Tourism luminary dies - Fiji Times Online

JOAN Moody, co-founder of Moody's Namena Island Resort, a founding member of the Savusavu Tourism Association and a founder of the Namena Marine Reserve, has died in Labasa Hospital after a brief illness.

She was 73.

Mrs Moody and her husband Tom created the resort on remote Namena Island beginning in 1982.

Located 19 nautical miles off the coast of Savusavu, the island, then known as Namenalala to denote emptiness, had never been inhabited due in part to the lack of a water supply.

The Moodys developed the resort themselves including an elaborate water catchment system, solar and wind power generation, and with the steadfast aim of keeping the virgin feel of the 110-acre island intact.

As such, the couple became one the first to practice low-impact and environmentally sustainable development.

Mrs Moody was also instrumental in the creation of the marine reserve in order to protect the stunning barrier reef surrounding Namena Island from being over-fished.

Because of its uniqueness, the resort has been the subject of numerous magazine and newspaper articles around the world and will soon be featured by National Geographic Television.

The Moodys are legendary in the tourism world for remote resort operations.

Prior to coming to Fiji, they operated Pidertupo, a resort in the San Blas islands off the coast of Panama.

After many years of successful operations, their resort was burned to the ground and Mr Moody was seriously wounded in an attacked by alleged operatives of the Noriega regime.

Before this, they were associated with resorts in British Honduras (now known as Belize) and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Mrs Moody's burial will be in America.

The family has established the Joan Moody Memorial Fund for those who may wish to show their respect.

In keeping with Mrs Moody's strong belief in the value of education, the fund will go toward the education of children in the remote Kubulau area of Vanua Levu, where many of the resort employees live.

Some of the fund will also be used in repair efforts in Kubulau after the damage caused by Hurricane Tomas.

The family said deposits could be made direct to: Westpac, account name Namena Limited, account number 1168092700.

Deposits should contain the note "For Joan Moody Memorial Fund". Or donations can be mailed to Moody's Namena Resort, PMG, Savusavu.

Tourism luminary dies - Fiji Times Online