I came across this interesting photographic work by an artist who went to Kerguelen Islands, a windswept rock with a lunar landscape in the South Indian Ocean also known by the cheerful name "Îles de la Désolation".
Wikivoyage mentions the Marion-Dufresne ferry from Île de la Réunion, and Sluban himself talks about the sea voyage.
Is this ferry the only way on and off the island ?
Beautiful photos, they certainly capture the atmosphere there.
There is indeed no airport and the supply vessel, Marion Dufresne is not really a ferry. It transports the personnel and supplies destined for the research facilities on the Crozet, Kerguelen and Saint Paul & Amsterdam islands. The round trip from Reunion Island takes one month when everything goes well. On some trips there are a limited number of berths for visitors. More information at http://www.taaf.fr/Participation-a-une-rotation-australe-du-Marion-Dufresne.
Pour y accéder, un seul moyen de transport : le Marion Dufresne (4 à 6 jours de navigation pour atteindre les îles australes depuis la Réunion).
There's only one way to access the islands: the Marion Dufresne (4 to 6 days of navigation to reach the islands from Réunion)
If the French Wikitravel article on Kerguelen is to be believed, there is no airport on the island:
Aucune infrastructure n'est prévue pour permettre l'atterrissage d'avions, un tel projet pourtant entamé il y a quelques années est aujourd'hui retombé dans l'oubli.
... which translates as:
No infrastructure is present to permit the landing of airplanes; such a project was started some years ago, but has since been forgotten.
The only other reference in the article to other ships visiting the island is in the section on medical evacuation:
Il est à signaler que les cas pathologiques les plus graves nécessitent généralement une évacuation sanitaire, une opération déléguée à des navires présents sur le secteur au moment de la survenue des faits. Le temps de transport vers un lieu médicalisé est donc assez variable.
It should be noted that the worst medical cases generally require medical evacuation, which is delegated to ships present in the area when such an operation is deemed necessary. Transport time to a location with medical care is therefore quite variable.
