Tropical Orchids Reach For The Sky
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
The privately maintained garden at Seachange Lodge, in the tropical islands of Vanuatu, just two and a half hours flight time from Brisbane, is awash with orchids at the moment.
As you enter the gates you are confronted with the sight of exotic mauve orchids growing over three metres in height. Follow the path past the Garden Cottage and deep purple ground orchids flank the walkway.
Continue on down towards the swimming pool and you are once more confronted with a mass of two to three metre high flaming orange orchids.
Walk down on through a tropical garden area and more sprays of mauve and white orchids hang high over your head.
Ask the owners Rick and Wendy what their secret is and with a grin Rick will answer, “We just happen to be fortunate enough to live on a tropical island in the South Pacific.”
When Rick and Wendy purchased the property in 2002, it was a run down private home. Today it is a thriving boutique holiday accommodation business.
“The orginal owner must have been a keen gardener, judging by all the wonderful fruit trees all over the property and the well placed retaining walls. By the time we took over, there were no gardens at all,” explains Wendy. “It has taken four years to see the gardens come to maturity.”
Today exotic tropical plants greet you at every turn, from high on the road right down to the lagoon edge. An acre of landscaped land surrounds the lodges, tucking each one away behind walls of natural greenery to maintain privacy.
“Wendy used to trawl the markets every Saturday looking for plants. I would have trouble finding her in the car when she finally came home,” Rick laughed. “She would then spend the rest of the day planting. I have seen her shift a plant up to five times before it found a home that was suitable. Now the head gardener takes over the maintenance of the gardens and does a really great job.”
Even if you are not staying at Seachange Lodge, as there are only six self-contained units, it is well worth a visit, just to walk through the gardens. It could also be your Blue Moon Opportunity to get set free.
If you would like to know how you could retire to a tropical island take a few minutes to visit Win A Resort
President Jimmy Carter, on a break from the pressures of office, was fishing in a pond in a canoe, when he saw a desperate looking rabbit swimming straight for him. “It’s nostrils flared, hissing menacingly, with its teeth flashing, it was frantically struggling to reach a safe haven,” was the report from one eye witness. No doubt it brought back many memories to the President, of tales told in his childhood, of killer rabbits in the swamps. The President’s Secret Service men were caught flatfooted.