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Journal - Savusavu, Grading the land. (2009)
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This was an accident or fate or whatever you want to call it. But it was
not supposed ot planned to have happened for at least another year! Along
with grading and defining the driveway and the general land drainage as well as
the main culvert which divided my land from the road. If you can call the
dirt patch that just happens to run along that edge a road. But it did get
done and here is how! |
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I had measured the land as it was when I bought it a year ago. There were
three (3) levels to the lots. The top most (level 3) was a total jungle
and I really had no idea how big or small it really was. I thought that at
best when cleared I could put a BBQ or small bar or cabana up there. Level
2 was kind of the main section and was the biggest open flat area and could have
supported a small house and a couple of trees. Level 1, the lowest and was
almost as big as Level 2. There was a nice curving driveway going from the
street level up the back of levels 1 & 2 BUT whomever built it made it only big
enough for e bicycle or the like in the middle of it. The total of the
land was approximatly 1/2 acre split into two titles. |
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We were all sitting at the Savusavu Yacht Club on a Friday evening, as we all
did every Friday evening. And I just happend to talk about the silly
driveway and that it really needed a digger to widen it out to make it usable.
Well little did I know but that little bugger Neil Franch, a really great guy,
made a couple of calls early the next morning and by 10 AM we had been picked up
and were driving over to Oneva to look at some digger work this guy had done for
the Nimale Estate/Resort. It was very impressive, with roads carved out of
the side of mountains and level outcroppings for houses dirt bridges etc.
Then came the big blow, he had a digger just 4 km down the road from my land
workgin at teh Cousteau Resort and it was on hold for a week waiting for some
concrete parts and he would let me have it for half price. How could I
refuse! So by 10am Monday morning the digger was there and this young kid,
who looked like he was about 13, turned out he was actually just turned 15, was
swinging this huge digger into action and was up on the top level (level 3) and
hacking away at the deep foliage and had struck dirt. By the end of the
first day he had completed the top level and I now had a wonderful huge graded
and edged lot of over 50 ft wide and 35 ft deep. |
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Over the next 2-3 days this young kid threw that huge digger around and created
two terraces or benches as they call them in Fiji. This he did carefully
and stragically making sure that everything was graded in the correct angle and
direction to provide run-off for rain water and stability for when the real rain
flods would happen each year. The, now main level, which was levels 1 & 2
combined, was huge. It measured roughly 100 ft wide and 60 ft deep with 2
benches each being 8ft deep and 10ft high, there was a very small area left of
level 1 which is now going to be tghe guest parking lot with space for 2-3 cars
and a turnign area. The driveway goes all the way up and is now
graveled, I had 4 truck loads of small river rock delivered and pounded it to
give grip and water run off. |
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While we were waiting for the drive-way gravel to arrive and culvert pipe the
digger kid was busy clearing and leveling the other side of the road for me so I
could get to the beach and use that area for planting of parking. No
matter what I can use it for something as it is cleared, graded and leveled with
car access as well. Althgh I will have to build some steps and its about
6-8ft above the high tide line and water level. |
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