February 17, 2024
SA Weekend
Editor: Cameron England
Adelaide Entrepreneur Che Metcalfe dreamt of buying an island. So he did, just off Port Lincoln. Now it’s home to a luxury escape that is bespoke, elegant, understated and wild… and it’s on the beginning.
On our early morning run to – almost – circumnavigate Louth Island, we get a chance to test our tracking skills on a seemingly gargantuan set of bird prints. The island, just a short boat ride from Port Lincoln, is home to “Wendy” the wedge-tailed eagle, but she predominantly hangs out at the north end, and what business does a wedgie have wandering around a dirt track anyway?
The endangered hooded plovers which flit around the dunes would comfortably fit within one of these footprints, and the Cape Barren geese are coastal dwellers. Then, with the sighting of a wisp of a tail track, it clicks: goannas!
Ten minutes later, having knocked off a leisurely 7km run, we’re back at Rumi on Louth resort, putting a dent in chilli scrambled eggs with divine house-made focaccia and getting primed for a morning of fishing for King George whitingin Homestead Bay, where an amphibious vehicle dropped us the previous afternoon.
The day ahead delivers – in spades – the promise the founder of the newly opened Rumi offers visitors to this special new addition to Australia’s high-end tourism market.
It’s bespoke, it’s luxury, but it’s also wild. A day might involve kayaking in the bay, massages, paddleboarding, and sailing, alongside a six-course degustation featuring the seafood and natural vegetation of the region.
The story of the gentle, conscientious rehabilitation of the former sheep run unfurls in conversations with the staff, largely locals energized to showcase an undiscovered jewel.
And this is just the first stage; the literal “Rumi Reveal”.
Adelaide-based tech entrepreneur Che Metcalfe is looking to invest a significant stake of the $40m or so he made from the sale of the company he co-founded, Uniti Group, in expanding Rumi from its current size to incorporate another 27 private villas on the island, as well as a Japanese-inspired restaurant and a day spa.
Metcalfe had always daydreamed about owning an island one day. “I have a distinct memory my whole life of telling people ‘One day, I’m going to buy an island and retire there’,” he says.
His financial windfall brought this dream within reach but, perhaps unsurprisingly, buying an island – and then getting permission to use it – isn’t exactly straightforward.
The island had been on the market for about a decade, but no one had been able to strike the right deal with its family owners.
“It literally took about 12 months of negotiation to get them to agree to a price,’’ Metcalfe says. “Then eventually they did. The purchase was made, and then I started spending time here. I had plans of turning it into a private island, maybe with some very kind of casual accommodation where friends and family could stay. But then as I spent more time on the island, and I saw how special it was, the idea grew, and it became bigger and bigger, until what it is now.’’
What it is now, is a delightful, environmentally conscious, and unique new tourism offering for those with a taste for the high end, but who also enjoy the more intrepid side, throwing out a fishing line on a kayak, or swimming in the pristine waters of Carl Cove.
(Side note: No one as yet seems to have nailed down how the island’s landmarks – Carl Cove, Barry Beach, etc – got their names. If you have any ideas, feel free to get in touch.)
The arrival at Rumi primes the visitor for what’s in store.
The Sealegs is an amphibious vehicle which delivers you to the island in 15 minutes or so, and you can’t deny the mild thrill of simply driving out of the ocean onto the beach.
A scant 100m or so beyond the shore, you arrive at Rumi proper, with its luxury suites and a restaurant, to be greeted with a mimosa.
Rumi has been designed from the ground up to be both in harmony with its natural surroundings and luxe.
Mature, protected Australian grass trees are dotted around the site, lending it a sense that it has been established longer than its short life.
Within, Metcalfe’s touch is apparent in the handmade Italian bathroom tiles, original Australian artworks, and – befitting a former internet entrepreneur – excellent Wi-Fi connectivity.
It would be remiss not to mention the Dyson hairdryers in each room.
It’s the little things.
A large part of the Rumi vision involves restoring the previously neglected island’s natural habitats, which involves long-term programs of weed clearing and the reintroduction of native species.
The operations are also entirely off-grid, with solar and battery installations powering the site.
“Every part of this project has been meticulously planned to look after the environment and to regenerate what was a dilapidated sheep farm that had sat here idle for 10 years,’’ Metcalfe says.
Building a luxury eco-resort from scratch with private funding is not a project for the faint-hearted. But Metcalfe, a serial entrepreneur in the tech space, is no stranger to hard knocks.
Back in 2019, having built his company, Uniti Wireless from a start-up into a fast-growing internet service provider over the previous seven years, he successfully spearheaded a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.
That journey came to an unexpected and shocking end on the company’s first day as a public entity, when Metcalfe and his co-founder were sacked without notice and kicked out of the company.
It’s testament to Metcalfe’s unique view of the world that he saw the sense in the decision, while admitting the execution could have been better.
“We’ve got to remember I hired the CEO and I hired the board, and when you take money from shareholders, the amount of money we’d taken from shareholders, that’s a big undertaking; you’ve got a lot of responsibility,’’ he says. “And your responsibility is to do the best thing by the shareholders and staff and the company and all of that. “So at the time, as a director, and as the CEO at the time, I would have happily stepped aside because I could see that some of the larger shareholders didn’t think that I had the experience to lead the company on the next stage, and I would tend to agree with them. So I would have happily moved aside. I think what I didn’t like is perhaps the way it was done.’’
Metcalfe was forced to sit on the sidelines – albeit with confidence in the team he’d helped install – and watch as shares in the company plummeted from the 25c listing price.
Then they recovered, and then they really took off, pushing through $1 per share, $2 per share, fuelled by an aggressive acquisition strategy. Uniti bought about a dozen companies, initially outlaying modest amounts, before swallowing up Opticomm for $532m as well as Telstra’s fibre-to-the-premises network, Velocity, for $140m.
Then, in April 2022, Uniti itself was bought out by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management and fund manager Morrison & Co in a $3.6bn, $5-a-share deal.
Until then, Metcalfe had held on to his slightly more-than-eight-million shares. It is thought he netted more than $40m.
In the background, he had been quietly laying the foundations for his island dream, which soon evolved into more than just an island home.
Beyond the current “Rumi Reveal” offering, the villas – which will be built out over the next couple of years – will provide an extra-special experience.
Nestled into the dunes to reduce their visual impact, each will have a view over the coast and be designed in such a way that there is a sense of solitude, with no other infrastructure in sight.
Rumi on Louth
Getting there: Fly from Adelaide to Port Lincoln, with a Rumi concierge airport pick-up followed by a short boat trip to the island.
Pricing: From $600 for two people in a suite.
Guests can already trundle around the island on electric golf carts, with the northern stretch of the island – quarantined for environmental protection reasons – remaining off limits.
And while the second stage also promises a separate stand-alone restaurant, there is no reason to delay a trip in anticipation.
Executive chef Jono Sweet, born and raised nearby on the Eyre Peninsula, has put together a six-course degustation that celebrates the rich seafood of the region while incorporating native ingredients foraged on the island, such as samphire, ruby saltbush, and ice plant.
The degustation, naturally paired with a South Australian wine selection, begins with kingfish crudo – an Eyre Peninsula staple – followed by a Spencer Gulf king prawn and bonito combination, octopus, and sirloin dishes. The vegetarian selection includes a torched, compressed watermelon, a work of art in itself.
Weather permitting, the restaurant is wide open to the elements. As the sun dips below the dunes, a sweet white wine is served, paired with a parfait topped with flash-frozen mandarin.
A two-day Rumi experience will also likely involve a sunset cruise on the catamaran Odyssey, with Sweet once again showcasing the finest SA producers have to offer, albeit in a fashion easily consumed while under sail.
For the traveller attuned to what it offers, the Rumi on Louth Island experience strikes a wonderful balance. At 3 pm you might be casting out to the blue line in Carl Cove, waiting for – and likely experiencing – the telltale strike of a thumper whiting on your line.
After a nap on the beach, or perhaps a lunch cooked on an eco-friendly beach barbecue, you’re back in your room, pulling on your best threads for a top-shelf dining experience, having washed the salt from your skin.
Metcalfe expects the clientele for Rumi to be global and discerning. With the optimism of the true entrepreneur, he is confident of success.
“I’ve always been a very optimistic person who can see things sometimes, whether I’m naive sometimes or whether I can see things that some other people can’t see, and see that there’s a possibility to do something,’’ he says. “So I see an opportunity here to build a world-class resort.’’
That has already been achieved. With the villas soon to arrive, the best is undoubtedly yet to come, but why wait? You can tell everyone you got there first.
The author was a guest of Rumi management.