March 15, 2024 – Tristan Da Cunha

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We awoke to the site of the volcanic island of Tristan Da Cunha. Tristan da Cunha (/ˌtrɪstən də ˈkuːn(j)ə/), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately 2,787 kilometers (1,732 mi) from Cape Town in South Africa, 2,437 kilometers 

 (1,514 mi) from Saint Helena, 3,949 kilometers (2,454 mi) from Mar del Plata in Argentina, South America and 4,002 kilometers (2,487 mi) from the Falkland Islands

The territory consists of the inhabited island, Tristan da Cunha, which has a diameter of roughly 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) and an area of 98 square kilometers (38 sq mi); the wildlife reserves of Gough Island and Inaccessible Island; and the smaller, uninhabited Nightingale Islands. All residents carry British Overseas Territories citizenship. The other islands are uninhabited, except for the South African personnel of a weather station on Gough Island.

Tristan da Cunha is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, with its own constitution. There is no airstrip on the main island; the only way of travelling in and out of Tristan is by ship.

There is a small settlement here, nominally called “Edinburgh of the Seven Seas”. The population of the island is 270. There are only a few family names as all the inhabitants are descended from just a few shipwrecked Sailers who stayed on the island.

Landing on the island was a bit tricky. The winds were low, but the swells were about 6 feet. The zodiacs had to navigate into a small harbor and position themselves nose in for us to step off onto the dock.

While some brave souls climbed the volcanic peak that erupted in 1961, and others opted for golf in the cow pasture, we opted to take a walking tour of the town. There are two churches a pub, what English settlement would be without one? Many quaint houses and a modern hospital built in 2017.  We entered an old house, with a thatched roof indicative of the houses of the early settlement, now a museum.

We had lunch of some lobster tarts, and then took a 3-mile walk, past pastures with cows and sheep, to the “Potato Patches”. This is where the locals go on the weekends.

2 thoughts on “March 15, 2024 – Tristan Da Cunha”

  2. Sue

    So, you literally travel to the end of the world. Thank you again for sharing your journey. It sometimes seems strange, that places like Tristan da Cunha exist at the same time as our busy everyday life does.

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