Kiribati [KEER-uh-bass]

Strategic Kiribati. Situated in all four hemispheres (north and south of the equator; and east and west of the international date line), it is a unique place, but perhaps not quite ready for the front page of Vacation magazine.

Nevertheless my little point-and-shoot camera captured some of the most idyllic pictures you could ever dream of ...

White sandy beaches, with palm trees licking up the equatorial sun, and clear Pacific blue water ...

Native habitat made of local materials, traditional styles, and "home-spun" craftsmanship ...

Children and adults alike swim and bath in the crystal clear waters of a huge lagoon situated on an ancient coral reef.

Yet, Kiribati was the site of the bloodiest battle of World War II. And it has been trying to recover ever since. It is a "study" of the long-term cultural effects of government-style intervention with social programs.

Everywhere we went, everyone we spoke to, everything we saw, underscored the continuing need for more intervention, more foreign aid, or more social assistance programs. Yet, each look also revealed, with equally impressive evidence, a pattern of long term local neglect and abuse. Everywhere, we saw evidence of what used to be, or of what they once had; all of which was originally given as a free gift—a hand out—from some foriegn government or charitable organization. With sincere appreciation they willingly accept anything and everything someone is willing to give them, run it until it dies, then walk away and wait for someone else to either fix it or give them another one; never lifting a finger to help themselves, just patiently doing without until someone comes to their rescue.

So here I was combing the place, visiting with members of Parliament and other high ranking officials to try to determine what needs they had that we could assist with. Hmmm, and why would I want to do that? The answer: Because the LDS Church doesn’t offer just “free gifts” that perpetuate a “something-for-nothing” mentality, as you will see.

You may recall some pictures in an earlier blog of the hospital here. In fact you may remember this picture of a nursing unit utility room.

We've been working to get some projects organized that will help them now and in the long-term. Part of the purpose of this trip was to kick off a couple of these projects.

We had more than eighty people from the community show up the first day of our service project; and a like number everyday thereafter. We provided all of the supplies and materials; but they had to provide all of the labor and supervision (volunteers).

They worked twelve hours a day for six consecutive days to scrub, scrape, sand, and paint five hospital units (wards), inside and out.

Here are the before, during and after pictures of the medical ward.

This next picture is an after shot of the same utility room shown above.

It is our belief that by working for what they get, they will appreciate it more and will try a little bit harder to take care of it and keep it up -- and they will feel better about themselves. Hopefully, their improved self-esteem will spill over into other parts of their lives, and little by little they will begin to take responsibility for their own future.

Another of my purposes in going was to check out some clean water projects we have planned for several villages. These projects, too, will require the villagers to work for what they receive.

This picture is of a meeting we had with the village leaders in one of the communities we will be placing a rain water harvesting system. The meeting was conducted in a big hut called a “Maneaba.”

Every village in Kiribati has a Maneaba. They can be as much as 40 meters long. They are used for community meetings, social gatherings, youth activities, etc.

Even though it was very hot on the day we had our meeting, it was comfortable under the Maneaba. One of the men in the meeting gave us some coconuts to drink from. Mmmm, it was refreshing!

One day we went in a small boat to some of the other islands. They are just called the “outer islands.” Some of them don’t have names, but we went to one that was called Abaiang.

All went well until it started to storm. Then the sea got rough and we started to bounce around. So we had to slow down, and that took us a lot longer to get to Abaiang. I was really glad when we finally got there because I was starting to get a bit sea sick.

Almost all of the people live in houses that look like this one. The floor is built up off the ground, and the roof is made of thatched palm fronds. As in almost all of the islands, they sleep on mats that they weave from Pandanus leaves.

Some of the islands had a richer top soil which allowed grass to grow naturally. Others had the same sand and coral mix that was prevalent in Tarawa. None the less, we saw some very beautiful, well kept villages. I was most impressed with the outer islands.

Anyone who really knows me, knows how much l love little children. So, naturally, every island we went to I was able to gather a small crowd of children. In this picture, the children are holding Flat Stanley, who came to visit us from Florida.

Each time we left one of the outer islands the children came to the beach to wave good-bye to us. They are always happy to have visitors. Everyone was so gracious.

Everywhere we went the people apologized for not being prepared to feed us – “next time let us know when you are coming and we will prepare a feast.”

Back in Tarawa, Kitibati I enjoyed one last sunset outside my apartment door before returning to my sweetheart in New Zealand.

FLAT-LANDERS AGAIN

After our last trek up the mountain, we opted for sea level this time. We have two new senior couples, fairly recently arrived from the States, who haven't seen much of New Zealand yet, and asked us to take them with us some time. The past two Saturdays we took one of the couples with us each time. Of the fifteen or so senior couples, we're the only ones who walk further than from the car to the elevator. But they both promised to keep up if we'd slow down a little for them. We had fun both times, and hopefully have introduced them to some of the great outdoor stuff here.

The weather is finally shaping up, most of the time. The UV levels here are really high, so it's time for me to begin covering up again. I don't like that part, but oh well! This picture was actually to show off the flowers growing on the cliff along the beach walk, not my sun wear!

In all the beach walks and tide pool searching we've done, this was the very first time we've ever come across a jelly fish. It was huge, pink, and transparent. No doubt at all why it's called a jelly fish! It must have been 18 or 20" in diameter. Later on we saw two more. Why now all of a sudden? They washed in at high tide and then got stranded on the rocks when the tide went out.

Most of our beaches here are NOT the tropical paradise kinda beaches you might see on travel folders. Lots of volcanic rock and stuff other than brown sugar sand. When the tide is out, we see all sorts of formations.

The crusties have attached themselves to all these rocks.

After we'd shown our friends this East Coast beach, we drove over to the wild West Coast of the Tasman Sea. The weather over there is always windier and the sea is wilder. This is the black sand beach we talked about several posts ago.

A sample of the wild Tasman sea, spraying up on the rocks where we were standing.

Coming back to Auckland, we saw this beautiful display of sun rays over the harbor,

and a dark, mean looking sky over the city.

BILLY GOAT TRACK

Trying to vary our outings from week to week, we decided that it had been awhile since we'd been up in the mountains. So we pulled out the map and decided on an area where we've never been to yet. It's called The Coromandel Penninsula, and it's a little southeast of Auckland. There was a picture of a hiker drawn into the map, and some dotted lines, indicating a hiking trail. We decided that was the place for today! It was called the Billy Goat Track. Hmm...shudda been an indication!

We started off early in the morning, and by the time we found the trailhead, it was about 9 am. This is "The Pinnacle", elevation 759 metres (2,490 feet), according to the map. So up we started.

Beautiful little mountain streams and rocky streambeds, which we forded numerous times.

It wasn't long before we found we wouldn't be fording all the time - a swinging bridge to cross. Actually, four swinging bridges in all. A little scarey the first time, but as you can see, they were well secured at both ends. Dad laughed me across the first time 'cause I was such a chicken!

This is the scenery looking down from the bridge into the creek and foliage below.

Once we really started climbing, oh my gosh! we really started climbing! This area was logged in the past, and the logging camps, obviously, were up the mountain. In order to get supplies into the camps, pack animals were used. And this is how they got there!

It's called, "The Stone Staircase," a narrow, steep, forever upward-climbing path. Each step was carved out of stone, and those poor animals, loaded down, had to trudge up this staircase for hours at a time. It was very wet the day we were there, and the steps are steep and only about 18" wide in some places. I can't tell you how sorry I felt for those donkeys or oxen or horses or whatever they used. There must be some special place in Heaven for animals like that.

These steps are better defined than those above, but they went on for literally hours. We're not new at hiking anymore, after a year of doing this, but I found muscles that were never there before! At one point I thought about the Tower of Babel. What had we taken on????

As we got up a little higher, we began getting some great views of where we'd been below, and where we had yet to go.

Now we know "Where the Red Fern Grows." (Well, one of the places where it grows!)

One of the many places we had to cross, a beautiful little waterfall and crystal clear pool below.

Water, water, everywhere water, rushing, gurgling, foaming, cool and beautiful.

Another obstacle in our stream crossing, but King of the Mountain liked it!

Just one more little waterfall and clear pool beneath it.

Well, just another "one more."

Huff, huff, we're still climbing!! The scenery changes, the higher we get. Distant vistas now.

Is that "The Pinnacle" over there?

Or is that?

The view from a little "saddleback."

And finally, the very best picture of all! The beautiful patchwork of valleys and fields below.

Bottom line: four hours to the top, three hours back down. A full day!!

AH, SATURDAY!!

After long, busy days during the week, ah, Saturday! We love our opportunity to get away. This was another wonderful day for being outside and seeing what we could find to entertain us. So we started at the beach, early, early in the morning.

And then the hills started calling us...

After several hours of climbing up and down the valleys of these green hills and seeing the beautiful sights from the ridge tops, it was one more steep climb back down to the bottom and back to sea level. We feel like the sheep themselves - or maybe mountain goats even!