First Impressions

Wednesday 24 August 2016

We woke early due to the “excitement” of leaving.  I think it was more trepidation of what was ahead.  The departure time was civilised (11:30am) and the phone calls and SMSs never ending.  Three of our daughters (the fourth is in Hawaii at present) and one partner, came to the airport to ensure we left the country.  As it was raining when we flew out we didn’t see too much.

The first leg of our trip was to Nadi in Fiji, where we were looking forward to catching up with some of the volunteers, but alas we couldn’t find anyone.  The room we had was huge compared to what we are anticipating in Kiribati.  When we went down for a drink and dinner, I found mosquitoes everywhere, so back to the room for repellent before our second attempt.  I asked about the “free” Wifi and was told it was $15 per half hour.  I thought Australia was bad.  As you can guess, no Wifi was used in Fiji.

The flight to Fiji was uneventful, but we both spent some time thinking about what we have left behind and what is ahead.  This trip seems so different to our Tanzania trip so far.  I suppose we will work out what’s different over the coming days and weeks.

Denise has just handed me some Combantrin (worm tablets).  Welcome to a year overseas in third world…but I suppose she doses me up at home as well when she remembers.  The tablets were better than I expected as it tasted a little like cheap chocolate.

Thursday 25 August 2016

Well we both had a terrible nights sleep as we had to be awake at 5am to catch the 8am flight from Nadi to Tarawa in Kiribati.  We kept on waking up to see if we had missed the alarm - we didn’t.  When we got into the Nadi departure lounge, the rest of the volunteers were just arriving after an overnight flight from Melbourne.  It was great to see some familiar faces.

The flight to Tarawa was on time and takes around 3 hours, with the last hour being over coral atolls.  Hint to anyone flying to Tarawa - get a window seat and be awake for this last hour.  I was on the right hand side so not too sure what was out the other side.

When we got to Tarawa the plane flew across the runway and up towards North Tarawa before circling back around the atoll and landing.  While landing I did notice their advanced traffic management system.  There are tracks that cross the runway and when a plane is landing, the gates are closed and a red flag is raised to stop entry by “security” guards.  These guards appear to be on duty all day as we went past the airstrip a few days later and saw one in a small shaded shelter listening to something on his radio/phone.

 

There were many children at Bonriki International Airport to greet us (I later discovered that the Kiribati Olympic team of three athletes were on the same flight, but I still believe they were there to see us).  Immigration and Customs was basic and the baggage carousel was a wooden bench.  Trolleys were scarce so I ended up carrying a backpack and two 23kg bags, luckily only for about 20mtrs.

The weather was hot and humid with clear skies - welcome to Kiribati.

The trip to our accommodation was on an air conditioned bus, but for some reason the driver was going extremely slow so the 15km trip took nearly 1 hour.  The main road is first world with two lanes and a walking/cycling path on both sides.  Every few hundred meters there is a speed bump to ensure you don’t exceed the 40kph limit.  It is 60kph on the causeways.

We finally got to meet Linda, our In Country Manager and Motire who assists Linda.  They are both locals and very nice plus extremely helpful.

Our accommodation for the first week or so is Utirerei Motel (they even have a website).  Quite pleasant.

Kiribati use the Australian Dollar as their currency and have the same power points and power as Australia.  So far no power outages.

The time in Kiribati is 2hrs ahead of Brisbane so communication is reasonably easy, although I did wake one of my daughters when I called about 8am local time (6am Brisbane time).  She had just sent me a message so I thought it meant she was awake…

I also discovered that you can pre-purchase an additional baggage allowance at a far cheaper rate than what we have paid to ship our dive gear here - no thanks there to Fiji Airways who failed to mention this on several phone calls to them about excess baggage.  I suppose I was asking about taking excess baggage and additional baggage.  You have to be very specific here as they will answer exactly what you ask, not what you want to know or offer any additional information.

We did view the house we had been offered prior to arrival - very basic, and hoping for something better.

Friday 26 August 2016

Our first full day in Kiribati was spent doing orientation stuff:

• Meeting the police for a security briefing (it’s safe) and learn the road rules (they have them and they drive on the left, but first hand experience says they are a guide only).  The police do have at least one radar, but hopefully Denise won’t find it anywhere.
• Obtain a Kiribati drivers licence - about $20 for 1 year.  It has our photo as well.
• Meeting a local doctor for a health update - it’s tropical so protect from mosquitoes and sun and treat cuts immediately.
• Finding some of the shops including phone shops.
• House hunting.

We do have phone numbers so if you want them, email us, or contact Denise on Facebook.

The mobile internet bundle is expensive during the week, but they do have cheap weekend rates ($1.99 for 500MB and $2.99 for 1GB).  The plans begin midnight Friday and expire at midnight Sunday, so all emails and pics will be done on weekends if we are free.

Friday evening saw us all at the Australian High Commission for drinks (pay as you drink) and a sausage sizzle (pay as you eat).  This apparently happens every fourth Friday evening (I think) together with another get together on Wednesday evenings.  A great way to form your local expat networks.

The 6 new volunteers (and two partners) now have two hire cars to share.  One scrapes on the speed bumps if you go too fast.  I think we have all discovered this now.

Saturday 27 August 2016

More checking out shops and houses.  It looks like everybody has found a house except Denise and I, although we have found one that would suite, but it is about 30mins from work by car.  We are hoping there is something closer of the same quality so I can walk to work - we may be asking a little too much, but here’s hoping.

What’s next?

Sunday morning saw Denise head off to the local Catholic Church while I wrote the blog.

Denise - Today I went to mass and it was wonderful. Singing and dancing has given me some ideas for my church when I get home. The service was about 1 ½ hours but that also included Confession. The mass was in Gilbertese but as it was catholic it was easy enough for me to follow along. The others that came with me, were saying the young children were interested that I was going to communion.

Next week is more orientation and we finally get to meet our host organisations and those we will be working alongside for the next 12 months.

Next weekend we are off to North Tarawa as a bit of R&R before diving into our volunteering assignments on Monday 5 September.

Our thoughts

Kiribati is hot and humid, although it is bearable as long as you can find a breeze.  I am typing this under a fan and with both doors open for flow though air.

We were told that Tarawa was crowded and dirty, but we both find it no worse than Arusha and are actually looking forward to the experience.

I still haven’t found and scaled Mt Tarawa, but I am all prepared for the steep climb and after climbing Mt Kilimanjaro I believe the altitude will not be a problem, but I have my support crew ready in case a medical evacuation is required.

I am a little worried as I haven’t found any scuba diving shops or centres where we can hire tanks and weight belts.  Linda assures me they are here so we will wait and see.

We did pass an outdoor basketball court last night on the way home from dinner where there was a game being played under lights, but we didn’t stop.  That will be for another day.

For those thinking of visiting:

• Yes, you are welcome, but plan with us first so we are not inundated with many visitors all at once.  The flight from Nadi to Tarawa is about $900 return per person with Fiji Airways, and flies on Monday and Thursday.  To save money you can try getting a cheaper flight to Nadi, but you may have to pay overnight accommodation in Nadi.
• Yes, there is fishing, although somebody last night said it wasn’t great.  Can’t say yes or no to that yet.
• Yes, there is surfing and one of the volunteers has brought his board with him and already found a house on the beach with what appears to be some potentially good surfing out the front.  Another of the volunteers already here has 4 beginner boards in his house.
• Yes, there is diving, but we are yet to find where and how.

If there is anything you want to know please ask.