Text/Photo: Alex Kühni
At the End of the World: The Antipodes of Switzerland in the South Pacific
A beautiful wilderness on the other side of the world: The Chatham Islands, at around 19,500 km away, are the most distant civilization from Switzerland.
If you were to dig a tunnel straight through the Earth from Switzerland, contrary to popular belief, you wouldn’t end up in China but rather in the South Pacific near the Chatham Islands. This self-governing island group belongs to New Zealand, yet even many New Zealanders are unfamiliar with it. It is the most distant civilization from Switzerland.
The Chatham Islands are located about 800 kilometers east of Christchurch and are home to just 600 residents. Apart from a multi-day sea voyage, they can only be reached via the regional airline Air Chathams, which operates propeller planes to the main island two to three times a week, landing at the small Tuuta Airport. Checked and hand luggage are not inspected, and passengers can choose their seats freely. Unoccupied seats are used to transport mail, groceries, and coolers filled with lobsters. On a clear day, the approach offers a first impression of this extremely remote part of the world: turquoise waters meet dramatic cliffs, rocky coastlines, and long sandy beaches, highlighting the wild beauty of the islands.
View over the main settlement, Waitangi, which houses most of the island’s approximately 600 residents.
Strangely foreign landscapes on the other side of the world: The island’s peat-laden freshwater mixes with the clear waters of the South Pacific.
After landing, passing wind-bent trees, flat plains, and low shrubland, one reaches the largest settlement, Waitangi, after a 20-kilometer drive. Waitangi consists of a seaside hotel with the island’s only pub, a sporadically open “Fish and Chips” stand, a general store, a gas station, a liquor store, and about three dozen houses. In the bay in front of Waitangi, the fishing fleet is anchored. Next to two large fuel tanks, a small harbor serves as the docking point for a supply ship that arrives three times a month.
One of two churches on the island is located at a dead-end street between the liquor store and the hospital.
Simone Croon runs the island’s only general store. Her two sisters own the only hotel and serve as the mayor.
Leaving Waitangi, paved roads quickly turn into gravel tracks that extend across the 900-square-kilometer island. Getting lost is unlikely since all roads eventually lead to a dead end. Encounters with other vehicles are rare, and drivers wave to each other when passing. Driving fast is risky, as herds of feral cows frequently block the roads. These cattle have become a problem for local ranchers, as cattle farming, alongside fishing, is the island’s only industry. The population of wild cows has exploded, breaking fences and competing with domesticated livestock for scarce grass. In 2024, the New Zealand government allocated funds to tackle this “cow plague.” A small helicopter was transported to the island by ship, and over three months, more than 6000 wild cows were culled. The carcasses, which cannot be collected, attract scavenging weka rails – prehistoric-looking, flightless birds native to New Zealand.
To control the thousands of feral cows on Chatham’s main island, over 6000 animals were culled in 2024.
The prehistoric-looking weka bird is a widespread flightless bird on the Chatham Islands and mainly feeds on carrion.
Not all islanders believe that shooting the wild cows is the best solution. Arlette Lawson, who runs the island’s only waste disposal and recycling center, belongs to New Zealand’s indigenous Māori people and criticizes the approach: “Even though these animals have become a nuisance, they still serve as food for our herding dogs. As a Māori, I see ‘Wairua’—the spirit – in every food source, which has the property of ‘hau ora,’ enabling prosperity through sustainability.” Lawson further points to the root cause of the problem: “The islands attract people who dream of a self-sufficient life in the wilderness and buy large numbers of cattle. When they realize how hard life here is, they leave and abandon the animals.”
Arlette Lawson is a proud Māori and runs the island’s only waste disposal and recycling center with many creative solutions. For example, broken washing machines are repurposed into garden grills.
A lone lamb during a storm – on the Chatham Islands, it rains an average of 200 days a year.
Security on the island is managed by a married police couple, Lucie and Will Joines, who share a 150% police staffing role. According to Lucie Joines, their duties mainly involve alcohol checks on drivers and occasional cases of domestic violence. When an arrest is necessary, friends of the couple often assist in supervising the detainee for the required 24-hour holding period. Every three months, a judge, prosecutors, a court clerk, and a public defender are flown in to conduct a handful of hearings. If a case proceeds to trial, it must be heard on New Zealand’s main islands.
The police couple Lucie and Will Joines share the island’s 150% police staffing role and can only do their job because they are well integrated into the community.
Much of the sparsely populated island is privately owned farmland.
The island has its own time zone – 45 minutes ahead of New Zealand – and is so close to the International Date Line that it is promoted to tourists with the slogan “First to see the sun.” However, the harsh South Pacific weather, which can shift between sunshine, hail, and rain within 30 minutes, deters many visitors. Progress reaches this remote corner of the world only slowly. A patchy mobile network has only been available for the past two years, and residents outside the main settlement rely on satellite internet. Many locals have their own saying about visiting the Chatham Islands: “When you arrive here, you set your clock 45 minutes forward and travel 30 years into the past.”
A wrecked car by the roadside: Of the 179-kilometer road network on the Chatham Islands, only 13 kilometers are paved.
The deep-sea fishing vessel SS Thomas Currell, built in the United Kingdom in 1919, was acquired for fishing off New Zealand in 1921. During World War II, it was converted into a minesweeper and now lies as a wreck on the shores of the Chatham Islands.
A colony of New Zealand fur seals, one of the five native seal species on the Chatham Islands.
Philippa Ingram arrived on the island 40 years ago as a radio operator when that was still the main form of communication. Today, she runs the only liquor store – called a “bottle shop” in New Zealand – from her garage. The shop is decorated with souvenirs from around the world, including a Trump 2024 cap.
Be the first to see the sun every morning: The Chatham Islands are so close to the International Date Line that they are promoted to tourists with the slogan “First to see the sun.”