Supposedly the smallest country in the world after the Vatican City with a population of no more than 10000 people. The most remote place to visit with no more than 200 visitors per year. I had to come see it for myself no matter the cost as high as it was. Visiting from Brisbane the whole trip which was only 3 days cost me £1000. Now I’m here, I’m thinking, was it worth it?
After the surprising but uncomplicated visa process I was granted my visa. My accommodation Goodworks Hostel was the only place available on all of the booking platforms and was also the cheapest on the island. It was however the most expensive of my 6 month trip. Currency was Australian dollars and my converted shipping storage container was $300 for 2 nights. I love recycling so this is an amazing way for locals to make money and provide sustainable accommodation. The price of accommodation was supposed to include airport pick up and drop off but I never got picked up. Luckily the friendly airport staff gave me a ride. Apparently Goodworks thought I cancelled. What they forgot was, they told me to cancel my booking when the airlines rescheduled my flight and Goodworks would manually book my new dates. They sent my confirmation but just forgot. Luckily for me hardly anyone visits Nauru so there was still availability. No issues apart from a 25 minutes delay in my bike rental. I absolutely love my little studio. It’s so cute and I have a see view from my veranda. They did a good job converting the shipping container. Unfortunately my surroundings is that of a construction site which is blocking most of the sea view. It’s also in the middle of town so the setting isn’t pretty.
I really have to be honest. I read all the blurb online about Nauru from official government websites, third party tourism websites and blogs from other travellers. They all paint a glowing review of a remote, magical and beautiful island in the Pacific ocean. Go Google it and you feel as if you want to go there and experience this wonderful island. Two things come to mind. These reviews and blogs were written many years ago or the writers were paid and the government wants to paint a picture of bliss to attract more tourists. There are people who come to Nauru for work mainly from Australia. A lot of work is going on around the island hopefully to build a better Nauru.
Right now the place I am visiting is not what I’ve read about. The island is a mess literally and figuratively. Litter is everywhere. Large garbage bags all over and then there’s the smell. It smells like a dump. I either arrived on garbage day as all the rubbish was out or it always smells like this. Occasionally that rubbish smell turned to something worse like something recently died. I’m only here 3 days. I spent the first day cycling around the whole island or country. It was a super hot day and I’m a slow cyclists on a pretty shitty bike so it took me all of 3 hours. The second day I walked inland and up to higher ground. So I’ve seen everything Nauru has to offer and compared it to what I read. The only truth of it all are the people. They are kind and friendly and willing to help which I learned today. There are poor people in Nauru and they live in terrible conditions. What I thought were abandoned buildings are actually lived in. I see cooking equipment and a small stove on a fire. I see a decimated pig in a make shift pen. Dogs are used as guard dogs and the ones that aren’t guard dogs are emaciated. As usual island people here like in the Caribbean don’t care for dogs and strays. As you go higher away from Yaren district the quality and size of homes improve drastically. They’re 3 or 4 times bigger with a lot of land. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still run down and semblance of swimming pools lay empty. The Australian high commission is placed in this area with the worst security guarding it.
I feel crime here should be low but the number of police vans and trucks tell me otherwise. Signs telling Nauruans to protect the women and vulnerable people tell me of probable violence against them. There are also many signs telling the islanders to keep Nauru clean. I guess the government has decided that something has to be done about the rubbish situation. Every town has several signs reminding people to keep it clean but it seems to be falling on deaf ears.
My next issue are the beaches. One beach, Ewa north of the airport seems to be the prettiest it terms of facilities, it has toilets, decorated and painted, looks the nicest but it’s small. It’s probably the nicest of all the beaches. The others, Anibare and Anabar were unique because of the rock formations in the sea and being so close to the beach. It was gorgeous and I was so hot so desperately wanting a swim. The much talked about white powder sandy beach, yes it is but so are the glass and tin along with other rubbish. It was a sad fact that I didn’t walk bare feet in the sand on any of the beaches in Nauru because I didn’t want to cut myself. I suppose I could have had a swim but the tide was out and it was a long way out. The fact that not being able to walk on the beach barefoot made me think twice about swimming. It was such a shame. I feel crap writing this but this is my experience.
Finally I’m eager to see the remnants of WW2 history that surrounds the island. There is much written about the Japanese bunkers, the prison and the infamous two guns. Well the bunkers were easy enough to find with them on the coast. Nothing historic is signposted. You can find it on Google maps but actually finding it is pretty difficult, well for me it was. I’m not the most competent map reader but I can usually, eventually find where I’m going. Obviously not in Nauru. I couldn’t find the Japanese prison. One of the security guys showed me, even then I couldn’t be sure where I was going. Vegetation was thick and no actual signs as to where this prison is. I rode past it several times and didn’t know it was there. It was brilliant though going into the undergrowth and coming out the other side like in some kind of quest movie or as my cousin said a horror movie.. It was eerie and surreal at the same time and hauntingly captivating to find the cells. So far after the rock formations at the beach, this was the next best thing. The next thing on my list of historical sites is the Command Ridge. I tried using Google maps route which was supposed to be the shortest route. It was so hot and I tried my best to walk there but I kept missing it. The route kept showing me to go through a house. I ventured into the back garden hoping to find a way through to a path but it was all fenced up. This area is the nicest part of the island with all the big houses with their own security outside. The Australian high commission was nearby so I asked the security guards there who said that route has been closed off. I went away defeated and saw a guy in a shop so asked him. Another lady in a scooter turned up and also said that route has been closed off by the government. Apparently they don’t want anyone walking past all the containers, whatever that meant. They told me the other route which was much further away. So, India said she’d drive me to the security station to command ridge. I was happy and hopped on the back. At the security stop I met Paul. He was the guy who told me where to find the prison. He said the Command Ridge was a long way away. So I got going on a walk that was so boring and dull. It was just dusty. Luckily a guy on a bike drove past and stopped and I asked him if he was going my way. Obviously lost in translation, I got on the bike as he drove right past the turning for the Command Ridge. So I got a little concerned maybe this guy was Nauru’s only serial killer and I purposely got on his bike. He drove, according to the map all the way to the Nauru lookout or central plateau. Either way, there was no lookout point or anything to see except for a huge mining factory and we were surrounded by dust. I got off the bike and introduced myself to Augustine, a father of four and not a serial killer. He realised he took me further away and not where I was heading for. He told me to hop back on and then drove the right way this time to the Command Ridge. He then left and I was left alone. From what I read it was a weird lunar looking area with a satellite and tower. Well it wasn’t what I expected nor was the views of which there were none. While scanning the horizon, I saw a bunker protuding out of a lot of vegetation miles away. On the left of it was the Japanese guns I’ve seen on the Web. Unfortunately this was as close as I was going to get. I guess Google map was wrong again as the Command Ridge was on that side. I took a very zoomed in photo and decided that was it. I walked back to my storage container, had a much needed shower and packed for my flight back to Australia tomorrow.
To say I was disappointed by my visit to Nauru is an understatement. It’s a country that seems to have come undone since it’s heyday in the 60s and 70s being the one of the richest in the world. Education is needed to help reverse the rubbish situation. They are not geared for tourism which is understandable as even the locals I met wanting to know why I was in Nauru. They just assumed I was there to work like everybody else. The Chinese own all the shops and supermarkets and even the restaurants. No local food or street food that I could buy or even find. All food was Chinese and nasi goreng is sold everywhere in the shops. That was as close to street food I came across. A Chinese person working and living there is making extra cash by cooking easy fried rice and noodles and shops owned by Nauruans which aren’t many, sell them in their shops.
So I guess articles written were done many years ago and Nauru has deteriorated since then. What other explanation is there for what I have seen and experienced. I wonder if Nauru can be brought back to what was described online. The amount of workers from overseas must be here to do something or else what’s the point. Are they making Nauru better or stripping it for all it’s worth? I hope for its sake not the latter.
