The digital home of Dennis A. Smith
IT Entrepreneur
The recently completed Teuila Festival 2011 has been a real success – at least compared to last year’s offering. No doubt the Samoa Tourism Authority will be well pleased. Savali editor Tupuola Terry Tavita makes some good suggestions and speaks quite frankly about the poor tourism participation at Teuila in his recent editorial.
The unasked question is: “What is the purpose [of the event]?” because as Terry observes – it is all about Samoa, not on generating tourism. [Read more...]
A typical Samoan bus - wooden body on a Toyota truck chassis and motor. Oozing with character and itching for a bit of fun!
Last week, Debbie and I decided to push forward with an idea that I first conceptualised in 2009, and setup in March of 2010 – a themed bus for the marketing of Samoa.
Imagine what Walt Disney would do with a local wooden-body bus in Samoa and cross that with Bill Gates in IT, Marketing Stevo from Apple, and what Croc Dundee did for Australian Tourism marketing.
That’s it basically. [Read more...]
Domain Name Business for sale as listed on TradeMe
I’ve finally put my entire portfolio of domain names on the market, with all my really good New Zealand phone numbers too. [Read more...]
Debbie watering her vege seeds
It’s been a real challenge setting up a house and home in Samoa, but we’re making some progress now.
We’ve spent a large part of the last month pushing through with setting up on the land in Falelauniu, actually more up by the Aleisa Road.
It’s a good patch of land with a nice breeze wafting up the hill and a good temperature to live in – certainly in the shade of the trees – compared to much of the lower and hotter areas in Samoa.
Debbie has her garden under way. A lot of time and energy has gone into clearing the land – trees chopped down with machete and stumps dug out or pulled out – mostly by hand and the garden will do well in time in the tropical growing conditions. We have bananas and coconuts producing already from previous owners’ planting going back generations but the rest will take time to develop.
Our first WWOOFer volunteers have been and gone now (www.wwoofsamoa.com) one guy from Germany, two from Italy and another two from Argentina. Thanks to their help, the gardens are big enough to plant out and quite a few little things have been sorted – like water, generator power and now the Internet!
A pleasant surprise came last week with Samoa Tourism Authority finally wanting to talk with us meaningfully. It’s taken 18 months and has been a long drawn out saga that began for me a week or so after the Tsunami in October 2009 when I first offered my services to the Prime Minister. At the time he asked me to speak to Sonja Hunter, CEO of STA and suggested to her that she see if they could use me. In the interests of burying the hatchet and goodwill we won’t go into details about the delays, but various things have now “happened” 18 months later and it looks like SWAP and STA may be able to work together in a much closer way. This was always my long-term goal, so I’m pretty pleased to be starting to have meaningful dialogue with them.
Creating a home is way more than just building a house. Emotional, financial, social and matters of faith all roll into the equation and it’s a major life-changing event. Every new path, pipe and plant though represents another step in a pretty challenging journey, setting up in a new country.
Overall, Debbie and I are pretty pleased with the new land and what we’ve achieved in only a few short weeks. More to do but good progress every day.
Another week of action in Paradise!
Our campsite is taking shape. It’s true camping at the moment, literally.
Samoa is pretty much outdoor living anyway, with permanent camping the general feel of the place as we’ve got open walled Fales and a pretty constant 30 degrees year-round make for a camping-type experience once you are out of the resorts and city. Outside living though is a little different for us – we are literally CAMPING in the bush at the moment.
Fortuantely the trees drop the temperature a good 2-3 degrees and keep off 90% of the sun 80% of the day, so it is really quite comfortable micro-climate. A gentle breeze coming up the hill and the trees killing any dew, it makes for a lovely spot, actually. Note the cover for the limo – stops the falling coconuts from damaging it – until the lean-to is built. True!
The driveway has been completed – 8 truckloads of fill – teams of Samoan boys all keen for a few bucks for smokes and booze – a lot of sweat and diesel burning diggers and we now have vehicular access to our Campsite.
Water is now piped in from the roadside (we tapped into an obliging neighbour’s waterpipe, thanks!) – untreated but drinkable for the brave. That’s me! A one inch sub-main is promised but “We don’t have any 1″ pipes left so it will happen in the next financial year” we are told by Samoa Water Authority (SWA). I think it “might” just happen in a few months.
This is one big momma coconut tree that was spared from the axe. Debbie loves her coconut trees and especially this one with a bend, so it stayed, and we can just sneak the road past it, just. Palagi in Samoan clothes – shirt only on for the photo. Jandals optional but necessary on the road. Lavala is cheap and easy to buy, wear, wash. Great once you are used to them. Aussie squashable hat is a must for Palagi nose and ears when in the sun.
Now to organise transfer of all our gears from Satapuala . . . and setup an office in town somewhere.
We’re getting there after the major hiccup with the Satapuala landlords. Costly and sad to have to move on from The Airport Lounge, but we had no choice really. In the end we’ve ended up with better digs by far but we’ve basically been set back by a year and lost a few quid.
We have no power nor Internet at the campsite and are working outside on setting up shop, so I’ll chat to you again a little while later, sometime!
This post is about three people who really make life worth living here in Samoa, and me!
It is rare for me to be out of the office without the SWAP uniform. Wearing it at all times goes with the territory here because we draw high attention to ourselves.
It is also rare for me to be photographed, as I am almost always behind the camera snapping others.
This is a rare shot taken of yours truly by one of SWAP Ambassadors Rob Spijkerman while waiting to see the PM this week.
Of note in the photo is a series of cultural challenges – for both cultures. They are (in no particular order):
The limousine is now all spruced up and in the Silverdale yard.
Sorry no photos yet – we gotta announce it in the Samoan news media first!
Tui reckons that Tui has made it perfectly ready for Tui. [Interpretation: Tui (Tuigamala) saw the vehicle for the first time yesterday and said that Tui (Salamau) has done a great job with new wheels and a good servicing it ready for the Prime Minister (Just call me Tui) Tuila’epa.
Thanks team!
Today we sold the clientbase of Go Kiwi Internet. It’s a big day. Apart from being flush with cash again it is an emotional moment.
I started web development in 1997 and GKI in 1999. Sad to say goodbye to all my clients, but Samoa beckons and we have some cool tricks hiding up our sleeve.
I am now back in Samoa and all go, go, go sorting things!
A lot has happened in a few days!
Guests Alastair Galpin & Carl Emerson are arriving tomorrow which we all look forward to.
I’m on my way to another country to pick up a wife.
(My one actually, not another one!)
Cool eh? She’s sold up her car and packed all her bags to join me in paradise . . . hmmm . . . well that’s what they call Samoa in the marketing brochures anyway!
See you all at the Kiwi Hotel, Queens Street tonight! RSVP to Debbie 021-174-0174 if you’re coming!
We have chosen 10 acres for our SWAP HQ. Today I completed due diligence and am preparing the documentation tonight. We are hoping to take possession in the next day or so with fencing and section clearing being dome hopefully Thursday/Friday and Saturday this week – that’s the general idea anyway!
Once signed we will tell the world! GKI sale is now at lawyers for final tweaks to the agreement – settlement mid next week – it’s all go go go!
On Tuesday 22 Feb Debbie and I will be at the Kiwi International Hotel at the top of Queen St on the right, Number 411) if anyone wants to join us for dinner and a catch up about Samoa. My shout, you guys just chip in for the drinks. RSVP please.
I say, “Right let’s settle on ONE piece of land please, SIGN it & get going!”
I’ve got things happening all around me & offers of land & leases & businesses.
I just want a new home with a landlord (that has a brain) & that is secure (well at least as secure as I can get here where you are not allowed to ever OWN land!).
A ten acre block at Tafaigata is looking the best at the moment. The others are all “in progress” – Samoa!
A few challenging weeks have just past. My daughters Rebecca and Ashlea are now home in New Zealand after spending a week in paradise. [Read more...]
The last week or so I’ve been working closely with the village of Uafato. They now all want to do business under the 9th Heaven brand. That’s cool! [Read more...]
The last couple of weeks have been full-on with the SWAP team into video, PHP, photography, blogging and the start of The Airport Lounge. [Read more...]
The SWAP team are in Savaii for this long weekend (we’ve unilaterally declared this weekend a long weekend BTW!) [Read more...]
The last three weeks has been full-on with the SWAP team building to full complement. This delightful picture is the SWAP team hard at work yesterday. [Read more...]
The last few weeks has seen SWAP Headquarters renovated, our next SWAP Ambassadors Scott Simòn and Helena Dunn arrive and settle in. [Read more...]
The last fortnight has seen the sale of my house in Milford by Auction (thanks to Barfoots who FINALLY sold it, even if it didn’t reach the reserve we sought), the completion of appropriate business permits here in Samoa and exploration of a dozen investment possibilities, basically spending time establishing myself in Samoa. [Read more...]
I have spent the last week settling into Samoa, rebuilding friendships attending the TIDES Tourism & Investment Conference and establishing new contacts and friends, and believe it or not, revising my plans. [Read more...]
My departure date for Samoa has been confirmed – 16th February 2008 (NZ Date). I will be incommunicado from 18-21 February (NZDate) while attending the TIDES tourism event. [Read more...]
I’ve just completed a month in Samoa, primarily living with subsistence farmers in the rural South – the centre of the recent Tsunami but also doing business in Apia. A totally surreal experience! [Read more...]
I’ve just returned from 10 days in Samoa with Bex. An experience of a lifetime for a 15 year old girl who’s only ever had a week out of New Zealand in the Gold Coast before. Another chapter in my amazing life too, I tell you! [Read more...]
Bex and I saved the pingas and scratched around enough for a red hot deal on a couple of return flights to Samoa a few months back. The government has promised me that they will have a nice new passport in the post to me in plenty of time and some lucky Samoan beach Fale will have us crash in on it shortly. We’ll be living it up on a budget, up there from the 6th-15th October and back on deck again on the 19th. Fa’afetai.
It’s official. I’ve finally succumbed to the pile of papers, backlog of compliance accounting, workload and unfinished projects, and have taken the plunge. A PA. [Read more...]
I’ve been invited to speak at the eTourism Conference 1st/2nd October, 2009 in Wellington. Organiser Lea Boodee picked up the Internet UNMASKED!! book and has invited WDANZ to have a stand. Good work Lea, past attendees have got a real buzz from the webthoughtleadership training materials.
I’m in Christchurch 6th & 7th August – doing the Internet UNMASKED!! Seminar and Workshop training for business. I’m presenting the same content to a large bunch of business people on the Friday arranged by our new Christchurch web design Agent.
Go Kiwi Internet is at the WDANZ stand at the Business Opportunities and Franchise expo on Friday 14th – 16th August at Auckland. I’ll be presenting the same Seminar on all three days and have offered to fill in doing the SEO Seminar in the case of illness of other speakers.
I’ve been asked to present again at the annual Rent-a-Dent Conference, this time being held in Christchurch, in a couple of weeks. [Read more...]
Go Kiwi Internet’s final LX6 – LX7 upgrades are pretty much all done now – this was a bit of a mission with [Read more...]
The last few weeks I have been preparing the relocation of the Go Kiwi Internet business from 2 Thornton Rd to 75 Porana Road.
After more than 10 years working from a home office and having five or six people through my office door and commandeering my lounge, it will be a change for us all. The down side of course is [Read more...]
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Samoa Limousines website has just hit the waves (