March 25th 2022
Turtle Island celebrates the return of the husband and wife GM team
With Fiji open again for travel from Australia, Turtle Island, a privately owned luxury island in the Yasawa Group, is not only welcoming back guests but also welcoming home husband and wife General Manager team, Rob and Landi Burns.
Both originally from Africa, the couple first made Turtle Island their home in January 2017 and were responsible for the full management of the 500-acre island and resort which included hosting guests, the management of a team of 90 staff, overseeing island and resort maintenance, supervision of the kitchen garden and other F&B requirements as well as contribution to the island’s conservation and philanthropic efforts and engaging with the local community.
RETURNING TO TURTLE ISLAND
After three years on Turtle Island helping to turn it into the most highly rated South Pacific holiday destination winning multiple awards, the call of Africa lured the couple back to their homeland in December 2019.
During their two-year hiatus from Turtle Island, Landi joined Traveluxe Official as the Editorial Director and Luxury Travel Advisor and was awarded Top Travel Specialist 2021 by Conde Nast Traveler. Rob has been tending to their farm and supervising their building projects. However, they missed the strong family ethos and authentic warm Fijian culture for which Turtle Island is renowned.
“The second you step foot on Turtle Island, you become a member of the privileged Turtle family, and the bond and connections you make stay with you forever,” said Landi Burns. “During our time away, Rob and I missed those family ties, the beauty of the destination, and the opportunity to share that with the guests. We wanted to be a part of that again and are so delighted Richard Evanson invited us back. We can’t think of a place we’d rather be as tourism on Turtle Island recovers after an unprecedented two years.”
FEW ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Rob and Landi officially walked back down the dock at Turtle Island on 23 March and their roles remain very similar but with a few additional responsibilities. These include farming skills and the management of farm animals with the island now home to dairy cows, pigs, ducks, over 500 hens, and 120,000 honey bees, all of which help to reduce carbon emission from food miles. The eggs and honey appear on the breakfast table while the fertilizer provided by the livestock is used in the vegetable garden, the fruit tree orchards, and other parts of the island vegetation.
The vegetable garden is now completely organic, using only natural growing and pest management methods. To reduce waste the staff are drying, fermenting, and pickling produce – some island favorites include pickled green papaya, cucumber pickles, and sundried tomatoes.
Their responsibilities around community support have also increased with important new conservation programs in place that give back to the local community.
Turtle Talks Documentary Series
In the island nation of Fiji lies a small group of islands called The Yasawas. Here, you will find Turtle Island, a magical private island connected to the world by the pristine sea surrounding it. It is an idyllic paradise of inspiring natural beauty, serene tranquility, and joy. A place where friendships are formed and ideas are born. When you’re here, it’s easy to envision how the world should be.
So Turtle Island wondered, what would happen if leading thinkers and doers were invited to discuss solutions to the biggest problems facing people and the planet? Introducing Turtle Talks.
Each talk begins with a simple premise of the inevitable. That one day humanity will advance to solve our greatest problems. We believe it is simply a question of how fast we get there.
