Kanton Trip

As a final present to ourselves we decided to go on a trip to the UNESCO listed World Heritage Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA).  This was the inaugural trip and the launch of a PIPA Office in Kanton and I had been told it was a trip not to be missed, so only decided at the last minute to go.  The island we were headed to was Kanton which is about 1,600kms East of Tarawa.  Now remember that I rode a bicycle to Townsville (1,600kms) in eight days.

The population of Kanton according to the 2015 census data was 20, and there were 6 school student according to the Education department.  As the school hadn’t had a delivery of school resources (pens, pencils, exercise books, sporting equipment, etc.), I had been investigating ways to get the 2017 resources to the school, and after multiple false starts, this trip appeared to be able to deliver.

The trip was to be approximately ten days with five days of that being on the island of Kanton.  We had to go by ship (MV Nivaga II) to get there so it took some talking to get Denise to come along.  Denise doesn’t do boats.

The trip was initially due to depart on Wednesday 26 July, but when it was put back to Friday 28 July, I was talked into going and then proceeded to talk Denise into joining the trip.  I decided it would be good to book a first class cabin and we decided to pay for our own fares so it didn’t take up a spot for somebody from work to come along and repair the classroom.  When asked why we were paying we said it was our gift to Kiribati.

When I was told there were no first class cabins left I requested my contacts to see what they could do.  We travelled in the first class cabin.  I never did find out who got shifted, but I think I know who it would have been.

The boarding time was 2pm for 4pm departure, but we forgot that this was Kiribati.  When we got to the ship at 2.15pm, nobody else was there, so we went to the pub for iced coffees and iced chocolate.  We returned at 3.15pm and there were a few people there, but nobody who knew what was happening.  Everybody was waiting for the PIPA Team.

I eventually found somebody with a list that had our names on it and requested to see the first class cabins.  We grabbed the middle cabin under the bridge with its own shower and toilet and a lounge (well a 2mtr upholstered bench seat).

Now is when the warning signs began.  The first class cabin was a double bunk bed (I was assigned the top bunk due to the fact Denise wouldn’t have made it up as there was no ladder, and if she had got up, I was afraid of how she was going to get back down), our own toilet and shower…well at least they existed, a porthole looking forward and a fan for when the wind wasn’t blowing, but no air conditioning or a butler.  At least we had working power points so all the electricals could be charged as I had brought the power board with us.  I must say I was expecting a suite.

Next I discovered the cupboard was locked, a drawer was locked, but there was no lock for the door.  Go figure.  We did get a padlock for our cabin door, but after a day didn’t use it.  The cupboard was fixed by removing the hinges and re-hanging it.  I then had to show them how to line up the lock.

There were about 100 passengers, most of whom were coming along as a free trip to represent their company or department, and most appeared to be sleeping and living on the decks as they do here.

The 4pm departure time came and went, still with no sight of an imminent departure.  At around 5pm, we were all offloaded for a rollcall to get back on.  We were first called.  Dinner time came so we went downstairs for our meal.  Denise finally decided to call it a night at around 10pm, and I went into the cabin to lie on the bench and promptly fell asleep.  I woke at around 11pm with the noise of the crane and workman under our window so got up and watched them strap down the two cranes.  Then it was time to sail.

We left the wharf at 11.36pm, at which time I went to bed.  If we had known this was going to be the case we could have gone for dinner and drinks at the High Comm and still made it back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.  As soon as the ship left the wharf, I decided to have a shower, but forgot I was in Kiribati – no water in the shower or toilet.  So off to bed unshowered and sort that out in the morning.

The next challenge was staying asleep.  First was the final marker buoy shining in my eyes through the porthole.  Then the door that was rehung started opening and banging shut when we hit the first swells, so down I got and jammed a bag against it.  Then I woke to what I thought was rain.  Down I climbed again and tried to close the porthole for five minutes – bugger, it would only close to half way, but by that time the rain had stopped.  Another thing for the morning.  Finally I woke again feeling cold as the fan was blowing straight on me.  This was an easy fix as I didn’t have to climb down to fix it.

The next morning I woke to the sights of the Pacific Ocean all round us, and then noticed the slow speed we were doing.  It soon became obvious that we had engine problems and that turned out to be because we were running on one engine, but the chief engineer promised it would be fixed in two days.  Remember where we are…Kiribati.  I then noticed an island in the distance and asked what it was.  It was Abiaing which is at the top of Tarawa, so in 9 hours we had only gone 30kms.

I went up for a look around the bridge and discovered their GPS and maps, so was able to check for myself where we were and what speed we were doing.

The ship was pretty ordinary, with much maintenance required, some of which happened while we were travelling.  The ship had definitely seen better days.  What was supposed to be a 10 day round trip turned into a 12 day expedition just to get to Kanton.  With only one engine they weren’t even running that at full speed so we were averaging under 4 knots for the whole trip to Kanton.  I did suggest that as the second engine hadn’t been fixed within two days that we turn round and head back to Tarawa.  As it turned out, we began running out of supplies before we even made it to Kanton…and the ship still had to get back to Tarawa.  At least the return trip would be with the wind, swells and current so the expectation was it would be a few days shorter.

The wake at this speed actually goes forward and there is very little wash out the back of the ship.

On day one I found out the whole trip could be three to four weeks.  This was a problem as we were due to fly home in under four weeks and we both had about two weeks of work to wrap things up before leaving.

The forecast I saw before departure was rough to very rough so I opted not to tell Denise.  Good option as the weather bureau was wrong.

On entering the harbour at Kanton the idea was to turn the ship around in the lagoon and dock.  We had to enter the lagoon on a changing tide to avoid strong tidal currents with the rising and falling tides.  As we entered I thought the current was already quite strong, but we made it in only to encounter problems turning around and docking.  The next thing I knew we are drifting out the narrow channel sideways.  At this stage they decided to wait for the next tide change at 1pm.  Next thing I knew we were asked if we wanted to go ashore.  What a stupid quest.  After spending twelve days on a very slow ship, of course we wanted to go ashore.

Before leaving on the trip I enquired as to whether I should take my scuba gear, but alas, there were no other divers going, so just snorkel gear.  I was told there would be coral gardens (tick), turtles (tick), sharks, and manta rays (tick).  Three of those I saw on the first day in Kanton.

In the afternoon of the first day, I discovered somebody going hunting for octopus with mask and fins so I said wait, I’m coming too.  We decided to swim around the wharf, but starting from the lagoon entrance which was flowing in.  There were live corals and when we got to the wharf, it too had live corals.  The wharf was built during the WWII campaign so they had grown there over 75 years.  Some were over 1 mtr wide.  I ended up going between the wharf and the ship and when I got to the end got the GoPro and did some of it again.

Workplace health and safety doesn’t exist on this ship, and nor does common sense.  One person decided while at sea to grease the crane wires from the top of the crane, while sliding down the wires.  I wanted to go and get a camera, but thought I had better watch for the incident report when he fell.  Sure enough, about two to three metres down he tipped upside down and had to come down that way.  That was the best one, but there were so many more.  We don’t need rules and regulations, just common sense…but it appears it’s not very common.

Meals on the ship were rice and something that some of the time wasn’t too palatable.  After a few days we were leaving most of the rice.

After 15 days away we finally had something go right, sort of.  We were offered a flight back to Tarawa the next day.  The catch, it was with somebody who had passed away that day.  The flight was already booked for officials for the launch of PIPA in Kanton and they were staying overnight so it was decided to bring back the body and return to Kanton the next day to pick up the officials.  It was an eight seat, twin prop with pressurised cabin so the flight itself was sort of comfortable, but I now know the smell of a day old body...not overpowering, but you couldn't escape it.

The flight back to Tarawa was over 4hrs and as the body bag wasn't fully sealed and the wife of the deceased was constantly attending to his face, every so often the smell got much worse.  I was glad to be breathing fresh air on arrival.  Apart from getting a free flight back (we were willing to pay) they served sandwiches (better than normal airlines) snacks and drinks.  When a Budweiser came out I grabbed it.  I have never been a fan of Budweiser, but it helped kill the smell a little.  We couldn’t have too much to drink as there was only an emergency toilet and that would have meant falling over the body.  His head was right between our seats.  When we arrived we had to clamber over the body to get out.  With about 45mins to go they did something to the bag which made breathing much easier.

I have grave concerns for the return trip, as the ship was running out of food and water before we even got to Kanton, and I doubt the engine will be fixed.  I am guessing that the return trip will be at least nine days.

For all those who were worried about us being off the internet for 15 days, thank you for your concerns and all the novel ways of trying to contact us.

Attached is a photo we found in Tarawa when we returned.

You know I can’t even comment on the boat trip as it will make me say something that wouldn’t be very nice.  I’ve gone to concern mode in regard to getting things finished before we go home.  I’m a little over the ship and want to get myself sorted.  I have no control and I’m not unhappy, but I am not happy either.

I have spent some time at the Kanton Primary School and falling in love with the children and the teacher.  Monita (pronounced a little like Morning Star) is the teacher for Kanton and what a good teacher she is!  She has 6 children of her own.  Two live in Tarawa (a boy and a girl), 3 girls live with her and her husband and today she told me how her youngest son lives on Christmas Island.  She has left her son with her sister in law.  As the sister in law is unable to have children, Monita has given her instructions on how she would like to have her son to be raised.  I seriously doubt I would be able to give up one of my children to live with a relative.  This is not an uncommon act of kindness in Kiribati.  Another lady I have been told has “Adopted” a friend’s child even though she has 6 children of her own.  The baby was given up because the mother was unable to cope.  Kiribati is a patriarchal society.  The women would prefer to not have so many children but the men wouldn’t be happy if they discovered they were taking contraceptive pills.

While in Kanton I had help with our washing.  We had to get water from the well and pour into a trough like metal pan.  This is where we soaked the clothes while we filled another large plastic tub to rinse the clothes.  From there it was back to scrubbing the sheets.  Scrubbing all around the edges and then scrubbing the middle before wringing out, then into the rinse tub.  Wring out again and onto the line.  Good grief it would have taken me for ever to wash my family’s clothes.  No wonder it was left for one day.

Days for Girls

The Days for Girls representative was in town for two weeks and Denise finally got to meet with her after many emails and a few Viber calls.  They are both so passionate about the Days for Girls program.

So, lucky for me I have been involved with reading and school projects, as well as Days for Girls.  I made sure I had enough kits for the girls and women of Kanton with extra kits if someone was in need.  I presented Days for Girls to the ladies and girls with the program being well received.

In Kiribati culture, girls and boys are not told how babies come about, why girls have menstruation and what are good health practices.  I have been very privileged to have women ask questions about their bodies and how body parts are supposed to work.

Since taking on Days for Girls, every gathering I present to I have discovered that at least one young woman has either not had her periods or they have had them but then they have stopped.  Hormones can be some of the problem but malnutrition could be another reason.  At this point I am clutching at straws and since I’m not a doctor I don’t know!

US Military Repatriation

On 25 July we attended a repatriation service for 12 of the 1,696 US Soldiers who had been killed in action during the WWII Battle of Tarawa, a three day battle in November 1943.

This was the second repatriation in the last few months and is the result of a joint effort between the US and a group called History Flight.  It is a forensic archaeological exercise with a team doing research, excavation and identification of each and every piece found.

Denise attended both services and after I heard about the first service I wanted to be a part of this one and show my respects.

Once the bodies are identified and prepared for repatriation, the US Air Force flies in with a team from Hawaii in a C17.  Check it out online.  This is one big piece of flying machinery and extremely impressive when you see it up close.  I was lucky enough to go on board to look at it from the inside.

The service was full military honours with the twelve coffins draped in the US flag.  Each coffin was marched onto the C17 and the service was extremely moving and respectful as you would expect.

After the service we waited around to see the C17 take off.  It was a two hour wait, in some heavy showers, but well worth the experience.