South of the Marshall Islands, North of the Solomons, Nauru is close to 42 km south of the Equator and over 4,000 km away from its nearest neighbor, Australia. Isolated it may be, but Nauru has its own airline, tropical weather and an interesting history. An uplifted coral formation, Nauru's geographic isolation from other island neighbors has shaped its people, their language and history.
Caught between trying to maintain an existence without further endangering its fragile ecosystem and securing a future for its inhabitants and the island itself, Nauru is turning to tourism for the first time. Nauru is opening its doors to the outside world, in the hope that the Nauruan people's peace loving hospitality and big Pacific Island welcome will entice travelers to sample a truly unique destination. With less than 10,000 residents, it is the second least-populated country after Vatican City, with a mostly Micronesian population, Nauru offers travelers a truly unique Pacific Island visit.
Air Nauru, now known as Our Airline, operates a Boeing 737-300 series aircraft out of Brisbane. Our Airline flies Brisbane-Honiara-Nauru-Tarawa-Nadi every Sunday/Monday and Nadi-Tarawa-Nauru-Brisbane every Wednesday. The Nauru airport is in Yaren, next to Parliament House, the police station and the administration offices.
Visitors from commonwealth countries can be granted visas on arrival whereas visitors from non-commonwealth countries need to apply for visas. They can apply for visas via email at visa@naurugov.nr or at nauru.consulate@brisbane.gov.nr.
Remember to bring beach wear for sunbathing/swimming but also conservative wear for visits around the island. Sturdy shoes for a visit to the phosphate interior is a good idea, as is some light wet weather gear for tropical rain. Sun block, insect repellent and all the other Pacific Island necessities would be a good idea; however there are shops on the island to provide some of these products.
History: Settled by Micronesian and Polynesian people, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, who were bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, the country entered into trusteeship again. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.
English-Speaking?: YES
Weather: Nauru's weather is tropical with temperatures ranging between 24.4 C and 33.9 C. Heat is kept temperate by cooling sea breezes. The tropical weather has a monsoonal pattern, with a rainy season from November to February. North-east trade winds blow from March to October and average humidity is 80%.
Customs/VISA: Angam Day, held on 26 October, celebrates the recovery of the Nauruan population after the two World Wars and the 1920 influenza epidemic. The displacement of the indigenous culture by colonial and contemporary western influences is significant. Few of the old customs have been preserved, but some forms of traditional music, arts and crafts, and fishing are still practiced.
Tiny Island Nation Finds Olympic Pride In Weightlifter - Nauru, the smallest nation at the Olympics, did itself proud in weight lifting. Itte Detenamo was one of two competitors from his country and finished fourteenth in his category....more
Nauru join the International Surfing Association - Nauru have become the 87th member of the International Surfing Association (ISA). Nauru has a thriving surfing community, where the Nauru Surf Club works as a watersports center and lifeguarding service...more
"Dominica was another stop on our Caribbean cruise. Here's an excerpt from my blog post about our day in Dominica:
The bus departed from the pier at 10:30am and we were en route to our first stop up in the mountains for a hike to a waterfall. As we drove through town, it looked really poor - more than the other places we've visited. During our history lesson of Dominica we learned that the island is 99% volcanic rock and 1% limestone, that there are 17 dormant volcanoes and 365 rivers - one river for every day of the year, and during leap years they find another river, was the joke.
The bus stopped after the 45-minute drive through the mountains, and we were at the entry point of the rain forest for the walk to Spanny's Waterfall. A few people stopped to use the facilities but the rest of the group began their walk through the rain forest - great tour guide, just leaving us to navigate on our own. The walk was roughly 20-minutes and was a pretty substantial hike through the mud. We saw a lot of interesting and colourful plants along the way, but surprisingly no bugs. The waterfall was absolutely beautiful. Could have spent a lot more time there.
Back on the bus, we made our way down the mountain and to Mero Beach, which is a black sand beach. The drive down the mountain was a little easier to handle than the drive up. Baron sure did like to grind the gears, and take the turns pretty fast. The beach was pretty interesting, seeing that I've never been to a black sand beach before. The water looked really murky, but was surprisingly clear - the black sand makes the water clarity deceiving. Because we were with the tour group, we didn't have to pay for the chairs/umbrella, and we were given a free drink at the bar."
![find flights to Nauru [INU]](images/airplane.jpg "find flights to Nauru [INU]"){kind=small}
