Moyenne Island

Moyenne island from the sea by Jean-Francis Martin.

Moyenne aerial view.

Moyenne Island.

Mahe Island View.

Moyenne Island is a small island (0.089 km/0.055 mi) in the Ste Anne Marine National Park off the north coast of Mahé, Seychelles. Since the 1970s it has been a flora and fauna reserve. From 1915 until the 1970s, the island was abandoned until its purchase by Brendon Grimshaw, an English newspaper editor. Presently he is the only permanent resident of Moyenne and is responsible for returning the island to its former natural state.

Brendon Grimshaw purchased the island for GBP 10,000 in the 1960s and set about making the island habitable. He did this with the help of only one other man, Rene Antoine Lafortune. They operate the island as a nature reserve, charging visitors Eur 12 to come ashore, roam the island, dine at the "Jolly Roger" restaurant and relax on the beach. Apart from a wide variety of plant and bird life, the island is home to over 100 land tortoises. The eldest, "Desmond", being 76 years old according to Grimshaw. He named the tortoise after his godson.

Grimshaw is happy to talk about the island's potential as a hiding place of pirate treasure. There are rumours that over GBP 30 m of treasure is buried there. He has made two major digs and found some evidence of man-made hiding places, but no gold or other treasure found as yet. There are two graves on the island which have been said to be those of pirates, although this cannot be confirmed.

After 20 years of persistence, Brendon Grimshaw and his assistant Rene achieved their goal of making Moyenne Island a National Park in its own right, separate to that of the St. Anne marine park. Now known as the Moyenne Island National Park, it is the smallest National park in the world, harbouring one of the most species per square foot than any other part of the world.

While Grimshaw lives in a remote location, he is not deprived of the necessities of running water and electricity and he totes a mobile telephone in case of emergencies. The island is 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) away from the main island of Mahe.

External links

Media related to Moyenne at Wikimedia Commons

• A Grain of Sand: a free documentary about Moyenne Island and Brendon Grimshaw

Coordinates: 04°37′S 055°30′E / 4.617°S 55.5°E / -4.617; 55.5