But one small island called Moyenne remains an oasis within paradise.
Grimshaw first visited Seychelles in 1962 at a time when many African countries were becoming independent.
Buying an island seemed an appealing new project, but most were expensive.
Moyenne Island. (Photo: Jean-Francis Martin viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0)
He purchased it for 8,000 and began the next great journey of his life.
The island was abandoned other than a family of local fishermen.
The many trees were choked with weedy underbrush.
The view from Moyenne. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons,CC BY 2.0)
White sand and boulders ringed the tiny island.
Today the island boasts 16,000 trees, many planted by them.
They include mahogany, palm, and mango trees.
An Aldabra tortoise of the Seychelles. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
He wanted a mini-Seychelles.
He wanted to try and replicate what Seychelles and its islands were like before tourists came.
Grimshaw spent his decades on the island working on creating a paradise.
He searched for mythical treasure buried by pirates and even discovered two mysterious graves with stones reading Unhappily Unknown.
The island of Moyenne became part ofSt.
Anne Marine Parkalthough it is its own petit park, Moyenne Island National Park.
The world’s tiniest national park now houses the grave of its benefactor.
Grimshaw died in 2012 and is buried alongside his father and the two potential pirates.
Today the island boasts a small restaurant with local offerings and a museum about the island.
There’s something that grabs you when you go there, said Patel.
Moyenne is what life should be like.
Moyenne, a tiny island in the Seychelles, is the smallest national park in the world.
The view from Moyenne.
An Aldabra tortoise of the Seychelles.
