooms en-suite and 2 lounges)
2 x Senior Staff Houses (each with 4 rooms and 2 shared bathrooms)
3 x Staff Houses (each with 3 rooms and a shared lounge area)
Staff bathrooms and toilets
Staff Diningroom and Lounge
Staff Kitchen and Laundry

The Staff Village will house a total of 32 people, thus there will be more than 1 staff member per guest, even when the lodge is fully booked. This does not include the staff who will be coming accross daily from Kipili who will not need to sleep on the Island at night. All in all, the building of the Staff Village has been a very large, but important task, and it is very rewarding to find that it is almost complete.

Towards the end of last year Chris was then able to start focussing on the common areas for the guests. This will include:

the Diningroom
Lounge, Bar and Viewing Deck
Games room
Wine Cellar
Office and Shop
Kitchen
Swimming pool
Pool Bar
Swimming pool toilets

And this year he has started on the Guest rooms. There will be 14 rooms in total, 2 of which will be Presidential Suites. Below are some photographs of the various stages of progress that the rooms are currently at.

Room # 1

The lounge of room number 1 is now up to wall plate level and the thatchers are starting the roofing structure. The lounge has a stone foundation with ferro cement walls around the back of the room, being completely open at the front to take full advantage of the wonderful view. All the floors in the guest rooms will be wooden with decks on different levels linking the lounge, bedroom, bathroom, toilet and plunge pool.

This picture shows the bedroom in room number 1. As with all the buildings in the lodge, there are no straight lines or sharp edges and even the stone foundation has interesting dips and curves. All the bedrooms will also be open at the front so that guests can lie in their bed and enjoy the spectacular views of the lake.

The bedrooms are all positioned to the left of the lounge with a wide passage separating the two rooms. On the left of the passage a water feature will run down the length of each room and carry water down to the private rock pool which is positioned on a lower level.

If you look to the right of the photograph you will see the rock wall which will which will form the water feature, as well as the stone walls of the plunge pool. A wooden deck will be built about a foot below the water feature so most of the wall of the water feature that you can currently see will be covered by a wooden deck.

Room number 1 looks onto Uwile Island with the Tanzanian mainland in the distance, as seen from the plunge pool. 

Room # 2

To get to room number 2 the path goes through some of the lovely, thick, natural forest that we have on Lupita.

Room number 2 is built on a very steep slope which gives one the feeling that the room is almost suspended in mid air. The view of course is spectacular, being uninterupted for 180 degrees and looking onto the Island of Uwile.

The view from left to right........ 

 

 

Room # 3

This room will be one of the "artistic" rooms in the lodge. There are several big rocks on this site and Chris is building the room around these rocks so that they are incorporated into the decks and become interesting details. 

The bathroom and toilet of each room is positioned to the left of the bedroom. Each bathroom will have a bath, shower and separate toilet. The bath will be partially covered by the thatch roof so that guests are able to feel as though they are bathing under the stars. This photograph shows the view from the toilet and the shower. The far left hand circular wall will form the stone foundation of the toilet and the right hand circular wall will form the foundation for the shower. The bath will be positioned closer to the lake on the wooden deck (where the poles currently are).
 

Room # 4

I think that this is one of my favourite rooms, being positioned a little closer to the lake in the middle of the forest. This photograph shows the lounge area, and as you can see, it too has a gorgeous view.

This will be the bedroom of room number 4. 

Rooms 4 and 5 are nestled in thick forest. The guys worked very hard cutting the pathways to these rooms, but it was well worth it as you can see from this photograph. 

Room # 5

Room number 5 has been cleared and the poles are being positioned for the bedroom and lounge areas. This will be the bedroom of this room. As you can see it will be surrounded by forest and there are some beautiful rocks that Chris will be able to incorporate into the design. 

And this will be the lounge area. I love the way the lake looks through the trees of the forest. 

Room # 6

Room number 6 will be one of 2 rooms suited for handicaped guests. It is positioned close to the comunal area and is on relatively flat terrain which makes it ideal for any guest with special needs. It will be equipped with handrails in the bathroom and toilet and will be completely wheelchair friendly. 

The first Presidential Suite

Room number 7 is the first of 2 Presidential Suites. The Presidential Suites will have 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a private dining area. 

Room # 8

Here are the walls for the bedroom and lounge of room number 8. This room is also surrounded by forest and is lovely and cool even in the heat of the day. 

There is a beautiful rock at the back of the site for room number 8. Chris plans to build the room around this rock so that it becomes an interesting focal point. 

Room # 9

This is the cleared site for room number 9. On a clear day you will be able to see the escarpment of the Congo from here. 

Our 9th year wedding anniversary on Lupita

Tuesday 31 January was our nineth year wedding anniversary so we decided to celebrate in style and packed our quad bike with a picnic lunch and headed off to the jetty on the west side of the island.  

We found a lovely big rock under one of the many trees in the forrested area near the lake and celebrated in style with champagne and smoked salmon, italian salami and cheeses - a picnic fit for a king.

Even the weather was perfect! A storm built up over the lake between Lupita and the Congo and we were able to sit under our shelter and watch the rain come down around us. It was stunning. 

Bartholomew's story

According to the staff that are now working with us on Lupita who live on Uwele (the large Island that is joined to Lupita by a sand bar), Bartholomew orrigionally lived in one of the villages on the mainland. The story goes that one day Bartholomew was chased into the lake by a leopard and he swam to Uwele with the leopard close behind. Apparantly the leopard and Bartholomew lived on Uwele together for several months with the leopard trying desperately to catch Bartholomew, but our baboon is far too clever to be caught.

The leopard was thus forced to live on the other small game that used to live on Uwele and Lupita and when this source of food ran out, the leopard swam back to the mainland and Bartholomew was left on the island. So that is how Bartholomew came to live on Lupita.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The people we love...

The places we are a part of...

The memories we hold onto...

And the unforgetable moments when we close our eyes and breath in life...with a smile.

A New Year is a reminder to celebrate all the things that are good in our world.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our families and friends. You mean so much to us. This year we hope that you make each day count, open your heart and eyes to the little things, appreciate everything that you possibly can, for you may never experience it again.