Our Story (By Andy Mundell)

Bula! I’m often asked how this place came to be and what our back-story is with Malolo Lailai and Fiji. It's a story that goes from riches to rags; about love & perseverence; humility, and the value of friendship. I’m honoured to share it with you.

Vale Oasis belongs to the Mundell Family Trust. Our family’s connection to Malolo Lailai began in the 1970s, and the island has been a second home to us ever since.

In the early 1960s, Don Mundell (Dad) and business partners Jim Cronin, Don Hurst and Bruce Robertson founded Trans Tours, running coach tours in New Zealand’s South Island.

The company experienced meteoric growth, expanding into owning and operating hotels in New Zealand and running two cruise ships around the Pacific.

My sister Kim (1965), my twin brother Simon (1966) and me, Andrew (Andy), spent part of our preschool and early school years on board while Mum, Jenny (1934-2011), and Dad, Don (1932-2012), worked to establish entertainment programmes and South Pacific experiences, with Fiji the primary destination and a familiar port of call.

Adopting the successful formula Trans Tours had used for its New Zealand tours and Pacific cruises, Dad saw the potential to expand the business into Fiji.

In 1973 Trans Tours started its Fiji subsidiary, the Tourist Corporation of Fiji, establishing tour operations and acquiring the Hibiscus Hotel (renamed Westgate Hotel) in Nadi, Paradise Point Resort in Korolevu, Man Friday Resort on the Coral Coast and the Southern Cross Hotel in Suva.

These were the formative years for tourism in Fiji. Dad became increasingly involved in establishing Fiji as a holiday destination for New Zealand and Australian travellers and forged bonds with many of Fiji’s tourism pioneers including — Dick Smith, Dan Costello, Reg Raffe, Paddy Doyle, Don Collingwood and others. Many of these relationships grew into life-long friendships.

Paradise Point became our second home for a time in the early ’70s. Meanwhile, Dad knew the quintessential Fiji holiday Kiwis and Aussies craved lay within the offshore islands of the Mamanuca Group. That would be Trans Tours’ ultimate destination.

The opportunity came in 1976 when Dad and resort owner, Reg Raffe, agreed on a lease arrangement for Trans Tours to operate the accommodation bures at Plantation Village. Rebranding as Plantation Island and focusing on the family market, it was a huge success.

I was ten years old in 1976 when we first arrived on Malolo Lailai as a family. Commandeering Bure 13 at the far end of the resort, we extended it to become our Fiji bach (holiday home). Much like schoolmates in Auckland heading to the Coromandel for their holidays, we went to Malolo Lailai — accruing up to 15 weeks on the island every year through my childhood and teens. The adventures, experiences, skills and friendships forged over these years were fundamental in shaping a deep connection with Malolo Lailai and its people. Some of whom are still here today.

By 1977 Trans Tours had evolved into Trans Holdings, a publicly traded company. At its height the group’s assets included 20 hotels in New Zealand (among them Auckland’s White Heron, The Chateau in Christchurch and Lakeland Resort in Queenstown); five hotels and resorts in Fiji; inbound tour operations, outbound tour wholesale, and retail travel agencies in New Zealand and Australia; inbound operations in Fiji; A large coach fleet in New Zealand plus coach tours in Fiji and Australia.

Life was good. The future looked solid.

… UNTIL IT WASN'T!

In 1979, on the back of the global oil crisis and with interest rates climbing (from 6.5 % in 1972 to 13.5 % by 1979), tourism growth stalled. Earnings missed projections, and the share price dipped for the first — and only — time.

UEB Industries, a corporate behemoth at the time, was expanding through mergers and acquisitions and turned its sights on tourism.

That year it launched a hostile takeover, offering Trans Holdings shareholders well above market value to gain controlling interest. Dad became a UEB Director and board member through the merger and stayed at the helm. But his single voice could not prevent what followed. One by one, the assets and subsidiaries were carved up, deconstructed, and sold in pieces.

By 1983 he’d had enough. Despite leveraging everything to try regain control, it was a futile effort and he could no longer watch the company’s demise.

Aside from some personal interests in Fiji, including the Southern Cross Hotel in Suva, everything — including our Auckland family home — was gone.

The material loss was massive; it almost killed Dad. Worst of all, it robbed him of his dignity. Times were very tough indeed.

We moved to Suva in 1983. For my brother and me, fresh out of high school, Suva was heaven.

Downtown Suva in 1983 was a safe, vibrant, bustling blend of cultures, sights and smells. Hindi music, reggae, disco and Muslim calls to prayer jostled above the din of car horns, sirens and buses whose mufflers had long since given up. Night-life was legendary: Lucky Eddie’s, Rockafellas and Chequer’s jammed from Tuesday to Sunday. Closing time meant off to Sunia Cama’s in Toorak for the world’s greatest curry (goat curry — Hot! .. my standing order). Also famous for black-market beer, Sunia Cama’s was where the after-party began and the next venue was planned. Friendships formed that endure to this day — and, unknown to me, wheels went into motion to meet my future wife (but that’s another story).

In 1984 Dick Smith, owner of Musket Cove Resort, launched the annual Musket Cove Regatta Week. It was an instant hit. Given the right logistics, marketing and programme management it had enormous potential.

Dick's bold vision for Musket Cove was starting to unfold and, with so much on his plate, the regatta needed a safe pair of hands.

Dick and Don had long been mates, and their relationship grew during our time at Plantation. Dick and Plantation Resort owner Reg Raffe had conflicting priorities at times and Don became a regular bridge for communication, helping foster cooperation for their common interests.

Dick recognised the value Don could bring to the regatta, and Don was very keen to get involved. Things hadn't been easy for Don, and I suspect Dick was also extending a hand to a mate. In any case, it was a good call — he probably saved Dad's life and my parents' marriage. Don had his spark back. He was already passionate about Musket Cove, and getting involved in any capacity was a self-motivating proposition.

For me, after moving back to Auckland in ’84, my heart remained in Fiji. Its significance in my life meant Fiji was etched deep in my bones. I started working at Go Pacific Holidays — unsurprisingly, selling holidays to Fiji. A couple of years later I joined Air Pacific (now Fiji Airways) as an Auckland-based sales rep. I then took up a marketing position with the Fiji Visitors Bureau (now Tourism Fiji). These roles had me frequently back in Fiji, and I would often add days to spend time with Mum and Dad on the island.

Shortly after returning to Auckland, friends from Suva arranged a blind date for me to meet a Suva girl living nearby. I knew of her — we had many mutual friends. Like many of my Suva crew, she was what we colloquially called “fruit salad” (mixed heritage). But I really had no idea what to expect. Then we met. Her blend of Indian, Fijian and European heritage was breathtaking; she was, without question, the most stunningly beautiful girl I'd ever met. (Hook, line & sinker).

We became inseparable. A few months later she was pregnant. We married in 1985, and our daughter Casey was born.

My wife's exotic looks came paired with a volatile personality. Our marriage endured until 1990. Soon after, Casey (nearly 5yrs old) came to live with me until she left home at 16. With only 19 years between us, we were essentially book-ends of Gen X, more peers than generations apart — and we’ve always been best mates. Through it all I remained close to my in-laws, often joining family gatherings in Fiji and New Zealand. Fiji’s culture (and food!) stayed near and dear to me throughout my 20s and 30s.

Throughout the ’90s Mum and Dad grew ever busier with Musket Cove projects — winters on the island, summers in Auckland. In 1993 they founded the Island Cruising Association, which boosted blue-water sailing from New Zealand to Fiji and swelled the number of yachts in Malolo Bay each year for Regatta Week.

In 1990 and again in 1991, Kim and Simon organised two skydiving meets on the island. As seasoned skydivers, you cannot look at an airstrip like Malolo Lailai’s without imagining the possibilities. Through perseverance — and mountains of red tape — clearance from Fiji’s Civil Aviation Authority was achieved, and skydiving at Malolo Lailai came to be a reality.

Throughout the ’90s Don became increasingly valuable to Dick, eventually becoming a Director of Musket Cove.

Then, in 1996, in an incredible act of generosity, Dick gifted Dad the lease for this quarter-acre slice of paradise that we now call Vale Oasis. Kim, Simon and I established the Mundell Family Trust and raised a mortgage in New Zealand to pay for the house construction — and the rest, as they say, is history.

Dick Smith passed away on the island in 2012, aged 81.

When I was a boy, Dick was 'the-man-on-the-yellow-motorbike with a bold plan'. It seemed like he could move mountains if they were in the way. Years later, it turned out he literally could. Dicks profound legacy will continue to be written for many years to come. I am forever humbled by his generosity and in awe of his achievement. 'The-man-on-the-yellow-motorbike' will always be a hero to me.

We completed the house in 1998. It was originally known as Kinloch. Named after Mum’s childhood holiday spot at Kinloch on Lake Wakatipu, near Queenstown. (Being unfamiliar to the local lexicon, the name was prone to misspelling. My personal favourite: "Kinglog", painted boldly on the Wheelie Bin. In fact, I still drop 'Kinglog' into conversation sometimes just to keep it alive.)

Mum and Dad passed away within a year of each other, in 2011 and 2012.

Starting in 2013, Simon and his wife Filipa renovated the house — credit goes largely entirely to Filipa — repainting in lighter colours, adding the deck and pool, and renaming it Villa Oasis. Over the following years their twin daughters, Charley and Ashlee, experienced what we had as kids, spending many school holidays on this incredible Pacific island.

In 2025 I took up the baton. As the family handyman, I’m focused on the maintenance challenges that come with life in the tropics and to lay the groundwork for the next generation — Casey, Charley and Ashlee — to continue its legacy into the future.

With help from my partner, Charlotte, we’re adding new amenities and have various upgrade works planned.

We’ve also tweaked the name to better reflect its Fijian roots — from Villa Oasis to Vale Oasis.

The Fijian language has two words for house: “Bure,” traditionally the house where men gather to drink kava, and “Vale,” the house where the family sleeps. That’s exactly what this place is — a family home in Fiji.

Our family invites your family to come make Vale Oasis your own for a while.

There's an overriding reason why I've been drawn to this island 1 to 3 times a year for almost every one of the last 50 years. I'd tell you if the words existed. But to know it you need to come experience it yourself.