What is life like on the world’s remotest settled island? Journalist Andy Isaacson took the week-long boat trip from Cape Town to find out

Photos by Andy Isaacson
What is life like on the world’s remotest settled island? If you’re curious to see how the people on Tristan da Cunha live you first have to pass a vetting process then take a week-long boat trip from Cape Town and wait another month to be picked up. Journalist Andy Isaacson intrigued by people who live at the end of the world set sail to find out
Andy Isaacson was looking for a new kind of adventure — something really unusual but with a human angle as well. As a tourism reporter working for National Geographic and other publications Isaacson had already had his share of exploits but this time he was looking for something very specific: he wanted to find and visit the remotest inhabited island in the world.
Where exactly is that island? Don’t feel bad if you don’t know the answer: Isaacson didn’t either. He typed “most remote island in the world” into a search engine and up popped an answer: Tristan da Cunha.
Isaacson like most people had never heard of the place — and for good reason. To reach the island which is only about 13 kilometers (8 miles) wide you have to sail southwest for seven days from Cape Town South Africa the closest civilized area to the island. After traversing 2 805 kilometers (1 743 miles) you finally arrive.
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