NO-ROOS Nauru 2023

I noticed three key things whilst driving around the coastal edges of Nauru.

First, I quickly realised that every convenience store is owned by a Chinese family, something most Pacific Islands have in common. The sad thing is that these families have lived here for many years and did not bother to learn the local language properly so they speak it like pigeon English which is actually better than their English English !!!

Second is that Nauru suffers from the same fate as Niue and Micronesia – no beaches !!! It is surrounded in this case by a limestone reef instead of a coral reef. The limestone is present has pillars everywhere and simply cannot be stepped on. There are no sandy beaches and therefore no deck-chair resorts. This is not good for tourism. I had to rely on a big human-made breakwater known as Sunset Bay but at least it is 300-400m all the way around with warm clear calm water. I managed 6 laps at 2.1km on the morning of my last day so I can say that I actually swam in Nauru !!!

Third is that there are 4 police checkpoints around the island: north, south, east and west. All they do is check your drivers license so there must be a lot of underage driving on the island. Despite this no one wears seat belts – they are folded back behind the seats including my hire car !!! I got checked several times and most recognised me since I did repeated passes.

The limestone pillars in the ocean around the island are definitely unique and the signature geographical feature of Nauru. I have not seen such things anywhere else. It is a pity that there is no coral because at least this could attract tourists. There are also no other geographical features of note like caves or gorges (like Niue) since the island is too small. There is however a large underground pool called MOCQHA next to the airport terminal which attracts local families at low tide on weekends but you need a torch or candles to see anything – I visited it but it is not big enough for a proper swim.

Nauru uses the Australian Dollar and power point. There are many aid programs run by Australia and New Zealand but China is slowly taking over.

I visited the following places on my second day around the coast: Ataro North Bunker, Ataro Beach, Ataro South Bunker, Ibwenape, Yaren Bondi Beach, Yaren Gun, MOQUA WELL, Yaren Parliament House, Yaren Presidential Office, Yangor Orro Congregational Church, Yangor Viewpoint, BUADA LAGOON, Buada Chapel, Japanese WII Prison (Scrub), Command Ridge (Highest Point), Baitsi Beach, Arubo Catholic Church of Christ, CAPELLE SUPERMARKET & BOTTLE SHOP.

The highlight was visiting “Bondi Beach”, an actual sandy beach of that name just at the western tip of the runway but sadly there are many limestone rocks in the water making it very tough to swim distances.

The Capelle Supermarket is very well stocked with mostly Ozzie products. The Bottle Shop likewise. Everything is almost double the price of Oz given the distance from Oz. The cheapest bottle of wine is $22AUD but surprisingly fuel is $2.21AUD, same as most places in Oz.

The Parliament House & Ministerial Offices, Presidential Office and even a small University are all between the runway and ocean on the other side of the airport Terminal. Perfect for a quick escape from a Tsunami.

The one thing that Nauru shares with all the other Pacific Islands that I have visited is the friendliness and warmth of its local people. They love visitors and go out of their way to help you. They are very family focused and very religious. It is a pity that Nauru is the top of a huge underwater limestone mountain ridge instead of a sunken volcano with loads of coral on it.

In any case, Nauru does have spectacular sunrises and sunsets like most of its Pacific Island counterparts. Nauru also has a very photogenic coastline given the limestone pillars as you will see below. If you like heat and humidity on an unprecedented scale and love limestone pillars, then this is the place for you…

Welcome to my 119^th Visit UN Country and 114^th Run UN Country out of a total of 193.

Nauru is the smallest Island UN country in the world at 850 soccer football fields in size !!!

I did it. I literally ran around an entire country in one go !!! How ? I don’t know. What helps is that Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation. It looks like a pear and measures only 19km around its land-ocean boundary with a 17km road circling the boundary and I ran it. A half-marathon is 21.1km. Got up at 530am and was on the bitumen by 6am with the impending golden rays of the sun shooting through the ocean horizon like a Hollywood Oscar night. Even at 30min before sunrise it was 28C and 93% with no breeze. Once that sun breaks through you start to melt. I had water and Cliff Gels with me that Nick and I sued during our New York Marathon. They are a lifesaver. The view was terrific being Oceanside the whole way. The only downside were those bloody island feral dogs chasing you. Given the sunrise run most where asleep so only 3 actually chased me with one almost biting me – I could feel his rabid breath on my heels !!! It was OK getting to my regular signpost of 10km but from here on things went downhill. The last 3km where sweet torture and catching a glimpse of the hotel around the last corner was like the heavens pouring cold icy water on me. I was not only soaked as I walked to me room but felt like throwing up – this was the feeling after the marathon. I felt like going to sleep for the rest of the day but knew I couldn't since a strange new place was awaiting the lenses of Golfco Pictures. I downed 100 litres of cold water and off I went into the land of heat and harmony…

Nauru formerly known as “Pleasant Island”, is an island country and microstate in Micronesia, part of Oceania in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba of Kiribati, about 300 km (190 mi) to the east. It lies northwest of Tuvalu, 1,300 km (810 mi) northeast of Solomon Islands, east-northeast of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the Marshall Islands. With an area of only 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi), Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world behind Vatican City and Monaco, making it the smallest republic and island nation. Its 2023 population of 12,780 is the world's second smallest (not including colonies or overseas territories) after Vatican City. Settled by people from Micronesia circa 1000BC, 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, and was bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, the country entered into United Nations trusteeship. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.

Nauru is a phosphate-rock island with rich deposits near the surface, which allowed easy strip mining operations for over a century. However, this has seriously harmed the country's environment, causing the island nation to suffer from what is often referred to as the "resource curse". The surface phosphate was exhausted in the 1990s, and the remaining reserves are now being mined. Sadly the profits of primary mining went to Germany and the UK but the now secondary mining profits have reverted back to Nauru. At various points since 2001, Nauru has accepted aid from the Australian Government in exchange for hosting the Nauru Regional Processing Centre, a controversial offshore Australian immigration detention facility. As a result of heavy dependence on Australia, some sources have identified Nauru as a client state of Australia. The sovereign state is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States.

So typical of Pacific Island life. I spell out and write down the car I want to hire when I arrive at the Menen Hotel at 6pm from Brisbane on Friday 13 October 2023 and the next day nothing has happened !!! The only way to get to Nauru is via Brisbane. There are only 3 flights a week and the way they are timed forces someone not living in Brisbane to have to overnight in Brisbane to catch them and get back home. As a result, I spent 5 nights in the Brisbane area visiting the hinterland with two working colleagues that I met way back in 1996 !!! I flew to Nauru from Brisbane at 11am on Friday 13 October 2023 and arrived 4.5hrs later.

I swung into action on seeing no hire car on the morning of Saturday 14 October 2023 after a growling run. I found a capable person called Ami and she rang around resulting in a strike only 2km away. She organised a hotel van and we drove there to find a Chinese Supermarket (called WORA OUR) with a makeshift car yard in the back !!! Now get ready to laugh. The only available cars were trucks !!! It was 10am and I had a huge shooting schedule in front of me so I said YES – why not !!! This truck was $80AUD/day and all I did was to get my photo taken and off I went. No insurance. No papers. No nothing. Just keys from a Chinese family who spoke little English and even worse Micronesian !!!

The truck smelt bad but had a wickedly good aircon and road high like being a bus driver in a school bus !!! It was great around the bitumen of the coastal road but could simple not function on the bad gravel road ascending into the centre of the island. I managed to buy wine and food since the only supermarket and bottle shop on the island would be closed all-day Sunday. Once I failed to climb the gravel road to the centre I had to return to the Chinese Supermarket and upgrade to a Lexus RX270 AWD for only $20AUD/day extra !!!

Now I was cooking with gas !!! Smooth, powerful, luxurious. I felt guilty driving this in such a small place but it kept me cool and comfortable and allowed me to carry all my gear and water with no problems.

Today’s focus was the centre of the island to see and learn about the Phosphorus Mines and Refugee Processing Centres. So interesting. It is true that this island has had the crap mined out of it. You will see this from drone shots in the film. The surprising thing is that despite this, there is lots of greenery – thanks to many years of higher than average heavy rain. This surprised me at ground level. I expected more gravel and destruction. The other surprise is that mining is till going !!! Secondary mining that is. Primary mining involves extracting soft phosphorus from the gaps in between limestone pillars about half way down for easy reach. Secondary mining involves cutting the tops of these pillars where phosphorus has already been removed and then removing the remaining phosphorus from the gaps in bottom halves of the pillars. Amazing. Because the pillars widen as they go down, approx. 65% of primary phosphorus has been mined with the rest left as secondary, which could see mining continue for another 20 years !!!

The Refugee Processing Centres are heavily guarded. There are 3 main separated barbed wired compounds with two less fenced centres for staff and refugee families with young children. No ocean. No breezes. These centres are in the middle of the island baking in hell with the phosphorus mines !!! From the drone it is hard to tell them apart until the drone rises or lands !!! At the peak of the refugee situation during the Howard Government there were 411 inmates including children according to a local I interviewed who worked there !!! There used to be tours of the centres but that ended a long time ago. I drove right up to the entrances but the guards would not let me in. Most were Ozzie contractors from Fiji since they do mind the hellish weather !!! I now understand. The same ex-employee interview told me that there were only 12 inmates today !!! I was relieved to hear that after many years inmates were finally processed. Most came from the Middle East and Africa especially Iran and ended up in New Zealand, Canada, USA and of course Australia in that order of numbers - what a sad refection on a vast land with plenty of room but no ticker. My interviewee was unsure on how many were sent back to their point of origins.

I visited the following sites on my first of three days: Nauru Jail, Nauru Phosphate Corporation & Secondary Quarry (Now Solar Farm), Tertiary Quarry (RONPhos Old Mining Equipment Workshop), Nauru Regional Processing Centre (RC1), Primary Quarry (RONPhos Operating Secondary Phosphate Mining), Anabar Beach, Ljuw Bunker, Anibare North Bunker, Anibare Beach (BEST), Anibare South Bunker.

RONPhos is the company conducting secondary phosphorus mining on the island. I was encouraged by two things that I saw. The first was the solar farm project sponsored by RONPhos to start replacing the huge diesel generators powering the island at the moment. The solar panels and other gear is supplied by the China and I even spoke with a Chinese technician on-site about the installation. The panels have been installed in spent mining sites that cannot be rehabilitated for agriculture or just bush. The other is the Taiwanese sponsored agricultural program that farms many varieties of vegies in greenrooms plus chickens and pigs. These foods are grown by paid locals and delivered free to communities once harvested.

What a day ! My first day exposure to this unique and physically pressing country has surprised me. I was told there was not much here but there is. It is an interesting story and as you will see in the film, the people of Nauru are very united and I cannot wait to speak to more and see the wonders of the seaside coastline that I just ran…