Who among us in childhood did not read a novel by D. Defoe, dreaming, at least for a moment, of finding himself on a desert island and experiencing a small part of the adventures that befell Robinson Crusoe? Brendon Grimshaw, an Englishman from Yorkshire, knows that dreams must be made reality. About 40 years ago he settled on the island of Moyen in the Indian Ocean and has since devoted himself to nature!
Brandon Grimshaw lived for 40 years on a desert island
The dog is Brandon Grimshaw's faithful companion
In the early 1960s. Brandon was in the Seychelles for the first time on one of his business trips and realized that he wanted to stay and live here. Then the laws allowed the purchase of entire islands (nowadays only long-term lease is possible), and an enterprising Englishman bought the island of Moyen, which was unsuitable for life at that time! Having moved, Brandon set out to find those who used to live on this island. He managed to find the Creole Rene Lafortune, who lived on Moyen until he was 10 years old. The newly minted Friday became so carried away by communicating with the Englishman that he left his wife and children and returned to live in his historical homeland!
Brandon Grimshaw lived for 40 years on a desert island
Brandon and Rene made every effort to protect and enhance the flora and fauna of the island. Both planted approximately 16,000 trees. In addition, Brandon purchased several endangered giant tortoises from a neighboring island; now 120 “tortillas” live on Muaen. Each of them has a red mark on their shell, which helps track their movement and also protects them from poachers. But Robinson's main achievement is birds! During the time that he and Friday lived on the island, about 2000 of them appeared here: in order for the birds to settle here, Brandon brought water to Muaen!
Giant turtles bred by Brandon Grimshaw on a desert island
Brandon’s efforts were appreciated: the island acquired the status of a national park in 2008. Today, a lot is written and known about Grimshaw, a large number of curious tourists come to Muaen, and the island is becoming inhabited again. Of course, modern Robinson is tired of visitors, but he founded a charitable foundation to which money is transferred to maintain the island. But a reminder of that wonderful time when the Robinsonade had just started was a book written by Brandon himself, “The Story of a Man and His Island” with a touching dedication inscription: “To René Antonio Lafortune, more than just Friday.”
Moyen Island in the Indian Ocean
Everyone chooses how to live: some only dream of adventures and exploits, while others make their dreams come true. Almost every person wants to leave behind something by which they will be remembered, but, alas, only a few succeed in achieving this.
Brandon Grimshaw is one of the people who managed to break out of the usual framework of the daily routine, who were not afraid to take risks and make their dreams come true. This Englishman, at almost 40 years old, moved to live on an island he had purchased, where no human had set foot for many years before Grimshaw’s arrival.
Brandon's refuge was Muayen, a small island (about 9 hectares) that belongs to the Seychelles group of islands.
A man in his late 40s, having given up his job and his usual life, moved to the island, which at that time could hardly be called a comfortable place to live. Brandon loved nature and was ready to make every effort to improve his new brainchild.
When Brandon bought Moyen, the island was so overgrown that there was literally nowhere for a coconut to fall. But Grimshaw put it in order, worked tirelessly, planted trees, took care of giant turtles, thanks to him birds appeared on the island (Brandon had to look for them on a neighboring island).
Living on a desert island, he faced all the “Robinson’s hardships” that most of us only read about in books.
Brandon found himself an assistant, Rene Lafortin (an Aboriginal who once lived on the island). Rene helped Brandon improve the island, get food, take care of birds and turtles, and plant trees. During their decades on the island, they planted about 16 thousand trees. The birds to which Brandon gave a home also numbered several thousand.
The birds that Brandon attracted from the neighboring island immediately flew home. But then a couple of birds returned. The new Robinson began to feed them, and over time there were more and more birds on the island.
In 1996, Brendon Grimshaw's autobiography, Pieces of Sand, was published. The story of one man and an island."
In addition, a documentary film was made about Brandon (unfortunately, without Russian subtitles).
The island became a national park in 2008, and Brendon Grimshaw passed away in 2012. Today the island attracts many tourists: in addition to the fact that Moyenne is famous thanks to Grimshaw, there are rumors that pirate treasures are hidden there.
Brendon Grimshaw is a man who lived a long and amazing life. Could you follow his example?
It's not often you hear the story of a man who was able to turn a deserted island into a beautiful national park. It is about such a person that we decided to tell you. His name is Brandon Grimshaw. While still in the prime of his life, Brandon decided to get away from the bustle of the city and go to live on a completely uninhabited island. At that time, Brandon bought an island in the Seychelles for $13,000 and it was there that he moved to live.
By the time Brandon arrived on the island of Moyen, there had been no human presence on it for more than half a century. In order to somehow settle down on the new island, Brandon found himself a companion - Rene Lafortain. Together they built a house and developed the area around it. René Lafortaine did not live on the island permanently. He came periodically to help Brandon set up the island. Brandon hasn't left the island for years. When asked if he found living alone boring, Brandon replied: “When I lived in London, I felt lonely all the time.” 
In almost 40 years of working together, Rene and Brandon have been able to plant more than 16,000 trees. They also managed to lay about 5 kilometers of paths and paths. Unfortunately, in 2007, Rene died and Brandon was left without a partner.
At the time of Rene's death, Brandon was already 81 years old. For more than 40 years of hard work on the island, he managed to attract several hundred turtles (which, by the way, were in danger of extinction), and about 2,000 different species of birds. Overall, Brandon Island now contains about 2/3 of all the fauna existing in the Seychelles. 
The island attracted the attention of the prince of Saudi Arabia, who offered Brandon $50 million for this island of paradise. Brandon refused, because... I didn’t want this island to become someone’s property. Instead, Brandon proposed making his island a national park so that anyone could visit it and enjoy the nature of these places. 
In 2008, Brandon’s proposal came true - the island was made a national park! To this day, this island attracts a truly large number of tourists from all over the planet.
Brendon Grimshaw passed away in 2012.
Another person who was able to create a reserve alone is. Also, we talked about one that was able to restore vegetation in the desert! We recommend reading it.
Brendon Grimshaw is a British man who bought an island in the Seychelles in 1962 and lived there alone, becoming a modern Robinson of his own accord.
When Grimshaw decided to buy this small island in the Seychelles in 1962, it cost very little - £8,000. Moyenne Island was the name of his new property, which then, in the early 1960s, was not at all suitable for human life. A couple of unmarked pirate graves, and more than a hundred skulls - that’s all that could be found on a deserted island overgrown with lush tropical vegetation.
Moyenne Island is located in the Indian Ocean, one of the 115 Seychelles islands, which are considered perhaps the most spectacular and amazing islands on the planet. At the time of purchase, the island was so densely overgrown with vegetation that even the coconuts that fell from the palm trees did not reach the ground and got stuck to the branches. Brandon needed help - he invited Rene Lafortune with him, who became a kind of Friday for the British Robinson. Together they managed to adapt the island for life, together they planted mangoes and papaya, together they built a dwelling and, in general, turned Moyenne from uninhabited to inhabited.
Brendon Grimshaw was already 86 years old when he died. Until the last moment, he was broad-shouldered, athletic and incredibly flexible - life on the island left no chance of getting fat or getting out of shape.
For the past 50 years, Brandon has lived in the company of sea turtles, which live in abundance on the beach, and a huge number of birds. By the way, Grimshaw assured that there were no turtles on the island when he first bought it; these curious animals arrived later. Brandon also had several dogs that he specially brought to the island.
He first visited this island at the very end of the 1950s, Grimshaw was then restless and could not stop looking for adventure after working for several years as a journalist in Africa.
Brandon's assistant, Rene, died several years before him, and therefore later Brandon was left completely alone. He was not a hermit by nature, he was very happy about the visitors who came to his island, and he also regretted that he had not married at one time.
He died in July 2012, at the age of 87. It is known that in our days he was offered a huge amount of money for the island, but Brandon did not agree - this place became for him something much more than just property.
Rumor has it that pirate treasure worth more than £30 million is buried somewhere on Moyenne, and Brandon had a secret hope of one day finding it. Whether there really is a treasure on the island or not is unknown, but it is known that Brandon Grimshaw, alas, was unable to find it. It is also known that more than 200 years ago this island actually served as a refuge for pirates.
It must be said that while Brandon Grimshaw was alive, no one was particularly interested in him, and only shortly before his death did journalists suddenly show interest in the modern Robinson. So, a documentary was made about him, after which people learned about Brandon and became interested in his life on the island.
He claimed that he never intended to turn his island into a national park or anything like that. This island had simply been his home for half a long century, and all the improvements that Brandon and his assistant made on Moyenne were made only to make their home comfortable.
"The only reason anyone would want to buy this island is to build a big hotel here," he said.
When asked if he had ever been lonely, Brandon once replied: “Only when I lived in an apartment in London. I was unhappy there, but never here.”
"A Grain of Sand: The Story of One Man and an Island" is the title of Brendon Grimshaw's autobiographical book, which was published in 1996.
An interesting story about a man who created his own paradise. It was 50 years ago when Brendon Grimshaw decided to quit his job and bought an uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean called Moyenne. Brendon Grimshaw bought his island while on holiday in the Seychelles in 1960. One boy asked him if he would like to buy an island for himself, Brandon thought, why not. At that time the island cost only £10,000.
Having moved to the island, it needed to be transformed for living. And then he took local resident Rene Antoine Lafortune as his assistant, and together they began to transform Moyenne, planted a large number of trees and partially created amenities. This photo was taken in 1996:
He talked about the island that it was an impenetrable jungle; it was possible to get to different parts only by swimming. Therefore, the first problem he faced was to build paths through the jungle of the island. Together with Rene, they planted more than 16,000 trees, thereby attracting thousands of birds to the island, and also contributed to the prosperity of giant turtles. There wasn't a single turtle around when the island was first purchased. 
Since then, Brendan was offered $50 million for the island, but he refused this money, saying that he wanted to make the Seychelles National Park here, which happened in 2008.
Brendan Grimshaw's book: Pieces of Sand - The Story of One Man and an Island, was published in 1996, and tells the story of life on the island and the difficulties faced. He died on July 3, 2012, just three weeks before his 87th birthday. Brandon owned the island for 50 years.
Title page of Brandon's book:
The book also contains illustrations, this is a map of the island of Moyenne: 
During Brandon’s life, no one was particularly interested in his life and work, and only half a year before his death, in 2012, they learned about him and filmed a 75-minute documentary film prepared by Joseph Johnson.
Joseph Johnson recounted his meeting with Brandon: “Surrounded on all sides by a coral reef, Moyenne looked very wild and uninhabited, but after I saw the wooden house through the trees, I realized that Brandon lived here. I was very kindly greeted by a tanned elderly man in shorts and a T-shirt. Oddly enough, he still spoke with an accent, although it did not match the exotic views of these places. Together we climbed the steps carved into the rock, into Brandon's one-story wooden house. Here he took care of his 120 giant turtles. Turtles are native to the Seychelles, but they are almost extinct on other islands. Brandon gave them names such as Alice, Florita, etc. His house was a little old and shabby, but it was filled with American gifts and souvenirs."
