My time on Necker Island was nothing short of magical. I was invited on the week long vacation to Richard Branson’s private island by group of young, fun, entrepreneurs and philanthropists I’ve either worked or partied with before, to experience a trip unlike like any other. The staff on the island also became our fast friends and were inspiring philanthropists, athletes and world travelers as well.
I was a bit of a stowaway, sleeping on the day bed back of the Necker Belle, Branson’s catamaran, however it was by far the most luxurious, active and inspiring vacation of my life.
Every day was filled with fun. Beautiful meals, activities like wakeboarding, paddleboarding, snorkeling, kitesurfing, hiking while surrounded by the most beautiful pristine scenery of the Carribean.
Everynight was a different theme party, with live music or our very own DJ. Necker Island was our very own private playground!
While all of this was amazing, the most special part of the island for me was experiencing the incredibly preserved nature and wildlife. I was fortunate enough to have in depth conversations with Sir Richard about his work in conservation and our shared passion for nature and protecting the planet. I even organized a nature walk around the island with the Necker animal specialist and my fellow island mates, Richard included, to learn more about the animals that call Necker home and to collect plastic waste that was washed up on remote beach areas of the island. Richard was so pleased with my ideas, especially when he showed us his secret stash of trash he collects on his walks, only to keep forgetting to bring a trash bag to collect it each time. We cleared out his hidden plastic pile and I was glad I grabbed big bags!
Pictured above is Charlie, the Necker Special Projects Director leading our nature walk, Sir Richard carrying our giant collection of trash treasures, and yours truly, Lindsay, capturing the happiest beach clean up of my life!
Necker is a special place, but apart from its surreal lifestyle and pristine beauty, it is home to 140 species, the most of any island in the world. It is also the 2nd only other home to the most endangered animal in the world, the ring tailed Lemur!! Sir Richard has brought a small colony of lemurs from Madagascar to Necker, in hopes of saving the species and repopulating it back to Madagascar. So far the radical move is showing success and the lemurs are reproducing. Baby lemurs. Awww.
He also shared with me his love of flamingos. Necker Island is one of only 30 places in the world where flamingos breed in the wild and they have already begun to leave Necker and repopulate the other islands of the Carribbean.
The island is also home to giant tortoises, the endangered Scarlet Ibis and also a known safe place for sea turtles to lay their eggs.
I felt so incredibly lucky to have been so close to these amazing and rare creatures and to discuss with the man himself our passion for bringing awareness and solutions to the issues facing our planet.
Being surrounded by the beauty and the luxury was special, but being surrounded by so many successful people, making a positive impact on the world, was truly a priceless experience that has inspired me to do what I can to help change the world for the better, while having a lot of fun! There are not enough words to express my gratitude to those who invited me, to Richard and his wonderful wife and staff for their hospitality and to YOU, for following my adventures and making your own!
Want to hang with Sir Richard like I did on Necker Island, or South Africa? A small group of Virgin Unite 24902 members will join Richard Branson on a life-enhancing journey, beyond the imagination one of of their Connection Trips.
Watch my video from Necker Island for a better idea of how special our time spent truly was.
Being a dreamer, traveler, adventurer and artist I was wandering if you needed/wanted an art teacher on your island…