Yes, still here, and still curious about those portions of the earth that are most unlike my own. Thus my recent interest in the goings on Heard Island, an uninhabited blob that can lay fair claim to the title “Remotest Place on the Planet.” It’s perhaps best known as the headquarters for the Heard Island Feasibility Test, a 1991 experiment that tested whether underwater acoustic signals could be detected many thousands of miles away from their source. (The answer? A resounding yes.) Six years later, a band of ham radio nerds paid $10,000 a head to travel to the island, set up camp, and ping more than 80,000 fellow operators. They came back with a bunch of footage that’s now been captivating me to no end on YouTube. Rarely have I glimpsed such gorgeous desolation.
I’ve been poking around to find first-hand accounts from those few hardy souls who lived on Heard Island for a time—mostly sealers from the early 20th century. If you have any leads on such material, drop me a line.
Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.