The Waka History
Who is behind Waka - The Waka brothers
Wayan Kari, the original owner of the Oberoi Bali among many of his other interests in Bali and Indonesia has three sons; Ketut Siandana is the eldest with Made Sutarjana being the middle one, known as DeSu, and Putu Sumaniaka known as Intu is the youngest. All are married with children and are devout Hindus.
The name ‘Waka’ is in honour of their father Wayan Kari, who suggested their intro into the tourism business in 1992 with his blessing. And for what is Waka, “On the Island of the Gods, experience has a new name …The Waka Experience”. Let us take you through a land of ageless traditions of sacred rituals and secrets, of subtle rhythms and haunting melodies, of mysterious hidden forces. People call it “The Island of the Gods, the Navel of the world” We call it our home.
P.S. Waka is a ‘tree’ in Sanskrit and in American Indian it means ‘free soul’.
The History of Waka 1993 – 2005 & now 2006
The Waka legend began in the year of our Lord 1992, with the 23 meter sailing catamaran ‘WakaLouka’ and the ‘Reef Club’ day resort on Nusa Lembongan. Throughout 1993, the boat and day resort prospered, and a constantly increasing number of people – (around 7000 in 1993 alone) – enjoyed what was to become known as a “Waka Experience”.
There was fierce competition among the boats that plied the daily Benoa to Lembongan sea route (about five other vessels) but only WakaLouka had a land base. This was to be the pattern of the Waka group’s groundbreaking foresight. The ‘Reef Club’ concept gave us a unique selling proposition – and we used it effectively and prospered. In the year 1994, the boat carried 10.000 guests to WakaLouka Reef Club on Lembongan Island; and in 1995, 13.000.
At this time a new style of resort was being built in the Ubud area: Ume di Ume – designed by Ketut Siandana, the architect of the Waka resorts and the developer of the Waka style. With a change of name to Waka di Ume, the resort opened in 1995. Waka was again at the leading edge; marketing a small, charming, stylish hotel which deliberately avoided the clichés – televisions, air-conditioners and commercial Balinese furniture; but offered a “less is more”, almost monastic / simplistic look, featuring local fabrics, stone and wood – and a meditation center – once more creating a unique selling proposition. Today, Waka di Ume ranks among the most successful and well-known resorts in Ubud, and even in all of Bali.
This became the pattern for the Waka resorts. Work began on a sister resort attached to the ‘Reef Club’ on Lembongan Island, to be called Desa WakaNusa.
The name Waka began to take on the authority of an established brand name.
Like Waka di Ume in Ubud, WakaNusa island resort was designed and built to work in harmony with the land, to feature the surrounding flora and fauna, and to involve the local people and their everyday working environment. It offered a true Balinese experience.
At about the same, a second day-tour product was conceived – a land tour by air-conditioned luxury Land Rovers, which were purchased in Jakarta. And the journey to the secret soul of Bali began – to Jatiluwih and Gunung Batukaru.
This was the first such product in Bali, and again it was developed with a unique selling proposition – a purpose-built, private restaurant deep in the bamboo rain forest, high on the mountain side.
This meant there were four ‘Waka’ products – two resorts and two day-tours, supported by a worldwide marketing network.
The ‘Waka’ company was on the move.
