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The average tortoise sculpture collector has logged 57 of the 115 sculptures on Durrell’s Tortoise Takeover, but that’s too easy for Joe Harvey and Marianne Enget who completed the entire trail in a day.
The couple managed to visit every single one, big and small, in one day – and still have time to go out for dinner afterwards.
"It was quite a lot for one day actually," Joe admitted. "I bit off a bit more than I can chew."
Joe, now a secondary-school maths teacher in West Berkshire, and Marianne, a chemist at AstraZeneca in Cambridge, both grew up in Jersey.
In 2019, the couple were on-island for just a few days which inspired them to complete the gorilla trail all in one day.
"Obviously there are about 40 more of them [this year]", Joe said. "But as soon as the idea was in my head, we had to do it."
Pictured: Joe and Marianne with 'Stained Glass Companion', nicknamed 'Chloe' by the Jersey Lido team.
It was an early start on Friday 28 July, as pair set out at around 07:00 and reached their first tortoise at around 07:30.
They were supposed to finish at 17:30 but Joe’s itinerary was "optimistic", he said, and they collected their last tortoise at around 19:00.
Joe said his favourite sculpture was Carnival Camille, a young tortoise created by Jersey Academy of Music, who plays the piano at Cafejac.
His girlfriend Marianne’s favourite was Marnie Maurri’s 'Toadstooly Tortoise' who lives in St Catherine’s Woods.
Joe arranged the logistics while Marianne was in charge of driving on the day, they explained.
Pictured: Joe and Marianne with 'Terry The Turtleneck Tortoise', created by Donna Newman and located at Les Jardins de la Mer.
"The most difficult bit is actually finding the tortoises," Joe said. "Quite a few of them, you’d get to the nearest available car park and find they’re actually in beautiful places near the headland where they should be."
The pair tried to make an effort to appreciate each tortoise and not just write down the code, Joe said – despite being well behind schedule.
They finished the day with dinner at The Lookout.
Joe added: "It’s just really nice that we’re lucky to have all these pieces of art around. It's really good.
"The best part was getting home and arguing about which one was the best."
The Durrell team praised Joe and Marianne's efforts.
Artist coordinator Will Bertram said: “Managing to visit all 115 tortoises in such a short space of time is definitely something to be celebrated!
"We’ve loved seeing how the enthusiasm and excitement from Go Wild Gorillas has carried over to Tortoise Takeover.
"We’ve ‘espe-shell-y’ enjoyed the challenges people have been setting themselves, whether it is cycling around them all, seeing them with a pet, or just taking it slow and getting a shell-fie with each one.”
Pictured top: Joe and Marianne with 'Shell-f Reflection', created by The Beach and located at Moulin de Quétivel.
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MEET THE TORTOISES #3: Dodo you like to explore? From Eden to Eco Ninjas...
MEET THE TORTOISES #4: My tortoise family and other sculptures
MEET THE TORTOISES #5: Keep going, as the trail keeps growing
MEET THE TORTOISES #6: Will you be the 'lucky one' as the trail continues?
MEET THE TORTOISES #7: Good enough to eat?!
MEET THE TORTOISES #8: Live slow...die old?
MEET THE TORTOISES #9: Life in plastic...it's shelltastic?
MEET THE TORTOISES #10: A 'Royal' visit...to the Tortoisphere
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