Heard Island
An Australian external territory Heard Island is about 4000km from the Australian mainland and 1000 or so kilometers from Antarctica this island is home to the highest mountain in Australia, Mawson Peak at 2750m. It is an active volcano with its latest eruption being in April 2013. The island has a rich bird and marine life as well as some hardy plant species and boasts being the largest sub-Antarctic island with no human introduced plant species to the island. The Island with its lack of human interference and inhabitants is a great sanctuary for some species to thrive.
Heard Island and McDonald Islands are said to be some of the most remote places on earth and lie on the Kerguelen Plateau located in the Indian Ocean.
It’s not that you cannot go only that going requires a skilled crew with a fully equipped expedition vessel and a willingness to sail the roughest toughest sea there is! Getting there is not just a hop skip and jump across the grueling sea either it can take up to two weeks to get there.
Then there is the fact that you need the permission of the Australian Antarctic Division to do so! Unless you have a better reason than “You want to check out the scenery and big active volcano because you think it would be cool!” you are not likely to get it!
There are some other islands you can visit to see a big volcano and similar wildlife that are not only more readily accessible without all the hoopla of permissions and fully kitted out expedition vessels with their crew. They are also a lot closer such as Montague which is off the coast of Narooma, New South Wales and White Island in New Zealand if seeing an active volcano is on your bucket list!