After a spectacular flight over islands of mottled emerald, surrounded by coral reefs, the sea-plane glides to a halt onto a remote Fijian beach. Richard Evanson introduces himself as we step onto the pristine sand. So do his staff, bearing cocktails served inside fresh-cut milk coconuts.

Fiji’s exclusive Turtle Island hideaway came into being through one man’s journey of self-discovery. At any one time, just 16 couples live and play on Nanuya Levu, the island whose development became the personal mission of Richard Evanson.

For almost three decades, Evanson single-mindedly crystallised everyone’s fantasies of a private paradise, painstakingly developing a retreat which is luxurious yet quite without the artifice of conventional resorts. The concept is simple but effective - once you’re aloft, you’re in paradise, removed from money and telephones. This 2020 story from a Fijian newspaper declares that the concept still attracts travellers, with the next generation of Evansons at the helm.

Original images were 35mm Fujichrome or Ektachrome transparencies.