One of the things I came out here to do while in the middle of the Pacific is surf. I bought a couple of boards over with me and get out on the reef outside my home when the conditions are right- which is not that often. There is a prevailing easterly wind that usually chops up the surf making it pretty messy and not very good, even early in the mornings. Also, we can only get out about an hour and a half or so either side of high tide or there isn’t enough water on the reef. But once in a while you get great conditions and a nice little 2 foot wave. It can close out pretty quickly, be a bit dumpy out the back and  and there is occasionally a larger wave comes through to keep you on your toes but it’s good fun. The best spot near us is the causeway between Bairiki and Betio where the channel they blasted in the reef to allow local boats though has made a nice little right hander. But you need a car to get there from where I live so it is usually easier to simply head out ...

Would you like to simply opt out of the regular world and live life on your own terms, in your very own tropical paradise? I think many of us dream of this, yet few of us have the good fortune, tenacity, or drive, to actually make it a reality. Of course, out here in the middle of the Pacific Kiribati seems to have more than its fair share of people of a more adventurous disposition looking to live life in a different way to most of us. Many of those that have washed up on these shores do so thinking it will just be for a short time but some end up staying for much longer, sometimes forever. It seems to be the way of far off places to attract all sorts of characters, restless souls looking for adventure, people who often don’t seem to fit into regular society or want to live a more interesting life outside the mainstream or normal conventions. In that regards Kiribati is no different to other outlying spots in the Pacific, or elsewhere in the world for that matter, with more than its...

So you are heading to a very small country in the centre of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of kilometres from anywhere. What the hell  are you going to do in your free time? The answer? Simple (I hope): surf. The atolls of South and North Tarawa are surrounded by coral reefs and as it is literally in the centre of the Pacific there should be swells rolling in from the four corners of the Pacific, at least occasionally! I intend to take a board or two with me and my mountain bike to explore the atolls. I've purchased a surfboard rack that clips on to my bike so I can bike to the local breaks and also intend to explore the atolls by bike. As the atolls are only a few hundred metres across at most I won't be very far from the ocean. I have found a local surf association, the Kiribati Surf Association . They are a bunch of kiwis, sies and locals that enjoy the local waves but as there are no surf shops within, oh 2000kms or so. They are a tad short of gear for the kids to learn o...