Macquarie Island (34 km long x 5 km wide) is an oceanic island in the Southern Ocean, lying 1,500 km south-east of Tasmania and approximately halfway between Australia and the Antarctic continent. The island is the exposed crest of the undersea Macquarie Ridge, raised to its present position where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate meets the Pacific plate. It is a site of major geoconservation significance, being the only place on earth where rocks from the earth’s mantle (6 km below the ocean floor) are being actively exposed above sea-level. These unique exposures include excellent examples of pillow basalts and other extrusive rocks.
Macquarie Island is a restricted reserve under Tasmanian legislation. Visits require specific permission and are limited by annual quotas; most visitors can only go through approved commercial educational tourist operators.
There is no public park gate ticket. Access is controlled through approved expedition operators or special permission processes, so visitor cost is operator- and voyage-dependent rather than a posted walk-up fee.
Booking required