Looking towards Hapeka Hill on Pitt Island, the second largest island in the Chatham Islands. The population of about 40 people derive their income from farming, fishing, and, more recently, tourism. There is a small school, wharf, church and landing strip for light planes.

The Chatham Islands sit on the Chatham Rise, a large, relatively shallowly submerged (no more than 1,000 metres deep)#160;reach of the Zealandia continent. The Chatham Islands are 800 kilometres east of New Zealand's South Island in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are generally hilly with the coasts a varied mixture including cliffs and sand dunes, beaches and lagoons. Chatham and Pitt are the only inhabited islands, with the remaining smaller islands being conservation reserves with access restricted or prohibited. The livelihoods of the inhabitants depend mainly on agriculture, fishing and tourism.