Gough Island

Imagine a globe. Spin the globe until you find the South Atlantic. Now place your finger down about half way between the tip of South America and South Africa. Here, accessible only by boat and largely unknown to the rest of the world, lies Gough Island. Welcome to the most remote island in the world…

Part of the Tristan da Cunha group and host to a weather station manned by South Africa, Gough was formed at least three million years ago by volcanic activity on the mid-Atlantic ridge. Along with Tristan da Cunha, Inaccessible and Nightingale, Gough is one of the world’s least disturbed temperate islands. It has a prehistoric beauty found nowhere else, and is frequently cited as the most important seabird colony in the world. Its uniqueness and importance are recognised in its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Three bird species, the Atlantic Petrel, Gough Moorhen and Gough Bunting breed nowhere else, and breeding Tristan Albatross and Macgillivray’s Prion are almost entirely confined to Gough. The island is also vitally important for species such as Great Shearwater and Atlantic Yellow-Nosed Albatross, amongst others. Many rare invertebrate and plant species are found here, and Gough is also an important breeding ground for Subantarctic Fur Seal. Despite having been manned for 62 years, this incredible island still holds many secrets, so is a truly exciting place to be conducting biological research.   

Tristan Albatross chick (David Kinchin Smith)

Atlantic Petrel (David Kinchin Smith)

Gough Bunting (David Kinchin Smith)

Gough Moorhen (David Kinchin Smith)