"You've got another tortoise that's so small, it's vanished?"
May 7, 2012 7:31 AM Subscribe
In 1962, Yorkshire man Brendon Grimshaw bought the island of Moyenne in the middle of the Indian Ocean for £8000. He has since dedicated his life to turning it into a tropical paradise; including planting over sixteen thousand trees, building nearly five kilometers for nature paths, and reintroducing over 100 land tortoises. It's now the world's smallest National Park.
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There are rumours that over £30m of pirate treasure is buried on the island. Grimshaw has made two major digs and found some evidence of man-made hiding places, but no gold or other treasure has been found as yet.
Oh come on he totally found the treasure.
posted by theodolite at 7:37 AM on May 7, 2012
Oh come on he totally found the treasure.
posted by theodolite at 7:37 AM on May 7, 2012
Oh come on he totally found the treasure.
The treasure.. is all around us!
posted by curious nu at 7:40 AM on May 7, 2012 [9 favorites]
The treasure.. is all around us!
posted by curious nu at 7:40 AM on May 7, 2012 [9 favorites]
Apart from a wide variety of plant and bird life, the island is home to over 100 land tortoises. The eldest, Desmond, is 76 years old according to Grimshaw. He named the tortoise after his godson.
Oh come on he totally named his grandson after the tortoise.
posted by oulipian at 7:40 AM on May 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
Oh come on he totally named his grandson after the tortoise.
posted by oulipian at 7:40 AM on May 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
Aww, man. The wikipedia article on Pirate Treasure made 9-year-old me sad. Apparently, pirate treasure isn't really a thing.
Hoards, on the other hand, are where it's at! Especially in the UK, apparently those guys just buried everything. And 9-year-old me also liked Indiana Jones, so I think he breaks even on this one.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:45 AM on May 7, 2012
Hoards, on the other hand, are where it's at! Especially in the UK, apparently those guys just buried everything. And 9-year-old me also liked Indiana Jones, so I think he breaks even on this one.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:45 AM on May 7, 2012
I came in with a heart full of snark (it's just one of those nights) and this was exactly what I needed. Tortoises! Who can be frowny at that?! I will never forget being on a small Pacific island where the fishermen next door caught a baby sea turtle and were keeping it in a bucket until it got bigger (they were going to release it again, don't worry). I got to pick up the sea turtle! If things turn out nicely I'll be gone within a century but that turtle will barely be halfway through its Big Journey.
Islands are magical places, and as is briefly talked about, the major destroyer of good island habitat these days seems to be megaresorts catering to the ultra wealthy. Good on Grimshaw. He's got the right attitude.
posted by barnacles at 7:46 AM on May 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
Islands are magical places, and as is briefly talked about, the major destroyer of good island habitat these days seems to be megaresorts catering to the ultra wealthy. Good on Grimshaw. He's got the right attitude.
posted by barnacles at 7:46 AM on May 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
I set up one of those carpeted jungle gyms in the living room for my cats recently, so, you know, I'm not sweating it either.
posted by notmydesk at 7:49 AM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by notmydesk at 7:49 AM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Aww, man. The wikipedia article on Pirate Treasure made 9-year-old me sad. Apparently, pirate treasure isn't really a thing.
You are looking for another word... I think its booty. Booty.
posted by Nanukthedog at 8:23 AM on May 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
You are looking for another word... I think its booty. Booty.
posted by Nanukthedog at 8:23 AM on May 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
Another wonderful island post of the day. The world needs more people like Brendon Grimshaw. Though I guess buying an island is more expensive these days, apparently he was offered millions for what cost almost nothing 50 years ago (granted it's been improved). It's impressive that he focused on native plants and animals and not a garden of plants and animals transplanted, which is what most people do in their own "islands" (lawns).
posted by stbalbach at 8:23 AM on May 7, 2012
posted by stbalbach at 8:23 AM on May 7, 2012
Here's the map. I have not yet tested the satellite view, so I don't know how good it is. Great post!
posted by TreeRooster at 8:52 AM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by TreeRooster at 8:52 AM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
My partner is obsessed with tortoises. Not in the, decorate-your-house-covered-in-them kind of way. More like she gets a giddy high when talking about how magical and majestic and ancient they are. If she encounters a tortoise, there's the possibility of her tearing up, and staring at it longingly for several hours, if left unattended.
I'm pretty sure if she finds out about this island, she'll leave me for it.
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:52 AM on May 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
I'm pretty sure if she finds out about this island, she'll leave me for it.
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:52 AM on May 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
I was so proud of the 11' x 13' and 13' x 20' gardens I created on my property until I read this.;-)
That man looks very young and spry for going on 86!
posted by orange swan at 9:29 AM on May 7, 2012
That man looks very young and spry for going on 86!
posted by orange swan at 9:29 AM on May 7, 2012
Awesome post. May all of us be so thoughtful, so visionary and so full of life.
posted by eggman at 9:53 AM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by eggman at 9:53 AM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
My partner is obsessed with tortoises.
I also have a friend that is a turtle/tortoise nut. I took her to the Turtle Sanctuary on Isla Mujeres and she was in heaven!
Moyenne looks like paradise... I wish I could do something like that.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:00 AM on May 7, 2012
I also have a friend that is a turtle/tortoise nut. I took her to the Turtle Sanctuary on Isla Mujeres and she was in heaven!
Moyenne looks like paradise... I wish I could do something like that.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:00 AM on May 7, 2012
Let's see, that works out to about E340,000 per tortoise. Not bad.
Ah, okay, it's a neat thing. A man's vision realized.
It sort of reminds me of the story behind Forestiere's "Underground Gardens" in Fresno. Nowadays the family keeps it going as a tourist attraction. Back then (when I was just a tadpole), he was just an eccentric with a shovel, who'd figured out a way to beat the heat of the central San Joaquin Valley. As time went by, Forestiere's story got a bit more Byzantine.
If you are in the neighborhood, you should drop by for a surprisingly interesting tour, then go get drunk.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/forestiere-underground-gardens-fresno
posted by mule98J at 10:36 AM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Ah, okay, it's a neat thing. A man's vision realized.
It sort of reminds me of the story behind Forestiere's "Underground Gardens" in Fresno. Nowadays the family keeps it going as a tourist attraction. Back then (when I was just a tadpole), he was just an eccentric with a shovel, who'd figured out a way to beat the heat of the central San Joaquin Valley. As time went by, Forestiere's story got a bit more Byzantine.
If you are in the neighborhood, you should drop by for a surprisingly interesting tour, then go get drunk.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/forestiere-underground-gardens-fresno
posted by mule98J at 10:36 AM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yay! Good for him! I love this man.
It makes me so sad to realize that we have the kind of people running the government here now who would balk at delaring more National Parks. Thank goodness we have some land already set aside, or America would be nothing but one huge smog-infested urban sprawl of ugliness.
posted by misha at 11:13 AM on May 7, 2012
It makes me so sad to realize that we have the kind of people running the government here now who would balk at delaring more National Parks. Thank goodness we have some land already set aside, or America would be nothing but one huge smog-infested urban sprawl of ugliness.
posted by misha at 11:13 AM on May 7, 2012
jason_steakums: "Aww, man. The wikipedia article on Pirate Treasure made 9-year-old me sad. Apparently, pirate treasure isn't really a thing."
Mel Fisher, his 1033 gold coins (recovered from the shipwrecked Spanish Galleon Atocha) and the McLarty Treasure Museum (I live near there, they take the kids on field trips sometimes) would disagree with you and Wikipedia, then.
posted by misha at 11:26 AM on May 7, 2012
Mel Fisher, his 1033 gold coins (recovered from the shipwrecked Spanish Galleon Atocha) and the McLarty Treasure Museum (I live near there, they take the kids on field trips sometimes) would disagree with you and Wikipedia, then.
posted by misha at 11:26 AM on May 7, 2012
TreeRooster: Here's the map. I have not yet tested the satellite view, so I don't know how good it is. Great post!
Satellite view is spot-on, and as a bonus, some people have tagged their Panoramio pics of the island (warning: that first pic is of a large spider).
posted by filthy light thief at 11:37 AM on May 7, 2012
Satellite view is spot-on, and as a bonus, some people have tagged their Panoramio pics of the island (warning: that first pic is of a large spider).
posted by filthy light thief at 11:37 AM on May 7, 2012
misha that isn't buried treasure or even treasure purposefully placed somewhere for later retrevial.
posted by Mitheral at 12:12 PM on May 7, 2012
posted by Mitheral at 12:12 PM on May 7, 2012
Mel Fisher, his 1033 gold coins (recovered from the shipwrecked Spanish Galleon Atocha) and the McLarty Treasure Museum (I live near there, they take the kids on field trips sometimes) would disagree with you and Wikipedia, then.
Oh, treasure from shipwrecks is certainly real. I'm lamenting the fact that Treasure Island-style buried treasure with elaborate maps 'n traps isn't really a thing.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:14 PM on May 7, 2012
Oh, treasure from shipwrecks is certainly real. I'm lamenting the fact that Treasure Island-style buried treasure with elaborate maps 'n traps isn't really a thing.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:14 PM on May 7, 2012
My Dad told me long ago that there are two kinds of people in this world: makers and breakers. Mr. Grimshaw is most definitely a maker. Thanks to him a part of the world is better than it was before, and his continuing efforts have kept it that way. A hundred years from now his trees and tortoises (and their descendants) will still be flourishing.
posted by Kevin Street at 2:19 PM on May 7, 2012
posted by Kevin Street at 2:19 PM on May 7, 2012
Indian Man Single-Handedly Plants a 1,360 Acre Forest
posted by homunculus at 2:55 PM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 2:55 PM on May 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
So basically The Man Who Planted Trees, except for real? Awesome!
The Man Who Planted Trees
posted by homunculus at 2:58 PM on May 7, 2012
The Man Who Planted Trees
posted by homunculus at 2:58 PM on May 7, 2012
That Wikipedia article is so tantalizingly uninformative! It starts out with:
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 12:57 AM on May 8, 2012
From 1915 until the 1970s, the island was abandoned until its purchase by Brendon Grimshawbut then the History section only begins in 1962. Who lived there before 1915?
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 12:57 AM on May 8, 2012
Harvey Kilobit: " Who lived there before 1915?"
PIRATES. And tortoises.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:24 AM on May 9, 2012
PIRATES. And tortoises.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:24 AM on May 9, 2012
Pirates who were tortoises! That's it, I'm booking my ticket to Moyenne.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 12:24 PM on May 9, 2012
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 12:24 PM on May 9, 2012
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