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Nauru - potential 'Fortean Traveller' subject

songhrati

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Oct 3, 2003
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News that the nation of Nauru is facing imminent bankruptcy (see for example http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040418/bs_afp/nauru_economy_040418060056) reminds me that it is surprising that it hasn't as yet featured in the Fortean Traveller section.

I visited Nauru nearly ten years ago & it was a decidedly odd experience then. There were only two roads in the country - one that did a loop of the island and another that went to the phosphate mines. Part of the road around the coast also doubled as the airport, so boom gates were used to stop cars from getting in the way of jets arriving or departing.

Additionally, the interior of the island had been mined of its phosphate (birdshit to you and me) so it looked like a moonscape and so very eerie. One of the world's shortest railways runs from the mine to the port. It also has no capital city and the country's biggest export is birdshit.

Considering the small population and its remoteness from the rest of the world, one may have thought the citizens would have felt safe but oddly, the locals owned big, fierce guard dogs that would charge out of gardens, barking savagely at innocent passersby.

Add to that the fact that due to its size, it's perhaps the only country on earth you can comfortable walk entirely around in an hour so, means you have a country somewhat left of centre.

I've heard it has become difficult for peoople to get visas to Nauru these days as it now basically functions as a detention centre for refugees seeking asylum in Australia but it would be great to read a report of Nauru as I can't imagine the country would have be any less odd than when I visited it (if at the least to see whether the odd local foklore beliefs - such as the men who sing to dolphins - have been collected).

Zane
 
I think it would take a bit longer than an hour to walk around though.

An oval-shaped island lying near the equator, Nauru is the smallest republic in the world
Capital: Owing to its small size, Nauru has no capital
Geography
The Republic of Nauru comprises a small oval-shaped island in the western Pacific Ocean, Nauru lies 42km (26 miles) south of the equator. Its nearest neighbour is Ocean Island (Banaba, part of Kiribati), 305km (190 miles) to the East. It is 4,000km (2,485 miles) from Sydney.
Area: Total land area 21 sq km (8.1 sq miles).
Topography: Phosphate mining in the central plateau leaves a barren terrain of jagged coral pinnacles, up to 15m (49ft) high. A century of mining has stripped four-fifths of the total land area. The island is surrounded by a coral reef, exposed at low tide and dotted with pinnacles. The reef is bounded seaward by deep water, inside by a sandy beach. Landward from the beach lies a 150–300m (492-984ft) wide fertile coastal strip. Coral cliffs surround the central plateau. The highest point of the plateau is 65m (213ft) above sea level.
Climate: The climate is tropical, with sea breezes. North-east trade winds blow from March to October. Day temperatures 24º-34ºC, average humidity 80%. Rainfall is erratic and heavy; average annual rainfall is 2,060mm. The monsoon season is November to February.
Nauru is threatened by the ‘greenhouse effect’: if global warming of the earth causes sea levels rise, the habitable low-lying land areas will be at risk from tidal surges and flooding.
Vegetation: The only fertile areas are the narrow coastal belt, where there are coconut palms, pandanus trees and indigenous hardwoods such as the tomano tree, and the land surrounding Buada lagoon, where bananas, pineapples and some vegetables are grown. Some secondary vegetation grows over the coral pinnacles.
 
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