Pitcairn Island, in the South Pacific, is a case study in fascination. It is the smallest and most remote inhabited place in the world. You likely know of Pitcairn even if you didn’t realize it. Fletcher Christian and the Bounty Mutineers immortalized it in the famous Mutiny on the Bounty. It has since been made into four different Hollywood films where Christian has been played by such swashbucklers as Mel Gibson and Marlon Brando.
In 2004, the island of only 50 or so residents was also the center of a sex scandal that gained International attention. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the scandal but I am not going to write about it. Pitcairn is too wonderful to focus on the negative. In full disclosure, I met many of those convicted after they had served their time. I liked most and even had drinks with some.
Uncomfortable details aside, Pitcairn Island is simply put, the most fascinating place on Earth. There’s no other place in the world with such a small population and such an incredible history. There are no hotels on Pitcairn. You stay with members of the four families that remain. They are the descendants of the HMS Bounty Mutineers.
I was fortunate to stay with a lovely couple, Tom and Betty Christian. Betty is a sixth-generation descendant of Fletcher Christian. I’ve never been treated so well. Stories and history fly around the dinner table as other islanders just pop in to say hello.
That’s what’s so great about Pitcairn Island. It’s personal; it’s visceral; and you feel a part of history when you’re there. There are no street names. Directions are given by people’s homes or landmarks. Mind you, there is only one paved road. Residents walk or get around on quad bikes.
Visitors are rare but are warmly welcomed. I could just walk into people’s houses and introduce myself, and automatically, I would be given tea and food and chatted with for hours. You would think it is a very simple life on Pitcairn Island, but it is actually quite complicated and challenging. Island politics and finance dominate long council meetings where policy is hotly debated. (The island is kept afloat by subsidies from the British Government.) And the nearest "civilization," Tahiti, is at least three or four days away and very expensive to reach. When families leave Pitcairn, they may never be seen again. It is a hard life; it is an unusual life; it can be a lonely life; but it is a good life—and one I'm glad I got the chance to see.
What to Do There
St Paul’s tidal pool, where you can swim in the right weather
Christian’s Cave, where Fletcher Christian supposedly suveryed the land
Bounty Bay, where you can dive the wreck of the Bounty, which was burned in 1790
Down Rope cliff, featuring ancient petroglyphs
Garnet’s Ridge
Adamstown, the original home of the mutineers and where most of the residents live now
Walking and quad bike tours
How to Get There
Pitcairn's dedicated passenger and supply ship, the _MV Claymore II, _which makes trips four times a year
Commercial yacht out of Mangareva, Gambier Islands; there are a few each year and take a minimum of two days each way. You can find travel operators on the island's tourism site; I sailed with Pitcairn Travel's SV Xplore.
Private yacht or sailboat (cruise ships don’t land at Pitcairn)
