Blogs from Kiritimati, Kiribati, Oceania

(Just about caught up on my blog!) anyway.... So in December 2011, I and my 4 future co-workers arrived on Christmas Island (Kiritimati, but pronounced Kiritsmasts) in the Republic of Kiribati (but pronounced Kiri-bas) Confused? I was --so easier just to say Christmas Island! Even many locals call it that. Its a unique Atoll, very dry and almost savana like interior, except for many miles of lagoon and shallows on the perimeter-and many miles of deserted and often very rugged beaches-this is not the idealic 'south seas' island people would imagine. Not to say it isnt pretty-it has its gems, far off the yachtie and cruise circuit-this is truly a place to escape. The 'capitol' is the tiny dusty town of London, the only other town is Poland, 2 hours down the road. Used for atomic ... read more

Before leaving, certainly in Australia at least, if I mentioned to someone I was going to Christmas Island, the inevitable responses revolved around asylum seekers. Eventually I had my stock standard repost down pat: "Mate, if we manage to spot any Tamils, Afghans, Iraqis or any other boat people for that matter, on the Christmas Island I'm visiting, then they've boarded a boat that's overshot the mark by about 10,000 klms. Pull out an atlas and you'll find that Christmas Island Part 2 is one dot in the mighty nation of Kiribati, smack bang in the middle of the deep blue Pacific Ocean. Then again, even sprouting the word Kiribati would usually lead to some puzzled looks, maybe because they had never heard of it, had no idea where it was or perhaps more realistically they ... read more