Fiji hotels and tours

Turtle Island

  • Book Now

  • Turtle Island

Richard Evanson - Owner

Richard Evanson, owner of Turtle Island Resort, used to be a typical American entrepreneur on the fasttrack to success. He studied at Harvard Business School after earning an Engineering degree at the University of Washington. Upon graduating with honors in Business Administration, Evanson returned to the west coast and made his fortune in the newly-emerging world of cable television. By 1970, however, the then 36-year-old Evanson was burnt out. Wanting to put as much distance between himself and Western civilization as he could, he escaped to the Fiji Islands, taking only a generator, a refrigerator and a barge of beer with him. Two years later, Evanson purchased Nanuya Levu, a 500-acre barren, uninhabited island in Fiji's Yasawa archipelago and renamed it Turtle Island.

At the outset, both Evanson and the island were in sad shape. He was a tipsy, overweight recluse and the island was a scorched desert, grazed bare by wild goats. In the years that followed, however, Turtle Island and Evanson began to heal themselves by healing each other. Thanks to Turtle Island, Evanson is now a trim marathoner, revitalized by his single-minded quest to preserve his island home. Thanks to Evanson, Turtle Island is an ecological island paradise described "... as close to heaven on earth as you're likely to get" (Andrew Harper, "Island Resort of the Year").

Evanson, with the help of his Fijian neighbors, literally restored the island from the ground up. Over the years, he has planted over 300,000 trees; countless indigenous shrubs; banana, mango and papaya groves and a variety of hard wood trees, some of which he has used to make furniture for the island. He restored and preserved the island's reefs and beaches, and reintroduced dozens of species of indigenous birds and wildlife.

During the late 1970s, after reviewing thousands of exotic islands all over the world for filming the remake of the movie "The Blue Lagoon" (starring Brooke Shields), Columbia Pictures convinced Evanson to let them shoot on Turtle Island. Ironically, it later turned out that the original 1949 version of the film, starring Jean Simmons and Lloyd Bridges, was also filmed there. The six month project made Evanson realize how much fun it was to have people who also loved his island paradise around.

In 1980, Evanson turned the studio's abandoned "bures" (cottages) into comfortable guest suites and opened "Turtle Island Resort." With great vision, intensive study, countless man-hours and substantial financial investment, Evanson continued to make improvements around the island. He created ongoing and comprehensive water management, composting and recycling programs and implemented precise environmental and ecological procedures to preserve his island's natural resources. Particular attention was also paid to maintaining the Fijians' cultural integrity, making Turtle Island one of the premier eco-cultural resorts in the world.


Caring for destination
This accommodation provider has taken action to address one or more issues (whether environmental, social or cultural) which will contribute positively to the long term viability of the destination and hence their site displays a Caring for the destination rating.
Main area of focus in Caring for the Destination:
Has been actively involved in helping the local people through provision of healthcare such as eye clinics, free sunglasses & cataract operations by volunteer specialists); part of buildin
Detailed description of the Caring for the Destination Initiative:
Richard Evanson has included in his vision for Turtle Island that it be a vital resource to its community. That community consists of 7 villages on 3 separate islands around Turtle Island, with 3,500 people in residence. As a rural community in a less developed country, there are many aspects of social equity which are not forthcoming for the residents of the area "Tikina". Until recently there has been very limited health care, no opportunity for secondary education, and very restricted job opportunities.Turtle Island has focused on capacity building through 3 specific initiatives to address some of the shortcomings of social justice, and to ensure that the people in the Tikina benefit significantly from Turtle Island's presence.
  • Back to top
  • Back to Accommdation Page
  • Print this Page




Reset Search

Your Local Connection

Bula Vinaka! Welcome to Fiji!

Fiji hotels team Meet Vika, your local connection in Fiji. ‘I had always wanted to join the tourism Industry, to make a difference for my country and let the whole world know about our beautiful destination'. We value every tourist that comes to our shores knowing that they have helped contribute to someone's wages and food on their dinner table. The beautiful smiling faces that greet you on the street, on the bus or anywhere in the country is what Fiji is best known for, a smile from a "Fijian" will always make your day.

[more about us]


Visit sister sites of Fiji hotels and tours

Go

Special Offers

[more offers]

Samoa hotels & tours Vanuatu hotels & tours Fiji hotels & tours Australia hotels & tours Cook Islands hotels & tours Solomon Islands hotels & tours