INSPIRATION I A Fijian's journey to Mt. Everest

LONG before Sam Tuqami Lee began prepping for Mount Everest, he was a boy growing up in Suva, Fiji, amid all the tropical wonders of island life.

Today, he lives in Northern California, USA, where he works between Folsom (near Sacramento) and San Francisco and travels the world as part of a career built around helping high-net-worth clients manage the many demands of their lives.

Yet despite being isolated from home by the world’s oceans, Fiji remains intrinsically anchored in his identity.

“I left Fiji at 21, but I have never forgotten where I came from,” Lee proudly says.

A boy from Suva

His journey began at Suva Grammar School and took an unexpected turn when, at 18, he joined the Fiji Military Forces. His service took him overseas to Lebanon and Egypt, where he served under the United Nations and the Multinational Force & Observers.

Those years exposed him to different cultures. They also strengthened his curiosity about the world that would eventually take him far beyond south seas.

When he left the country in 1992, Lee wanted to meet different people, experience new cultures and discover what existed beyond the world he had known growing up.

Life eventually brought him to Northern California and the Bay Area, where he built a new life and career.

His work today involves managing the affairs of wealthy individuals, including millionaires and billionaires, handling everything from travel and logistics to personal matters and the countless details required to keep their lives running smoothly.

But no matter how far his career and travels have catapulted him, his fond memories of Fiji remain vivid.

Memories of Fiji remain

Some of his happiest moments are of school holidays spent at his grandmother’s village in Ra. He remembers swimming across rivers, fishing with cousins and friends, and milking cows for fresh milk.

“They were simple moments, but they have stayed with me throughout my life,” he says.

Looking back, Lee believes those past experiences taught him lessons about family, community, nature, hard work and togetherness.

One encounter several years ago brought that Fiji connection sharply back into focus.

While returning to Fiji with a client aboard a global 6000 private aircraft, Lee arrived in Nadi and was greeted by an inspector who boarded the aircraft to check their belongings.

Lee immediately began speaking to him in Fijian.

The inspector, he recalls, was taken aback to find a fellow Fijian arriving on an aircraft of that kind.

A connection to home

For Lee, the moment was a reminder that no matter how far his life had taken him, a part of him remained that boy from Suva speaking his own language.

He still carries his Fijian passport when he travels, describing it as more than a document.

“It is a small but meaningful connection to home,” he says.

That connection has taken on even greater meaning as Lee has embarked on another historic journey — this time into some of the world’s highest montane territories.

About a year and a half ago, while in Fiji, he heard about Mount Everest.

He had travelled extensively and was not looking for something to prove. But the idea of Everest affected him differently.

“It felt like a voice telling me to come,” he says.

That feeling became the start of a three-year plan to progressively prepare for the world’s highest mountain.

The voice that keeps calling

Lee began training around Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada region, and in the mountains of California and Colorado, while travelling to climb other mountains and gain experience.

His first major milestone came in Tanzania.

On September 12, 2026, Lee and a team of five began climbing Mount Kilimanjaro via the Rongai Route. They steadily gained elevation before reaching Uhuru Peak at 19,341 feet.

At the summit, Lee carried the Fijian flag and photographed himself with it.

He dedicated the climb to his three children — Linda Lee, Eric Tuqami Lee and Tyler Tuqami Lee.

That moment, he says, represented more than reaching the summit.

It was about giving his children something to look back on and showing them that difficult goals can be pursued through discipline, perseverance and patience.

For Lee, the mountain journey is also connected to his heritage.

Tuqami, the name carried by his sons, is his grandfather’s name and a Fijian heritage that he hopes his children will continue to carry with pride.

He sees that heritage as part of a much older Fijian story.

Carring Fiji on his shoulders

He believes the spirit of exploration carried by his Fijian ancestors, who crossed vast oceans without knowing what lay beyond the horizon, remains part of his Fijian character.

“There is no mountain too high, no ocean too far, and no land too distant for us to reach and share who we are.”

That philosophy now shapes the way Lee approaches his global travels and work.

As he moves through different countries and mountain communities, he is increasingly interested not only in the landscapes but in the people, traditions and histories connected to them.

Mountains, he says, belong to communities long before they become destinations for climbers.

“I want to be a witness to that entire process — not just the summit.”

He documents much of the journey on Facebook, sharing his training, climbs, travels and experiences with family and followers.

For his children, the record will eventually be about more than mountains. It will tell the story of where their father went, who he met and what he learned along the way.

The spirit of the voyager

Kilimanjaro was only his first major step.

Aconcagua in Argentina is next, followed by Denali in Alaska, before Lee turns his attention once again to the mountain that started the journey – Everest.

He does not know exactly where the road will lead. But he knows what he carries with him: the lessons of a childhood in Suva, the discipline learned through military service, the memories of his grandmother’s village in Ra, the heritage name of his grandfather and the support of his children.

And wherever the next mountain takes him, Fiji will be there too.

“I carry my ancestors, grandparents, uncles, those who have passed, and those who are still with me,” Lee says. “I carry them with pride, love, and care.”

“I believe there is something very special in our Fijian heritage. We come from people who were voyagers. Our ancestors crossed enormous oceans without knowing what lay beyond the horizon, and I believe that spirit of exploration is still within us.”

“We are voyagers. And wherever life takes me, Fiji will always be a part of who I am.”