Marion Island, a tiny speck in the middle of the Indian Ocean, is the larger of the two islands forming the Prince Edward Island group. It was annexed by South Africa on 29 December 1947 during a top secret operation.
Being in all respects ready for sea, H. M. S. A. S. TRANSVAAL is to sail from Cape Town at 1000 hours on Sunday... Your destination is TOP SECRET and is NOT to be disclosed to the ship's company until you are at sea. All signals are to be TOP SECRET and encoded in High Grade Code...
A base was subsequently built on the island and it has since served as a meteorology and research station.
The island is populated by abundant wildlife: elephant and fur seals; king, rockhopper, macaroni and gentoo penguins; a variety of albatrosses and other flighted birds. The cats are gone but the mice remain. Both introduced by man.
The early history of the island is described in the book "No Pathway Here" by John H. Marsh.
This cache is hidden near Trypot Beach, where an old iron pot, used by the sealers long ago to render down fat, is still to be found on the rocks.
Small note on cache maintenance: I am here regularly for my work. There are also colleagues here year around who know where the cache is and can assist if needed.