Kerguelen Islands – Indian Ocean, France
This Sub-Antarctic archipelago is nearly 3,300km from any other inhabited place and is located right between Australia and Africa in the Indian Ocean. Its population fluctuates between the bearable summer months and hardly tolerable winter months, only 45 people stay during the harsh winter time whilst in summer it is home to around 115.
Kerguelen is mainly used for scientific research by the French government above anywhere else. Its capital, Port-Aux-Francais is made up of a shipping port and numerous small facilities & living quarters. The main island is called “Grand Terre” and it is of course home to a large population of penguins and seals. The islands themselves are extremely barren and the higher points are covered in snow, attracting many geologists and scientists to this harsh land.
