L'Arche des Kerguelen National Monument

L'Arche des Kerguelen National Monument is a national monument of the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands, located in the Bird Bay National Park in close proximity to the city of Port-Christmas. It is considered the most iconic geographical feature of the Kerguelen Islands and the Republic as a whole.

L'Arche des Kerguelen is a located at the tip of the Pointe de l'Arche on the Péninsule Lorenchet in the eponymous commune in the province of West Kerguelen. It collapsed in 1910 during a storm.

History


The Arche des Kerguelen was first discovered by Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec in 1773, when his second expedition to the archipelago landed in the Baie de l'Oiseau in December of that year. The arch itself was however not given a name by this expedition; instead, the entire peninsula on which the arch was located was given the name Pointe de l'Arche, after the arch itself that was located on its tip.

The arch remained unnamed for much of its existence, often referred to by the settlers and later the locals of Port-Christmas simply as "l'Arche". This situation remained until 1908, when Raymond Rallier du Baty organised an expedition to the island to name all its features and officially named the arch "Arche des Kerguelen".

The arch collapsed during a heavy storm in 1910, an event about which Rallier du Baty expressed sadness, as he was self-reportedly "quite fond" of the geographical feature. Nonetheless, the arch retained its designation as an arch.

Upon the independence of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands, the arch was designated as "an important icon of the national identity of our Republic". Following the passing of the Loi pour la protection des régions naturelles signifiantes, the arch was designated a national monument, and access to the arch and the direct surroundings was restricted to only scientists with a permit.

National monument


As an officially designated national monument, access to the arch and its direct surroundings is restricted for all but scientists with a visitation permit.

The arch is located on the Pointe de l'Arche, which itself is part of the Bird Bay National Park and accessible by foot for visitors. It is simultaneously the southernmost piece of land that surrounds the Baie de l'Oiseau and the northernmost piece of land to surround the Baie de la Dauphine.

The arch is observable from the western side of the city of Port-Christmas, from the Table de l'Oiseau, and from the entirety of the Baie de l'Oiseau. Though it can technically be observed from Cap Ligniville and Pointe d'Anières, viewing it from the direction provides only an observation of the southern pillar, without seeing the arch as a whole. The arch cannot be seen from the summit of Mont Havergal, as the cliffs of the Pointe de l'Arche obstructs the view of the arch.

Visiting


Visitors who have the desire to observe the arch from up close can walk the path that runs across the top of the Pointe de l'Arche. The path is not protected or fenced, and at various points gets close to the cliff edges, so walking the path under heavy weather circumstances as advised against.

Access to the footpath is at the base of the cliff of Pointe de l'Arche. It begins at a car park located approximately a kilometre to the south of the La Mer neighbourhood of Port-Christmas, and is also called at by an hourly bus service which provides a connection to the city centre and to the rest of the city.

In order to get to Port-Christmas in the first place there are two main forms of access, namely by road and by train. By road, access is provided by the RR 2, which provides a direct connection to Port-Couvreux and Port-aux-Français. The gare de Port-Christmas is called at by the Blue Line, which provides connections to Port-Joffre, Port-Couvreux and Port-aux-Français, and the Green Line, which provides connections to Port-de-l'Île d'Ouest and Côte de la Vallée des Sables.

The visitor's centre of Bird Bay National Park is located directly to the south of the train station and is en route to the arch for motorists arriving by the RR 2. It is advised to first go to the centre in order to ascertain that the access path to the Pointe de l'Arche can be walked, to ensure one's safety.