The 100 Wonders Project | Macquarie Island guide

The essential experience.

A detail that changes the visit

Access is tightly managed and not guaranteed; the time allowance describes interpretation, not the substantial expedition journey.

A southern elephant seal on Macquarie IslandPhoto: Brocken Inaglory · CC BY-SA 3.0

For the curious reader

History, landscape and context.

Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica. It has been governed as a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1880. It became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978 and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Macquarie Island is located 1500 kilometres (930 mi) south-east of Tasmania, approximately halfway between Tasmania and the Antarctic continent, and 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It has a width of about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) and a length of about 34 kilometres (21 mi), with an area of approximately 128 square kilometres (49 sq mi).

Abridged background from Macquarie Island, by Wikipedia contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and shortened; this adapted background remains under the same licence. Retrieved 23 September 2026. Source revision.

A satellite view of Macquarie Island — Macquarie Island photo by NASA Earth ObservatoryPhoto: NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain

Macquarie Island with young elephant seals on the beach, the station is in the backgroundPhoto: MaccaPenguin · CC BY-SA 4.0

From inspiration to a practical plan

Plan your visit.

Physical demands: A substantial ocean voyage, small-boat transfers and exposed shore walks. Landing opportunities depend on sea and weather conditions.
The consequential detail: Access is tightly managed and not guaranteed; the time allowance describes interpretation, not the substantial expedition journey.

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Through the seasons

A place in the world.

Australia.

A place in the world

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Map: Natural Earth

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In pictures.

Macquarie’s rocky shores hold concentrated seabird colonies within a remote subantarctic landscape.

King penguins and their chicks on Macquarie IslandPhoto: Krudller, CC BY-SA 4.0

A royal penguin colony on Macquarie IslandPhoto: Kimberley Collins, CC BY-SA 4.0

Highland herbfield on Macquarie Island dominated by the silver-leafed Pleurophyllum hookeriPhoto: Athrotaxis, CC BY-SA 4.0

Wave clouds formed by Macquarie IslandPhoto: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC, Public domain

Macquarie Island, 1955. A wandering albatross and its chick, by unknown, silver gelatin photographic print. State Library of New South Wales PXE 731/1830Photo: unknown., Public domain

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Follow the connection

Keep exploring.

Explore more places in the same country.

Useful links and further reading.

Choose a source for the job: official visitor information for access, the UNESCO record for the named property’s designation, and background or library resources for deeper reading.

Understand · UNESCO World Heritage Centre

UNESCO World Heritage property record

Read the named property’s significance, maps, components and conservation documents. The World Heritage boundary may cover only part of this guide’s wider destination.