An 86-year-old, real-life Robinson Crusoe
According to the Daily Mail, Brendon Grimshaw bought Moyenne Island, off the north coast of Mahe, Seychelles, in the early 1960s for £8,000. It had been abandoned for aproximately 50 years and as a result was completely overgrown. Grimshaw hired local Rene Lafortune to help him make Moyenne habitable. Over 39 years, the two men cleared away the brush, planted 16,000 trees and built 4.8 kilometers of nature paths, Radio Times reports.
The island is now known as Moyenne Island National Park — it holds more than two thirds of all endemic plants to the Seychelles as well as 120 giant tortoises and 2,000 birds. Visitors are welcome for a small fee. No overnight guests. Grishaw prefers it that way!
More information:
Simon Reeve meets the real life Robinson Crusoe
By ‘eck! It’s Yorkshire’s Robinson Crusoe: Brit who bought a cut-price island in the Seychelles 50 years ago… and still lives in blissful solitude with 120 giant tortoises
A Grain of Sand – Documentary on Brendon Grimshaw