Fun things to do in Tristan da Cunha

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In 1821, a soldier from Kelso Scotland a fellow know as Corporal William Glass, took his wife and children to Tristan da Cunha, a volcanic Island about 2000 miles west of Cape Town South Africa, to establish another settlement. The Glass name is still prevalent among the 300-strong community.

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You can see the Village of The only village, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, it has a school, small hospital a grocery store, post office, radio station, café, video shop, swimming pool, and a police station with a one officer.

The 300 or so folks who live on Tristan have the following last names

lWilliam Glass, 1816, from Scotland.
Thomas Swain, 1826, from England.
Peter Green, 1836, from Holland.
Thomas Rogers, 1836, from the USA.
Andrew Hagan, 1849, from the USA.
Andrea Repetto, 1892, from Italy.
Gaetano Lavarello, 1892, from Italy.

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Gough Island is about 240 miles (360 km) South and a little East of Tristan da Cunha. It has a South African weather station on it because it sits right in the way of the winds coming from the Deep South. Gough is very wet with 100 to 150 inches of rain a year. the island is 6.9 miles long by 3.6 miles wide. When view from a distance it has a very impressive volcanic origin, rising to over 3,300 ft.

The Portuguese sailor Goncalo Alvarez spotted the place around 1600 and it was named Diego Alvarez. But you guessed it a British sailor Gough in 1731 spotted it again and not knowing it was already named called it Gough and the name stuck with ethe American and British whalers.

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Birding for the Rockhopper Penguin or Wandering albatross or Tristan albatross. – Tristan Albatross probably has 6000-7000 individuals They breed Every two years - because it takes a year to complete the breeding cycle. They incubate their single egg for 11 weeks and the take a further 40 weeks to fledge their chick, which is dependent upon the parents for food over this entire period. The chick perishes if either parent is lost at sea to longlines because a single parent cannot collect enough food. Egg laying - December to February; Hatching - March to April; Fledging - November to February. One very small population is now stable after a period of decline

Other Birds Breeding Seabirds
Rockhopper Penguin - subspecies moseleyi
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross (27,000-40,000 breeding pairs including Gough Is.)
Sooty Albatross
Kerguelen Petrel
Great-winged Petrel (subspecies macroptera)
Atlantic Petrel - few hundred pairs
Soft-plumaged Petrel (subspecies mollis)
Broad-billed Prion (subspecies vittata)
Spectacled Petrel
Grey Petrel
Great Shearwater
Little Shearwater (subspecies elegans)
Grey-backed Storm-petrel
White-faced Storm-petrel (nominate subspecies marina)
Black-bellied Storm-petrel (subspecies melanoleuca)
White-bellied Strom-petrel (subspecies leucogaster)
Common Diving Petrel (subspecies dacunhae)
Antarctic tern

Being isolated and devoid of all living organisms at its volcanic origin, the evolving flora and fauna of the island hold a special interest for scientists and visitors. The Tristan Government is keenly aware of the need to live in balance with its environment because the economy of the community is dependent on sustainable harvests of lobster and fish.

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Tristan da Cunha, rising to over 2000m above sea level, is miles from anywhere in the South Atlantic Ocean. With its neighbouring islands of Nightingale and Inaccessible, and Gough Island, 300km to the SE, it warrants a mention in the Guinness Book of Records as the most isolated inhabited island in the world, being over 1,900km from St Helena and 2,400 west of Cape Town

Birding for the Rockhopper Penguin or Wandering albatross or Tristan albatross. – Tristan Albatross probably has 6000-7000 individuals They breed Every two years - because it takes a year to complete the breeding cycle. They incubate their single egg for 11 weeks and the take a further 40 weeks to fledge their chick, which is dependent upon the parents for food over this entire period. The chick perishes if either parent is lost at sea to longlines because a single parent cannot collect enough food. Egg laying - December to February; Hatching - March to April; Fledging - November to February. One very small population is now stable after a period of decline

Other Birds Breeding Seabirds
Rockhopper Penguin - subspecies moseleyi
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross (27,000-40,000 breeding pairs including Gough Is.)
Sooty Albatross
Kerguelen Petrel
Great-winged Petrel (subspecies macroptera)
Atlantic Petrel - few hundred pairs
Soft-plumaged Petrel (subspecies mollis)
Broad-billed Prion (subspecies vittata)
Spectacled Petrel
Grey Petrel
Great Shearwater
Little Shearwater (subspecies elegans)
Grey-backed Storm-petrel
White-faced Storm-petrel (nominate subspecies marina)
Black-bellied Storm-petrel (subspecies melanoleuca)
White-bellied Strom-petrel (subspecies leucogaster)
Common Diving Petrel (subspecies dacunhae)
Antarctic tern