Tristan da Cunha, is 1,491 miles from the nearest continent and home
to just one 300-person village at the foot of an active volcano, and experience
life on the inhabited island, the world's most remote island. It is an arduous
task to be there, and you have to be mentally and physically fit to journey
this remote island, because it is accessible only by a 6-day boat journey from
South Africa or as part of epic month-long cruises through the South Atlantic
Ocean, Tristan da Cunha is about as far from a quick holiday destination as it
gets. Tristan da Cunha is archipelago stands 1,243 miles from Saint Helena, its
closest neighbor with residents, 1,491 miles from South Africa and 2,088 miles
from South America.
The majestically beautiful island is just 7 miles long and 37.8 square
miles in area, officially known as Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, referred to by
locals - less than 300 of them - as The Settlement, located at the foot of the
6,765-foot Queen Mary's Peak. Although this is small unimposing size and
formidable remoteness, “Tristan da Cunha” has great rich history and a plethora
of native wildlife that is truly unique. Therefore Ocean-wide Expeditions have
4 cruises that take in 3 days stops at Tristan da Cunha, the name given to both
the main island and the surrounding archipelago, including the uninhabited
Nightingale Islands, and Inaccessible Island and the Gough Islands, which are
nature reserves. However cruises, such as those which leave from Ushuaia in
Argentina's Tierra del Fuego, are the most convenient way to see the island.
Moreover one of 12 spaces can be filled on the fishing vessel MV
Edinburgh and the cargo ship MV Baltic Trader. Though, non-local travelers are
at the bottom of an eight-tier priority pecking order that may also include
those responding to medical emergencies, official visitors and locals. While the
other cruise sails annually to Gough Island, run since 2012 by the South
African Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel Agulhas II, and carries more than forty
passengers to and from Tristan. Ocean-wide Expeditions' Atlantic Odyssey tours,
the shortest and cheapest being the 27-night tour from £3,929 calls in on The
Settlement, and aims to land on Nightingale and Inaccessible, which millions of
millions of seabirds call home.
The landings aren't guaranteed though, with 30 % of attempts via
zodiac boat since 1998 having been failed due to bad weather. Thankfully, tours
often factor in a spare day. On Nightingale Island, the wandering, yellow-nosed
and sooty albatrosses all breed, and the Rockhopper penguins that live on all
four of the Tristan Islands are also immensely popular with those who manage to
make it there. Despite of such attractions, tourism is a slight industry for
Tristan, with the majority of earnings coming from their commercial crawfish or
Tristan rock lobster (Jasus) operations and the sale of their exclusive postage
stamps and coins to collectors. Though, a range of accommodation is offered in
the form of home stays with locals - descendants of one of seven families
originating from Scotland, England, The Netherlands, the United States and
Italy - who also serve as guides and sell craft and souvenirs.
As expected, all inhabitants are farmers too, and the total area is
communally owned. Historically, the island has proven a vital stop for sailing
ships needing a stopover in the Atlantic, and was annexed by the United Kingdom
in 1816 to ensure the French couldn't use it as a base to attempt a rescue of
Napoleon Bonaparte, who was imprisoned at Saint Helena. The Settlement was
named in honor of the 1867 visit of Queen Victoria's son Prince Alfred, the
Duke of Edinburgh, when the islands served as a Royal Navy outpost called HMS
Atlantic Isle, also said to have been used to observer shipping movements in
the ocean and the radio communications of Nazi U-boats. Prince Phillip, the
second Duke of Edinburgh, also visited there on board the royal yacht Britannia
in 1957.
After 4 years later, the whole population was enforced to evacuate to
England via Cape Town when Queen Mary's Peak erupted. Luckily, the damage to the
Settlement was found to be minimal and most inhabitants returned in 1963. Moreover
the local penguin population was threatened in March 2011 when the MS Oliva
freighter ran aground and created a potentially overwhelming oil slick around
Nightingale Island, which has no fresh water. Rockhoppers had to be taken to
Tristan to be cleaned. The remote island then got even more worldwide attention
later the same year when Volvo Ocean Race competitor Puma's Mar Mostro broke a
mast during its journey from Alicante to Cape Town and was enforced to stop
there. The town turned it on for the eleven person crew, who visited the local
St Mary's School, took a tour of the fish processing factory and picked up
emergency supplies at the local shop.
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