A tiny dot in the Pacific is a common phrase to define most of the small islands in the biggest ocean in the world. But tiny Nauru seems to really define that very well. I mean the island is near round and is small enough to drive around in 30 – 33 minutes by car. Where can you say you drove around an island nation like here? Nauru is an island that popped up on my curiosity about two to three years before actually arriving and one thing that stood out to me for years, was it’s incredibly ridiculous visa process. Many emails, document and photo uploads, and lots of time later, I finally arrived with my one month visa despite only going for 5 days. Yea they totally make you book accommodation and roundtrip tickets first before going.
Nauru is a weird place with many differences from what I’ve been used to in the Pacific islands. It also might as well be an extension of Australia. Imports are from Australia, watched morning news from Australia, and a large group of Nauruans live in a town basically for Nauruans. It was a country insanely rich with phosphate but intense mining ran the country dry of it’s number one resource over the span of 100 years. For a small country drivable in about 33 minutes based on GoPro video, it’s visa process is very similar to that of a soviet county on the eastern side of the iron curtain. It took me weeks before I could get my visa sorted to enter the country, not to forget my initial email months in advance just to get some things clear. Let’s just say, that internet resources, the email from immigration, and the visa application itself all contradict each other. One asks for only return flights and hotel bookings, passport bio page, proof of occupation, and Pacific Island travel itinerary. While another asks for additional things like recent passport sized photo, criminal, and health record.
But the island charm is found beyond and behind on that political nonsense. Especially the false information the news portrays about the refuge center on the island. Truth is, the refugees are welcome with open arms by Nauruans until they find a place to call home in the first world. Hell, I got a haircut from an Iranian and had a nice long talk with a Nepalese man. Any who, after sending my life of paperwork through, waiting a week for an invoice asking for 50AUD, and sending that through, I finally got my one month visitor visa granted despite only going for 5 days.
ACCOMODATION
For a country that makes you prove hotel booking and with few options, accommodation sorting can be insanely expensive. Fortunately for me, I found myself in an Airbnb right next to the airport with a small family, the kind of stay I prefer to be in as it gets me more connected with locals. Plus, hotels are lonely as hell. $400USD for 5 nights is way more than my budget allows but it’s the cheapest option on the island. Flights can also be expensive for this tiny island depending on where you come from. But lucky for me wanting to travel to Kiribati allowed me to enjoy the cheapest option of a $300 roundtrip from Tarawa. (Note: The only way to book and have a no cancellation fee was through Expedia.)
Things I Did
Once you are settled on the island and get a whole passport page and 1/4 taken up by immigration, you find the pure innocence nature and beauty of tiny Nauru. Walking over to Gabab beach at the end of the runway are families and tons of kids enjoying a nice swim in the ocean with two active lifeguards with the backdrop of the old phosphate cantilevers in ruins. Off of the main road you can check out the islands tiny Buada Lagoon. Hiding from some rain got me the chance to hitch a ride with a local to show me what was an old Japanese prison within the pinnacle rocks. “Topside”, are tons of gun placements and bunkers in pretty good condition at 80 years old. I met a group of guys drinking on the beach who would take the day to show me the insane mining that destroyed the islands center, but a few caves for a hell of an adventure. Had kava with a local family who arranged for me to join their boys noddy bird hunting topside. Oh yea, I ate two of those caught just because. Hitched around the island once and without even trying, rode around the island 5 additional times.
The People
From all that I experienced on Nauru, the people are absolutely friendly alike many of the other islands I have been to. Unique in it’s own way, but with people who are willing to go out of their way to help you or take you in for food and drink. But a reputation Nauru has had for a long time in regards to people is the obesity problem at being the most obese country in the world. The reality is, Nauru was once the most obese nation, but I would say Tonga is up there. People have acknowledged the sad truth and have been proactive in keeping active and fit playing Aussie rules or running the perimeter of the runway.
As for the island, the litter problem is really bad. But beyond that, Nauru is lined with some beautiful beaches. Up the northwestern corner to Anibare beach, where massive coral rocks shoot right out of the water always ready for a beautiful photo to be taken. The drive around the island during sunset will give you some beautifully lit shots of the coastline. Even chilling by the airport to watch the planes come and go is a fun thing to do. Topside is probably one of the hottest places I’ve ever been to in my travels but World War exploring without the bothers of crowds and tourist is an experience of it’s own. Nauru is a complicated place full of unusual politics and and an unfortunate recent history, but once you get passed the tedious visa process and get that passport page and 1/4 taken up, you’ll find that this tiny island is full of heart and full of charm.
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Check out my FULL Nauru Experience on Youtube
