Te final countdown continues, everything packed and I'm all ready to go. Here is an interesting article on Stuff from someone who recently holidayed in Kiribati, and a lot more positive than some of the comments about it below! I guess like anywhere it is what you make it and the key is not going in with too high expectations. Am a little perplexed by some of the comments, it is after all a developing country, but each to their own. The advice I take from this one is to get out and explore the outer islands, something I'm hoping to do once settled in. Here is another older article from Val Guthrie, who was working for the Marine Training Centre which I will be working for. Here is an amusing and informative YouTube video from Geography Now! on Kiribati. And Nauru airlines has a nice promo video about Tarawa Craig

This time next week I'll be on my way to Fiji, the first leg of my journey. I'm about ready, my gear is packed and ready, which for a last minute, throw it in a bag and go sort of guy like me that is a big deal. I shipped my bike over to Kiribati last week along with a box full of grocery supplies to hopefully make the food a bit more interesting- I am assuming the worst here.  Today I'm down at my bach for the last time, getting it ready to rent out. I've decided to rent it out for 12-18 months while I am away and have a tenant moving in on Wednesday so need to clear out our stuff.  Yesterday I had what is probably going to be my last game of cricket for my Celtic team. We beat Pleasant Point comfortably to stay top of the table. Next week's clash vs Geraldine is the biggie as we are first equal on points so I may end up playing, we will see. It is my last day in New Zealand so not sure If I'll be able to swing a game of cricket into the mix or not. Yesterd...

Not much to report really. I have had my medical check up and got results the other day that I have been cleared to proceed. On Thursday had to get a few jabs- Hep A&B as well as typhoid. The next step is a a full dental check up on Tuesday and once that is done should be all good to go. I have also decided to get glasses before I go. I've had reading glasses the last 3 years or so but am getting sick of taking glasses on and off all the time to read things so have had my eyes checked and will be getting progressive lens in the next week or so, thought it better to sort it out before I leave. I have a proposed leave date of January 23rd so am busy trying to tidy things up before I depart. I have maintenance to do on two of our rental properties before I go so started sanding back and painting windows and fascias on one of the properties on my days off last week. Alas, I had a slight accident on Thursday. I as putting up my scaffolding and as I opened the hatch door to all...

Introduction Kiribati (pronounced, Ki-ri-bus) is a smattering of small coral atolls scattered across an area of ocean the size of the continental United States and is one of the poorest, and least visited countries, in the world. With a maximum elevation of 3 metres above sea level the tiny atolls are very susceptible to sea level rise and indeed some communities have had to be abandoned in recent years. South Tarawa South Tarawa is in the Gilbert Islands, and more than 50,000 people (over half the country’s population) live on the atolls. The land area of South Tarawa is 3,896 acres (1,577 ha) or 15.76 square km. However, much of this land is not available for use including the water reserve and runway, the causeways, and a large area of reclaimed land at Temwaiku while the eastern corner of the atoll is too swampy and low-lying for settlement. If these areas are excluded, the land area of South Tarawa is only just over 1,000 hectares (10 square km or 2,500 acres) ...

Oct 14th  For the past four days I've been in Wellington participating in a Volunteer Service Abroad  briefing. I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience, it's been a full on four days but I found each of the sessions very useful and I hope have better prepared us for our placements. It was a big group of volunteers, and for many their accompanying partners, and a chance to meet some of the VSA staff that will be supporting us in the field. The volunteers were going to the four corners of the Pacific including Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Samoa and in my case Kiribati. Just as the placements varied so were the backgrounds and skills of the volunteers but we were all united in a common purpose, to leave our regular lives, family and friends behind for the chance to travel to a far flung corners of the Pacific to share our knowledge and skills in what will no doubt be a life changing experience. VSA Offices n Wellington For me the highlight ...

Oct 1 st 2017 I got an email about 4:30 on Friday afternoon confirming that I would be heading to Wellington in just over a weeks time to attend a training workshop/briefing with Volunteer Service Abroad, a New Zealand based NGO involved in development work throughout the Pacific region. It was confirmation that I’d be accepted to head to Kiribati as a volunteer English Language trainer. I was elated. The late afternoon sun streamed in through the lounge windows looking out towards the distant Kakanui mountains as I cranked up Leilani by the Hoodoogurus. Somewhere on a South Pacific island  Sits a young man staring at the surf.  His native girlfriend died a death quite violent  A tribal sacrifice made to the earth. Woo oo woo oo oo…   Okay, so Keribati is a coral atoll and not a volcanic island but hey, the thought was there!   I had been waiting all week for the news that I’d made it through the first interview and was really stoked that ...

Welcome my new blog about my journey, the trials and tribulations as work towards becoming a volunteer working on South Tarawa in the South Pacific country of Kiribati. I envision this blog to be a dumping ground for all sorts of random thoughts, experiences, highlights, and possibly lowlights, of my journey to becoming a volunteer working on one of the most densely populated islands in the poorest country in the South Pacific. So welcome aboard, I hope you enjoy the blog and my journey of self discovery. The question is, where to start? Why Volunteering? I guess the obvious question that must be answered as we begin this journey is why volunteering? And that is the million dollar question! Altruism, a sense of adventure, wanting to change the world (hopefully for the better), to give a little back to the planet. All these are admirable reasons to choose the life as a volunteer working alongside the peoples of the Pacific and being able to offer one’s own skills and hopefull...