Look, you're probably never gonna make it to Campbell Island.

It's a teeny tiny speck in the middle of the southern ocean, about 400 miles south of New Zealand.

But from time to time, a group of scientists or meteorologists do come to the island and set up camp.

That's pretty much it.

But let's say you do happen to make it to Campbell Island, and let's say you arrive around Christmas time.

Well, that's exactly what happened to a group of meteorologists who, well, they were way out there on Campbell Island.

Got into the holiday spirit.

They may have been at the ends of the earth, but by God they wanted a Christmas tree.

But here's the thing, there aren't a lot of Christmas tree options on Campbell Island.

There's not even really a forest.

In fact, there's exactly one tree on the entire island.

Well, story goes, the meteorologist grabbed a saw through open the door of their hut and trudged out through the wind and the rain and headed for this single solitary tree.

Don't worry, they didn't cut the whole thing down.

So what they do is usually hack a branch off and stick that in the corner of the heart and call it a Christmas tree.

But it turns out this lonely tree is a lot more than just some sad Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

The tree might hold an answer to a really big question about human existence and the moment we all find ourselves in.

I'm Dylan Thuras, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places.

Today we visit Campbell Island to see what we can learn from the story of the world's loneliest tree.

That's after this.

Campbell Island is in the sub Antarctic.

It's the remains of an old volcano surrounded by these stunning high peaks.

It's not super big, it's about twice the size of Manhattan, with a population of exactly zero, unless you count the scientists who cycle on and off the island.

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