February 2024 - Lualemba Bungalow Resort - Nemberala Rote Island - Monthly Newsletter
Hi guys and gals
The drought still persists through Rote Island and it is by far the driest wet season I have experienced in my time living on the island. The winds haven’t been all that strong but still constant onshore from the south west and it looks like March is going to be pretty much the same. I see a lot of Rote accommodations are promoting March as the start of the shoulder season. But because last year in March was a calm month for winds and waves were around it was pretty unusual and very unlikely to be the same this year. If you want to come to Rote Island to surf we highly recommend coming from April to November.
Onshore winds bring a lot of debri and rubbish onto the beach during the wet season.
How It All Began - Lualemba Bungalow Resort
Back in 2007 Jenet and I had Lualemba restaurant and bar which was the only place outside an accommodation in Nemberala that a person could buy a feed or a cold beer. It was the only central meeting hub for people to meet and hangout have a good time. We had a large flat screen tv and played the NRL and AFL matches that were free to through Australia Network via satellite. They were good days with very few people in the line up and everyone knew each other. During the wet season all the bule would leave and I wouldn’t see another bule for months. I’d surf Boa on my own for days, weeks a time on my own often wishing I had a friend to share. There were four accommodations around back then and they were filling up some times so Jenet and I purchased land from her father at the back of Nemberala with the idea of building bungalow accommodation. The locals laugh at our idea thinking we were crazy and who would want to stay way out there. Mind you walking through the bush it was only 400 meters to the boat harbor on Nemberala beach. A similar distance to a lot of the accommodations on the beach.
Life Begins With Water
Lualemba Bungalow Resort would not be what it is today without it’s endless water supply. Guests need water to bathe, drink and eat. The gardens, the fruiting trees and all the creatures that live throughout Lualemba need water to survive. The very first thing we did on the Lualemba Bungalow Resort site was divine for underground water. Once we had two people devine the same place we got our first workers to start digging. Them days their tools were a hammer, cold chisel, some rope, a crow bar and a couple containers that they constructed from lontar leaves. After 6 weeks ploughing away through limestone and other white rock containing crystals hard as, they struck amazing clear water 12 meters from the ground surface. After they finished I said what do you reckon about digging another well over there. I must of ask at a good time cause they agreed and 5 weeks later a second water source was dug 10 meters down and Lualemba Bungalow Resort came alive.
The Evolution Of Lualemba Bungalow Resort
The construction was a long process that took many years to establish to what blooms today. Jenet and I started with limited funds building four bungalows to start and slowly progressed as we could afford it. We didn’t borrow, partnership with investors, it’s just been a passion of blood sweat and tears with a vision of a local traditional style bungalows with added modern comforts so guests could experience some Timor / Rote Island culture but feel comfortable with the necessary essentials to enjoy the environment we were trying to create. We wanted to have a permaculture touch so guests could see the fruits growing that they eat plus grow a dense garden with a mass of greenery that would blossom a variety of color that not only bring beauty to the eye but have any amazing ecological naturally cool environment. The photos below are set so they are close to resemble what was then and what is now. We have created a resort, a place like no other on Rote Island.
It’s The Unnoticed Things Behind A Healthy Ecosystem
Having a good water source brings life not just to the obvious to what you see but what life the gardens attract right down to the microorganisms that in all create a healthy ecosystem. Having this creation in a resort we hope to bring awareness to guests that permaculture and greenery with managed water resources like the swimming pool and drinking water filtration combined with a chemical free atmosphere may one day inspire this way of life style to others making a better planet for everyone’s well being.
