A mythical island paradise didn’t exist, so an Australian created it

We’ll get there fast
And then we’ll take it slow
That’s where we wanna go
Way down in Kokomo

– The Beach Boys, Kokomo (1988)

First, an apology. Actually, make that two apologies.

Firstly because referencing the Beach Boys’ hit in the intro to an article about Fiji’s Kokomo Private Island is the most cliched way possible to begin a story about this place.

And secondly because you’re now going to have that ’80s earworm stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

Of course, when the Beach Boys sang about “a place called Kokomo”, they were referencing somewhere in the Caribbean, although, to this day, no one knows exactly where it’s supposed to be. The places in the Caribbean that go by “Kokomo” these days are named in homage to the song, not the other way around.

So does the perfect island paradise from the song actually exist? Perhaps not “off the Florida Keys”, but if it is real, surely it’s much closer to our neighbourhood. And it’s the dream not of an aged pop group, but of an Australian.

The late Lang Walker, whose Walker Corporation was responsible for hundreds of developments across Australia including some iconic buildings such as Sydney’s Finger Wharf, had long dreamed of creating the ultimate beach resort.

Kokomo’s idyllic island setting, the Kadavu group south of Fiji’s main island Viti Levu, was familiar to Walker from his sailing days in his youth. So, after obtaining a 100-year lease from the local owners, he set about building Kokomo on the island of Yaukuve Levu. It opened in 2017 and has since made many “world’s best hotel” lists.

Eight years later, and approaching two years since Walker passed away, I’m boarding a float plane with my partner and two young kids to get a taste of Walker’s paradise. The short flight takes us from Nadi Airport over the centre of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, and out beyond the southern coast.

As we approach the island, the pilot circles to give us a good look at the resort. From the air, the island appears shaped like a double-headed spanner, with two wide hills either end of an isthmus, allowing for most of the villas, on either side of that narrow stretch, to enjoy beachfront views.

The float plane gently touches down on the water and glides to the jetty, where we’re greeted by staff singing and fresh coconuts. We’ve already checked in, back at Kokomo’s private lounge at Nadi Airport, so after drinking our coconut milk we hop into a golf buggy and head to our villa.

The resort consists of 21 villas, ranging from one to three bedrooms, each on the beachfront of either the western or eastern side of the island (though the distance between either side is less than 250 metres). Then there are the five “Grand Residences” – ultra-luxury properties ranging from just large to truly enormous, that come complete with butlers and nannies. There’s a maximum of 110 guests across the island at full occupancy.

Since the two-bedroom villas are booked out during our stay, we’re moved into one of the five-bedroom residences, called Dravuni. It’s bigger – much bigger – than my own home in Melbourne. In fact, there’s an entire wing of the villa, including the master bedroom, we don’t even use during the stay.

The 1038-square-metre space includes a huge private deck, complete with infinity pool and eight lounge chairs, looking out across the ocean to Dravuni Island. There are two spacious living areas, both indoor and outdoor dining tables, a fully stocked kitchen and a separate prep kitchen for the butler.

Ah yes, the butler. We meet Ima upon arrival and my six-year-old daughter takes an immediate shine to her. Within minutes they’re holding hands as Ima shows us around the villa, though I’m not entirely sure who is leading who at that point.

Ima is there to cater to our every whim during our stay, whether that’s bringing us food (she delivers a plate of fresh fruit to the kitchen in the morning, typically before we’re even out of bed), entertaining the kids or simply keeping the space neat and tidy. Beyond that, we don’t make too many demands of her. The kids’ main focus is the pool – it’s hard to get them to do anything else.

That’s until the nanny, Ma, enters the picture. She takes the children out for the entire day, to the resort’s kids club and its adjacent pool (where another staff member joins them in the water given their young ages and limited swimming abilities).

It’s a blissful break given our past experience with resort and cruise ship kids’ clubs; the kids hated them and couldn’t wait to get back to us. This time, though we spend two of our three days at Kokomo together, they’re quite content to have a day without us. Fijians have a reputation for loving kids and that’s apparent on the island. Every staff member, from the wait staff to the gardeners, greets our kids with a hearty “Bula!” every time we pass by. They seem genuinely surprised and pleased when my daughter starts saying “Ni sa moce” (“Goodnight”) to them in the evening. Back at the villa, Ima watches a movie with them while my partner and I are at dinner.

There are three restaurants on the island, each with a rotating menu, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included in the rate. Two restaurants are on the beachfront, the Beach Shack and Walker D’Plank. The lack of pretension in the names belies the sophistication of the food. Beach Shack mixes Mediterranean cuisine with local Fijian flavours, with dishes like red snapper tartare with avocado and tomato, seafood bouillabaisse, or wagyu flank with porcini mushroom risotto. Walker D’Plank, so named for Lang along with the fact you access it via a raised wooden walkway along the beach, is influenced by Asian street food. On the evening we dine there, it’s curry night, with seven different types available. Our kids are still too fussy to eat curry, but getting fish and chips for them instead, like just about every other request during our stay, is no problem.

The third restaurant, Kokocabana Pool Club, is located at the centre of the resort, by the main pool and kids club. Here it’s more casual dining, with woodfired pizzas, pasta, steak frites and other comfort-food favourites. The kids join head chef Caroline Oakley for a lesson in pasta-making and, once it’s cooked and a little pesto is added, they eat it with gusto.

We’re on an island, so naturally most food is shipped in, but the resort is increasingly focused on sustainability and I tour the island’s farm, where the restaurants source chilies, tomatoes, mangoes and bananas, with seedlings contained across several greenhouses. A beehive creates the island’s own honey supply.

Other sustainability projects are under way, including solar projects, a mangrove reforestation project and a bottle recycling program. The island has its own desalination plant, with the leftover brine used to create sea salt for the restaurants.

We head into the salty sea ourselves one morning, taking a short boat trip with other guests to some of the nearby uninhabited islands, where we snorkel and search for the local population of manta rays. They don’t make an appearance, but there’s enough fish life and coral to make up for it.

I convince the kids to leave the pool and try the beach. After initial reluctance, they quickly take to it, particularly when they realise how many tropical fish are swimming just a few metres from the shore. My daughter takes to snorkelling like she’s been doing it all her short life, taking my underwater camera and snapping better pics than I’ve managed.

Later, while they are being entertained by Ma again, my partner and I indulge in massages at the spa. The actual spa facility is closed for a renovation, so has been relocated to one of the two-bedroom villas. It gives me a chance to look at one of the smaller accommodation options, though to call it small is doing it an injustice. Even the one-bedroom villas consist of nearly 300 square metres of space, including their own private decks, swimming pools and separate bedroom and living areas, with many offering direct access to the beach.

I am left with one question during the stay: what’s with the name? While it’s been reported that it comes from the name of a yacht Walker used to sail, I’m told during my visit that its origins are more musical in nature. Not the Beach Boys song, but an instrumental called Asia Minor, released by jazz musician Jimmy Wisner in 1961 under the nom de plume, you guessed it, Kokomo. Walker reportedly attempted to learn the song during piano lessons, which he hated, but the name Kokomo stuck with him. The name – and place – will stick with me too.

As a side note, throughout our stay we hear hits of the ’80s and ’90s hits continuously piped in at the restaurants and bar. But, conspicuously, one song never makes an appearance. You know the one. It’s already stuck in your head.

Again, apologies.

THE DETAILS

Fly
Fiji Airways, Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all fly from Australia’s east coast to Nadi. Transfers Nadi to Kokomo are via the resort’s own float plane or helicopter ($1025 one way).

Stay
Villas at Kokomo start from $US2500 ($3528) per night for a one-bedroom villa. The Dravuni Residence, which sleeps up to 10 people, starts from $US12,600 per night.

See kokomoislandfiji.com

The writer stayed as a guest of Kokomo Private Island.