Samoa, Tuvalu & Nauru, island hopping the South Pacific. Completed #197 countries!
Jun 10, 2016, 12:33 am
#31
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May 29, 2016
Flight: Yeren, Nauru (INU) to Brisbane, Australia (BNE); Nauru Airlines 737 Econ
Hotel: ibis Budget Windsor
Facebook is apparently blocked in Nauru. There are ways around it of course.
However the internet had stopped working last night and apparently the hotel doesn't have breakfast on Sunday mornings! So today was looking to be a bit of a bust as well. I asked the front desk about island tour again, they said come back 1PM. I asked about hotel shuttle to the airport at 2PM, come back 1PM. That seemed to be their only go-to response... so I hung around the hotel again all morning. I walked to the main road, passing by the shipping containers turned into apartments for refugees and workers. I had a pretty uninspiring lemon chicken for lunch at the hotel.
The front desk called my room to say that I needed to go to the airport at 12:30 instead of 2PM for my 4PM flight.. I assumed the flight had been retimed. The concierge car finally showed up. I asked if we could go the 'long' way around to the airport (13km vs 4.5km) since I hadn't had a chance to see the whole island yet! We passed by Capelle and Partner, the largest store on the island. Then another store labeled 'BIGA SS SHOP'. She then drove inland to Buada Lagoon, the only inland district of Nauru. The lagoon is freshwater but polluted.
Even with the detour we were at the airport within 30 minutes of leaving the hotel. There was no line for checkin but a DYKWIA VIP jumped in front of me. I waited around the downstairs lobby a bit using the wifi before going through immigration. The departure lounge was empty and the 'duty free' shop was barren and locked, and no place to get anything to eat or drink. Finally both planes arrived, one from Brisbane and the other from Majuro/Chuuk and the departure lounge filled up with transit passengers. Some Aussie guy unplugged my phone while it was charging. There was a footy match playing on TV and with the number of people standing in front of it another Aussie guy started yelling at them to get out of the way. We still departed on time at 3:55 so not sure why the hotel had me get to the airport so early.
Nauru Airlines INU-BNE Y
The flight to Brisbane was pretty uneventful other than the stop in Honiara, Solomon Islands to refuel. I had been in Honiara a few years ago on our South Pacific cruise, though only for a far-too short port stop of 4 hrs. I had even visited the airport in that time to see the WWII memorial garden. A few people got off the plane here but no one boarded. We landed in Brisbane unfortunately right after the Etihad and Emirates flights had arrived so immigration was a zoo. Even with the e-gates it took about 25 minutes to get through, then another wait to get through customs. I grabbed a cab to the ibis Windsor hotel, about 32AUD. I must not be used to Aussie accents as I could barely understand the driver...
Solomon Islands
The ibis was your basic utilitarian hotel, but clean and cheap and did the trick for the night. I tried checking in online for my Virgin Australia flight to LAX tomorrow but apparently they don't offer international checkin.
Ibis Budget Windsor
Flight: Yeren, Nauru (INU) to Brisbane, Australia (BNE); Nauru Airlines 737 Econ
Hotel: ibis Budget Windsor
Facebook is apparently blocked in Nauru. There are ways around it of course.
However the internet had stopped working last night and apparently the hotel doesn't have breakfast on Sunday mornings! So today was looking to be a bit of a bust as well. I asked the front desk about island tour again, they said come back 1PM. I asked about hotel shuttle to the airport at 2PM, come back 1PM. That seemed to be their only go-to response... so I hung around the hotel again all morning. I walked to the main road, passing by the shipping containers turned into apartments for refugees and workers. I had a pretty uninspiring lemon chicken for lunch at the hotel. The front desk called my room to say that I needed to go to the airport at 12:30 instead of 2PM for my 4PM flight.. I assumed the flight had been retimed. The concierge car finally showed up. I asked if we could go the 'long' way around to the airport (13km vs 4.5km) since I hadn't had a chance to see the whole island yet! We passed by Capelle and Partner, the largest store on the island. Then another store labeled 'BIGA SS SHOP'. She then drove inland to Buada Lagoon, the only inland district of Nauru. The lagoon is freshwater but polluted.
Even with the detour we were at the airport within 30 minutes of leaving the hotel. There was no line for checkin but a DYKWIA VIP jumped in front of me. I waited around the downstairs lobby a bit using the wifi before going through immigration. The departure lounge was empty and the 'duty free' shop was barren and locked, and no place to get anything to eat or drink. Finally both planes arrived, one from Brisbane and the other from Majuro/Chuuk and the departure lounge filled up with transit passengers. Some Aussie guy unplugged my phone while it was charging. There was a footy match playing on TV and with the number of people standing in front of it another Aussie guy started yelling at them to get out of the way. We still departed on time at 3:55 so not sure why the hotel had me get to the airport so early.
Nauru Airlines INU-BNE Y
The flight to Brisbane was pretty uneventful other than the stop in Honiara, Solomon Islands to refuel. I had been in Honiara a few years ago on our South Pacific cruise, though only for a far-too short port stop of 4 hrs. I had even visited the airport in that time to see the WWII memorial garden. A few people got off the plane here but no one boarded. We landed in Brisbane unfortunately right after the Etihad and Emirates flights had arrived so immigration was a zoo. Even with the e-gates it took about 25 minutes to get through, then another wait to get through customs. I grabbed a cab to the ibis Windsor hotel, about 32AUD. I must not be used to Aussie accents as I could barely understand the driver...
Solomon Islands
The ibis was your basic utilitarian hotel, but clean and cheap and did the trick for the night. I tried checking in online for my Virgin Australia flight to LAX tomorrow but apparently they don't offer international checkin.
Ibis Budget Windsor
Jun 10, 2016, 12:40 am
#32
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Nov 6, 2017, 12:29 pm
#35
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Austin, TX -- AA Life Platinum; QF Life Silver; UA Silver
Posts: 5,462
Feb 4, 2018, 12:37 am
#40
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This trip report excites me every time I read it. Actually in Suva now after having spent the past few days in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Doing Samoa and Tonga this coming week before heading home. Just curious about Cassie's turnaround in Tuvalu...is there enough time for someone to deplane, go through immigration, get their bag and reclear security to board? She must have told someone onboard her plan...these island airports can be sloowwwwww when it comes to immigration. How did she do that for Nauru? I guess because she was flying onward to a third city. I tried to go to Nauru last week, but never heard back from the email listed for the entry letter.
Dec 1, 2023, 7:00 pm
#41
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In Tuvalu and Tarawa, is it possible to do a same
day turn? I see the aircraft sits on the ground for 80 minutes.
day turn? I see the aircraft sits on the ground for 80 minutes.
Dec 2, 2023, 9:59 pm
#42
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
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Nadi Airport renovations are now finished. It now looks great although it has lost a little of its colonial charm. Tip: there is an underutilised "Quiet Lounge" open to the travelling public - this is a fabulous facility given that Fiji is a haven for Australian and NZ school aged families. It's down stairs opposite some toilets and the Air NZ lounge and not far from the rarely open Fiji Airways lounge.