St Helena is a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, lying about midway between South America and Africa. It is so remote that it was the only place considered secure enough to exile Napoleon for the last years of his life! Though an airport is in the pipeline, the only way to reach St Helena at the moment is on the passenger and supply ship, the ‘Royal Mail Ship St Helena’ which takes 5 days at sea from Cape Town, South Africa. There is a distinct old worlde air on the island and a laid-back pace of life. Crime is virtually unheard of and locals greet you in the street like an old friend. The islanders are a fusion of former African and Indian slaves, Chinese and Malay labourers, Boer prisoners, and homeless Londoners from the Great Fire of 1966. Yet St. Helenians feel themselves distinctly British. This rugged volcanic island has no beaches but inland has beautiful lush scenery and at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world. St Helena coffee is amongst tastiest and most exclusive in the world. Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha. Ascension Island contains the cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes. In the 1960s the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In 1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces during the Falklands War, and it remains a critical refuelling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic. Ascension is also a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns. The Tristan da Cunha island group consists of the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites.