Ducie Island

Ducie is the last land at the eastern end of the Pitcairn group, an atoll of four islets around a lagoon with nobody on it and nothing built, several hundred kilometres from the nearest inhabited place. Murphy's petrels nest here in numbers that make the island internationally important for the species, along with frigatebirds, terns and boobies. It sits inside the Pitcairn Islands marine reserve. The atoll is the last land before a very long stretch of open Pacific to the east.

What you actually see

• The petrel colony - Murphy's petrels nesting in internationally significant numbers.
• The four islets - the ring of low land around the lagoon.
• The isolation - hundreds of kilometres from the nearest inhabited land.
• The marine reserve - the protection covering the surrounding ocean.

When to go

April to October is cooler and calmer for the passage. Access depends entirely on arranging a vessel. Seabird nesting runs through much of the year.

Honest expectations

There is no scheduled access of any kind; reaching Ducie needs a private vessel and permission. Landings are restricted to protect the nesting birds. There is no infrastructure whatsoever.

Nearby

Henderson Island is west, and Pitcairn is far west.